All-Time IIHF Team. Do Soviets deserve to have a 4 players? Only ONE Canadian! (Wayne Gretzky)

[JackSlater]

It seems to me this is a list about nostalgia for two specific tournaments between Canada and Russia rather than a list of players with impressive international accomplishments in best on best tournaments

I don't believe they care that much about best on best. Since the IIHF has had barely any connection to best on best tournaments and actively worked against them, it isn't surprising. I am certain that most Canadians do not care about the iihf all time team and I expect that roughly 0 Americans care about it. Maybe people do in Europe, I don't really know. It's a frivilous thing like the NHL's top 100.

 

[VistamarCroissants]

you just need to watch him a bit on YouTube. Basically, he is Datsyuk with exceptional acceleration and top speed. Thus puts him in the same category as McDavid. A bit worse than Wayne but much better than those who benefited from their physical dimensions (Lemeaux, Malkin, Ovechkin and others).

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I had the chance to watch Makarov play in those early years, long before YouTube made everything accessible, and long before he joined the NHL. He was a special player, no question about it. In fact, he was my favourite of all the Soviet players.
But if you’re talking about the very best, then you have to put Fetisov in a category of his own. He was a cut above. The way he read the game, his poise, his leadership—he was in a class by himself. Makarov had the flair, no doubt, but Fetisov had the complete game.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

Was the Canada Cup actually sanctioned by the IIHF?

When you write “sanctioned” do you mean “authorized” or the opposite? I’m sure the French “sanctionner” wouldn’t also be its own opposite.

 

[Reindl87]

When you write “sanctioned” do you mean “authorized” or the opposite? I’m sure the French “sanctionner” wouldn’t also be its own opposite.

Yes, I mean authorized/reckognized.

 

[Albatros]

It seems to me this is a list about nostalgia for two specific tournaments between Canada and Russia rather than a list of players with impressive international accomplishments in best on best tournaments

Salming is there basically because he got a standing ovation in Toronto.

 

[DamonDRW]

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I had the chance to watch Makarov play in those early years, long before YouTube made everything accessible, and long before he joined the NHL. He was a special player, no question about it. In fact, he was my favourite of all the Soviet players.
But if you’re talking about the very best, then you have to put Fetisov in a category of his own. He was a cut above. The way he read the game, his poise, his leadership—he was in a class by himself. Makarov had the flair, no doubt, but Fetisov had the complete game.

let's agree to disagree

 

[ijuka]

It’s right in the text of OP which tournaments qualify, for those that read it.

From OP

with a requirement that they must have performed "at the highest possible level (Olympics, the IIHF World Championship or the Canada Cup/World Cup tournaments

Oh, and here I thought that "the all-time IIHF team" was about IIHF, my bad.

sort of like: "who is the best KHL player of all time?" "alex ovechkin because of his NHL performance"

makes sense

 

[Astyanax]

what? He is probably the best Russian ever. At the very worst he is in top-3. Better than Kharlamov, Ovechkin, Malkin. Miles better than Krutov, Larionov, Petrov, Fetisov, Bure, Fedorov, etc

I will not argue with your take on Russian players rankings nor suggest that makarov doesn't belong on the all time iihf list. But to suggest that he is "miles" better than larionov? Simply not true. Also that Firsov was pretty good in is day.

 

[Pierre Larouche]

This list came out 16 years ago, so it's kind of old news....

Being as the list is from the international (i.e., non-NHL, basically European) hockey perspective, it's not bonkers. Tretiak, Fetisov, Makarov, and Gretzky are all reasonable choices from that perspective. Kharlamov, maybe, but perhaps he got the "legacy" / "sympathy" nod a bit, too.

Salming stands out as the least impressive (though he was excellent, both internationally and NHL). It's interesting that even from the European perspective, he was more impressive (in 2008, anyway) than, say, Lidstrom.

As to having 4 Russians / Soviets... er, yeah, it's a bit much.

