Twenty years of Soviet Hockey: 1962 - 1982 (Index of player profiles in OP)

[Theokritos]

Gennady Radayev (D, *1937)

1961-62: top 10 defenceman

Hockey handbook:
"One of the strongest defencemen of Novosibirsk ever. Reliable and steady, good in the physical game, backed up his partners properly."

Один из сильнейших защитников Новосибирска всех лет. Отличался надежной, уверенной игрой, хорошо вел силовую борьбу, четко страховал партнеров.

 

[Theokritos]

Dmitry Kitayev (D, *1938)

Hockey handbook:
"Had a good pass and a fine understanding of the game. Brave and selfless in the battle."

Обладал хорошим пасом, тонким пониманием игры. Былсмел, самоотвержен в борьбе.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"He was always full of ideas. He thought out wide-ranging and interesting combinations, but his acts on the ice didn't always do his thoughts justice: Kitayev's technique wasn't particularly high-end and he didn't have rocket speed… He didn't try to score goals. He understood his strengths and weaknesses and knew how to set up his game tactically. He had a subtle understanding of his position and that might be the reason why it was so difficult to beat him."

Он всегда был полон замыслов. Задумывал комбинацию широко н интересно, но мысль не всегда воплощалась в игровой поступок: техника у Китаева была не особенно высокого класса и скорость не реактивная… А Китаев и не стремился "достать" ворота. Он знал свои сильные и слабые стороны и умел прекрасно тактически строить свою игру. Он тонко понимал позицию, и, может быть, поэтому так нелегко было его обыграть.

 

[Theokritos]

Alexey Makarov (D, *1941)

1962-63: top 10 defenceman
1963-64: #9 defenceman
1964-65: #10 defenceman
1965-66: #9 defenceman
1966-67: #7 defenceman
1967-68: #8 defenceman
1968-69: #4 right defenceman

Hockey handbook (1977):
"Courageous and determined. Played with a chip on his shoulder. Willing and able to correct mistakes his partners made. Formed one of our strongest defensive pairings with Viktor Blinov from 1966-1968."

Был смелым, волевым хоккеистом. Отличался спортивной злостью, желанием и умением исправить ошибки партнеров. В 1966—1968 в месте с В. Блиновым составил одну из сильнейших в странепар защитников.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"An aggressive defenceman, dangerous for the opposing goalkeepers… His element was the fight, especially the fight in close quarters. In the most hopeless situation, he still didn't surrender the arms… His weak spot was probably his passing. Not that he wasn't able to play a precise pass, but it's more that his decisions weren't always smart."

Если Леша Макаров агрессивный защитник, опасный для вратарей соперников… Его стихия — борьба, особенно ближний, «штыковой» бой. В самых безнадежных ситуациях он не складывает оружия… Слабое место Алексея, пожалуй, игра в пас. Не то чтобы он не точен в передачах. Скорее всего, решения его не всегда остроумны.

 

[Theokritos]

Valery Kuzmin (D, *1941)

1960-61: top 10 defenceman
1961-62: top 10 defenceman
1962-63: top 10 defencman
1968-69: #5 left defenceman, 13th in Soviet Player of the Year voting
1973-74: 14th in Soviet Player of the Year voting

Hockey handbook (1977):
"Known for his thoroughness, commitment and tactical understanding. Excellent on the penalty kill. A resolute bodychecker."

Славился аккуратностью, самоотверженностью, тактической грамотностью. Отлично играл при численном меньшинстве. Уверенно вел силовое единоборство.

Starshinov (1971):
"Kuzmin is a good defenceman. If he has any deficiencies, it's in his roughness and individuality. But he is a most useful player for the team, a hard worker who always sacrifices himself for victory. And it's not by chance that Kuzmin, who usually didn't care a lot for goals, scored crucial and much needed goals more than once. (...) He rushes under the puck and blocks it with his chest when the goal is in danger. (...) He does not think of himself outside the team. Even his misdoings, his violations [of the rules], his excessive fighting spirit on the ice are always reactions to blows, insults and pushes against his teammates, not Kuzmin himself."

Кузьмин - хороший защитник, и если ему чего не хватает, то это резкости и своеобразия... Но это полезнейший человек для команды, прилежинй труженик, он всегда пожертвует собой для победы. И не случайно именно Кузьмин, вообще-то забраснвающий не очень много шайб, забивал решающие, необходныейшне голы. И не раз. (...) ...бросается под любую шайбу и ловит ее на грудь, когда воротам угрожает опасность. (...) Валера не мыслит себя вне коллектива, вне команды, Даже его ошибки, его нарушения, его «излишняя боевая горячность» на площадке всегда реакция на удар, обиду, толчок, нанесенный не лично Кузьмину, а товарищу по команде.

