Female stars from the Russian Hockey League have stripped off for a Christmas calendar in a bid to show a softer side to their bruising encounters on the ice.

The players took to instagram to share the photos with captions such as 'you have all been waiting for this'.

Stars from teams including HC Tornado and HC St Petersberg posed for different months sporting festive props to depict the season.

January's girl, Russian international and HC Agidel Ufa goalkeeper, Anna Prugova, is pictured on a bed of rose petals, a far cry from the skates, helmet and gloves fans are used to seeing her in, while 2014 Olympic medallist Ekaterina Lebedeva - ironically stripped of her medal -  showed her festive side in red lipstick surrounded by a Christmas wreath.

Other stars include Tornados players Nina Pirgova, Alyona Starovoitova and Elizaveta Kndakova who represent February, March and April respectively.

The ice hockey girls' calendar comes after Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki posed for Sports Illustrated following her retirement announcement and UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste delivered her own knockout blow - by releasing some of the stunning photos from her 2020 calendar.