I wonder if the IIHF did this list again today, how different would it be? One would think Ovechkin would take a winger's spot, but his international-hockey reputation isn't very great. McDavid has barely played any international hockey at all.

Kharlamov was considered the greatest Russian forward at one time. His speed and creativity and stick handling was pretty brilliant for 72-78. He was the gold standard in Russia.

Right, but this isn't a list of the best players, it's about who's been the best in IIHF hockey. Can you argue Crosby over Gretzky with that lens....sure, but as a kid, Canada Cups were a big thing, so Gretzky seems like a good choice to me. It's this lens as well that keeps Bobby Orr off the list....obviously would be most people's pick as the best Dman ever, but he doesn't even get a top 2 spot here.....but that's because IIHF hockey wasn't a thing for Cdn players during his time.

Orr also missed The Summit Series in '72 due to his knee. He played in the 1976 Canada Cup though.

 

[User9992]

Kharlamov was considered the greatest Russian forward at one time. His speed and creativity and stick handling was pretty brilliant for 72-78. He was the gold standard in Russia.

Kharlamov wasn't known for his speed, but for his silky handles & creativity.

 

[Pierre Larouche]

what? He is probably the best Russian ever. At the very worst he is in top-3. Better than Kharlamov, Ovechkin, Malkin. Miles better than Krutov, Larionov, Petrov, Fetisov, Bure, Fedorov, etc

I completely disagree.

 

[User9992]

I completely disagree.

Makarov is considered by many users as the best soviet forward here. But he was never targeted by Canadians or Northern Americans like Kharlamov was.

Every time Kharlamov played against Northern Americans wherether it's international or club level he was targeted... They played extra dirty against him & tried to injury him. And they did injury him twice.

Cause Kharlamov was literally hard soloing them.

 

[Pierre Larouche]

Kharlamov wasn't known for his speed, but for his silky handles & creativity.

I guess you didn't see him in 72-77 pre car crash. He was known for it all.

 

[Pierre Larouche]

Makarov is considered by many users as the best soviet forward here. But he was never targeted by Canadians or Northern Americans like Kharlamov was.

Every time Kharlamov played against Northern Americans wherether it's international or club level he was targeted... They played extra dirty against him & tried to injury him. And they did injury him twice.

Cause Kharlamov was literally hard soloing them.

Kharlamov was destroying them in 1972. I had never seen an NHL player toe drag a puck through his legs. I see Kharlamov do it against Team Canada and the proceed to weave and accelerate through everybody. It blew my mind. Eventually Ferguson tells Clarke to break Kharlamov's ankle and Clarke does. It changed the series in my humble opinion. When the 1974 WHA Series vs. the CCCP took place- Kharlamov was targeted it seemed even more so. It was like they wanted to neutralize his brilliance and by physically brutalizing him. C'est la vie.

 

[User9992]

Kharlamov was destroying them in 1972. I had never seen an NHL player toe drag a puck through his legs. I see Kharlamov do it against Team Canada and the proceed to weave and accelerate through everybody. It blew my mind. Eventually Ferguson tells Clarke to break Kharlamov's ankle and Clarke does. It changed the series in my humble opinion. When the 1974 WHA Series vs. the CCCP took place- Kharlamov was targeted it seemed even more so. It was like they wanted to neutralize his brilliance and by physically brutalizing him. C'est la vie.

Funny thing is that Kharlamov had a Basque ancestry.

 

[Albatros]

He was also a Spanish citizen given that his mother had only Spanish citizenship. Potentially may not even have had Soviet citizenship initially given that his parents weren't married.

 

[User9992]

He was also a Spanish citizen given that his mother had only Spanish citizenship. Potentially may not even have had Soviet citizenship initially given that his parents weren't married.

He was a half Basque.

 

[Albatros]

In the same transport of children from war-torn Spain to the Soviet Union there was also the mother of Soviet national basketball team player José Biriukov who because of his citizenship could move to Spain legally as a professional and switched to the Spanish national team.