 

[Theokritos]

Vyacheslav Zhidkov (D, *1943)

1963-64: #6 defenceman
1964-65: #7 defenceman
1965-66: #8 defenceman

Hockey handbook:
"One of the strongest defencemen in the history of the club Torpedo Gorky. Was very well-developed physically and a fine bodychecker. Played a very reliable game."

Один из сильнейших защитников горьковской команды за все годы. Был очень хорошо развит физически, превосходно владел силовыми приемами, отличался надежностью игры.

 

[Theokritos]

Yevgeny Zimin (RW, *1947)

Soviet senior league:
1964-1974, 1976-1977

Soviet national team (major tournaments):
1968 OG, 1969 WCh, 1971 WCh, 1972 OG, 1972 SS

Domestic honours:
1965-66: #3 right winger
1966-67: #3 right winger
1967-68: #2 right winger, 4th in Player of the Year voting
1968-69: #4 right winger, 7th in Player of the Year voting
1969-70: top 7 RW, 10th in Player of the Year voting
1970-71: top 7 RW, 17th in Player of the Year voting

General comments:

Hockey handbook (1977):
"Nimble and fast, he built his game on fast passing and very skillful stickhandling."

Ловкий, быстрый хоккеист, строящий игру на скоростных проходах с умелым применением дриблинга.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"You never know what to expect from Zimin. More often than not: a brilliant and breath-taking game. But sometimes it seems as if he has completely forgotten how to play hockey. Then his speed and his fast reactions somehow disappear and his sharp and stealthy shots become easy to read and to block. And suddenly that fearless, cheerful and unstoppable Yevgeny makes a sour face and grumbles at his partners and the referees when in reality he should take offence at himself."

От Зимина можно ждать всего. Чаще — блистательной игры, от которой дух захватывает. Но нногда кажется, что он совсем разучился играть в хоккей. И скорость — реактивная скорость Зимина — куда-то подевалась, и бросок егоострый, тайный, совершенно незаметный для соперника — вдруг стал открытым, блокируемым, прекрасно чнтаемым... У Жени, бесстрашного, веселого, неудержимого, вдруг обиженное лицо, он ворчит на партнеров, на судей н тот момент, когда обидеться бы следовало на себя самого…

Anatoly Tarasov (1971):
"Yevgeny Zimin is without any doubt very talented. His fine technique is complemented by his explosive speed. True, unfortunately he is not very well oriented on the ice. In my opinion, his main weakness is that his judgment fails in some of the most critical moments. He often makes bad decisions: instead of going to the opponent and trying to beat him, Zimin wastes time in an empty space. He skates around instead of heading towards the goal right away. The coaches have repeatedly told him about these weaknesses, but Yevgeny doesn't listen to our remarks. Of course, Zimin is still a great player, but has he fully developed his talent?"

Несомненно, очень талантлив Евгений Зимин. Высокая техника дополняется у него взрывной скоростью. Правда, Зимин, к сожалению, не очень хорошо ориентируется на поле. Главная слабость Жени заключается, на мой взгляд, в том, что он неверно понимает некоторые крайне важные моменты игры. Он часто принимает ошибочные решения: вместо того, чтобы идти на соперника, стремиться обыграть его, Зимин "пылит" по пустому месту, катит вкругаля вместо того, чтобы сразу, напрямик идти на ворота. Об этих недостатках Жене не раз говорили тренеры, но Евгений не прислушивается к нашим замечаниям. Конечно, Зимин -отличный хоккеист, но полностью ли он развил свой талант?

Career:

Yevgeny Zimin started his career with Lokomotiv Moscow. In 1964-1965, coach Anatoly Kostryukov promoted him to the senior team. By February 1965, Zimin had received a call-up to the B (=second) national team of the USSR. In the 1965 offseason, Zimin left Lokomotiv.

Yevgeny Zimin (2014):
"I was ashamed to leave Lokomotiv, the players and coaches who had done a lot for me. There was a frank conversation with the veterans. To my surprise, they were not against my transition. I remember their arguments almost word for word. They said: You have the prerequisites to become a great player. But unfortunately in our hockey the situation is such that most players on the national team are from CSKA, Dinamo and even Spartak. The way to the national team is thornier from other clubs. And you certainly dream of the national team."

Note: Quoted after Fyodor Razzakov.

С другой стороны, совестно было покидать «Локомотив», игроков и тренеров, много для меня сделавших. Состоялся откровенный разговор с ветеранами. К моему удивлению, они не были против моего перехода. Почти дословно запомнил их доводы. У тебя, мол, Женя, есть предпосылки стать классным игроком. Но, к сожалению, в нашем хоккее сложилась такая обстановка, что в сборную попадают преимущественно игроки ЦСКА и «Динамо», да еще «Спартака». Из других клубов путь в национальную команду намного тернистее. А ведь ты наверняка мечтаешь о сборной.

Despite being pursued by CSKA and Dinamo Moscow, he went to Spartak Moscow under Vsevolod Bobrov where he formed a youth line with Alexander Yakushev (18) at center and Viktor Yaroslavtsev (20) at left wing. He earned his first call-up to the Soviet national team and at the end of the season the Soviet hockey federation ranked him 3rd among Soviet right wingers (behind Loktev and Vikulov). In 1966-1967, Zimin replaced Yevgeny Mayorov on the first line of Spartak Moscow. Initially, his new linemates Vyacheslav Starshinov (at center) and Boris Mayorov (at left wing) weren't happy about the change:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"He's a player with god-given talent. Speed, wits, grit, technique – nature has given him all these gifts and many others in abundance. But together with them, nature also gave him a solid dose of self-confidence and conceit. For him, the rink was the place where he and only he, Yevgeny Zimin, should sweep around the opponent, score goals and reap the applause. He was only interested in his linemates in so far as they could assist him in that endevour. He didn't understand the collective game and didn't embrace it. (...) We needled him, we didn't mince our words, we quarreled with him on the ice, on the bench and in training. He was bitter, snapped and asked to be put on another line. But on the one hand, coach Bobrov was on our side as he understood that we were right. And on the other hand, Yevgeny was a stubborn but also a clever guy. Capable of grasping everything on the fly, he quickly absorbed our lessons, even if not without resistance. (...) By the middle of the season, our trio started to click."

Хоккеист он, как говорится, от бога. Скорость, сметливость, храбрость, техничность — всеми этими и многими другими достоинствами природа наделила его в избытке. А вместе с ними дала ему солидный запас самоуверенности и тщеславия. Хоккейное поле было для него тем местом, где он, и только он, Евгений Зимин, должен обводить противников, забивать голы и срывать аплодисменты. Партнеры интересовали его постольку, поскольку они могут помочь ему в этом деле. Коллективной игры он не понимал и в душе не признавал. (...) Мы шпыняли его, мы не стеснялись с ним в выражениях, мы ссорились с ним и на поле, и на скамейке запасных, и на тренировках. Он обижался, огрызался, просил перевести его в другую тройку. Но, с одной стороны, нас поддерживал тренер В. М. Бобров, понимавший, что правда на нашей стороне. А с другой — сам Женька, парень хоть и упрямый, но умный, способный и схватывающий все на лету, пусть и не без сопротивления, но очень быстро впитывал в себя наши уроки. (...) К середине сезона тройка стала складываться.

Yevgeny Zimin (2018):
"...Starshinov and Mayorov taught me how to play. I used to hang on the puck to the last moment."

Старшинов и Майоров меня в пас научили играть. Я-то с шайбой возился до последнего.

By December 1966, the trio worked well enough as a unit for Zimin to be called up when the Soviet national team toured Canada and to hope for a spot on the 1967 World Championship roster. However, Chernyshov and Tarasov weren't as pleased as Boris Mayorov was with the youngster:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"Zimin had already become a real collective player. He didn't keep the puck too long, he didn't try to do everything on his own, he learned to find his partners in any situation and to adapt to their intentions. To this day I cannot understand why, but it was this game that arouse the discontent of the national coaches. They accused Zimin – a man of desperate courage and someone easily offended – of being a coward. For that reason, they said, he does not take the game on himself but tries to get rid of the puck so quickly. (...) From that moment, hockey stopped to exist for Zimin. Now everything he did on the ice was about demonstrating his selfless courage. He jumped into the trouble, tried to break through to the goal all on his own and got involved in all kinds of brawls. He earned bruises, bumps and a reputation as a fighter and a violator of the rules. He spent more and more time in the penalty box. The game of our troika became unsettled, our performance in the last games in Canada was poor. Yevgeny wasn't taken to [the 1967 World Championship in] Vienna."

Зимин стал уже превращаться в настоящего коллективного игрока. Он не передерживал шайбу, не стремился во что бы то ни стало сделать все сам, он научился в каждой игровой ситуации находить партнеров и сообразовывать свои и их намерения. До сих пор не могу понять, в чем тут дело, но именно такая игра вызвала недовольство тренеров сборной. Они обвинили Зимина, человека отчаянной храбрости, да еще и страшно обидчивого, в том, что он трусит. Что только поэтому он и не берет игру на себя, а старается побыстрей отделаться от шайбы. (...) С этого момента хоккей перестал для него существовать. На площадке он только и занимался тем, что демонстрировал свою беззаветную отвагу. Он лез на рожон, пытался прорваться в одиночку к чужим воротам, ввязывался во всякую потасовку. Он зарабатывал синяки, шишки и репутацию драчуна и нарушителя правил. Все чаще и чаще он вынужден был проводить время на скамье штрафников. Игра нашей тройки расклеилась, последние матчи в Канаде мы провели слабо. В Вену Женька не попал…

With Spartak Moscow, Zimin continued to play on a line with Starshinov and Boris Mayorov. He scored 34 goals in the domestic league and contributed to Spartak winning the Soviet championship. At the end of the season, the Soviet hockey federation again ranked him 3rd among the Soviet right wingers.

In 1967-1968, CSKA regained the upper hand in the Soviet league. However, Zimin managed to cement his place on the Spartak first line and to earn a recall to the Soviet national team. He made the roster for the 1968 Olympics, but his performance in the first two games was a disappointment.

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"Veniamin Alexandrov was sitting on the bench, ready to replace him at any time. I know myself how difficult and unpleasant it is to play when with the feeling that replacement is right around the corner. Yevgeny was nervous and messed up. In the end he was really benched instead of Alexandrov."

...на скамейке запасных сидит готовый в любую минуту занять его место Вениамин Александров. По себе знаю, насколько это тяжело и неприятно — играть, чувствуя, что тебя вот-вот заменят. Женька нервничал, ошибался и в конце концов действительно поменялся местами с Александровым.

Sitting out the next for games, Zimin finally got a second chance when Alexandrov suffered an injury in the match against Sweden.

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"That's when our young partner played really well. Finally his mind wasn't burdened anymore with thoughts of being replaced. Now we got to see the same Zimin we were used to from Spartak: daring and at the same time shrewd, headlong and still cunning, greedy for the puck but with a measure and with his partners in mind."

Вот когда наш молодой партнер заиграл по-настоящему. Ничто теперь ему не мешало, никакие мысли о замене не тяготили его ум. Теперь это был тот самый Зимин, к которому мы привыкли в «Спартаке», — азартный и вместе с тем расчетливый, одновременно стремительный и осмотрительный, жадный до шайбы, но знающий меру и помнящий о партнерах.

At the end of the season, Zimin was ranked 2nd among Soviet right wingers by the hockey federation and he finished 4th in Best Player of the Season voting (behind Firsov, Starshinov and Konovalenko).

In 1968-1969, Zimin had a weak start into the domestic season and lost his spot on the national team:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"He didn't start well that season. The diagnosis of the national coaches: Laziness, reluctance to train, weak will. Measure of treatment: Deducation from the national team. Believe me: If there is anything you cannot blame Zimin for, it's for lack of will and for laziness."

Сезон Стокгольма он начал не очень удачно. Диагноз тренеров сборной: лень, нежелание тренироваться, слабоволие. Мера лечения: отчисление из сборной. Поверьте мне: уж в чем другом, а в безволии и лени Зимина не обвинишь.

By February 1969, Zimin formed a new line with Shadrin (at center) and Martynyuk (at left wing), both with Spartak and the second national team of the USSR.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"By that time Yevgeny had not yet reached his best form. He was temporarily withdrawn from the first national team and at Spartak he didn't play on our line but on the second line. He tried very hard, as if he wanted to prove the coaches of the national team were wrong... He was just finding his game that season."

К тому времени Женя еще не вошел в свою лучшую форму, был временно выведен из состава первой сборной страны и в «Спартаке» играл не в своем, а во втором, щадринском, звене. Он очень старался, словно хотел доказать, что тренеры сборной кнему несправедливы... Он только-только находил свою игру в том сезоне...

Touring Canada with the second national team from February-March, Zimin finally pulled together a convincing performance. At the last minute, he was called to the first national team for the 1969 World Championship and was reunited with Starshinov (with Mishakov and Alexander Yakushev taking turns at left wing).

I haven't found an account of Zimin's performance at the World Championship, but fact of the matter is that he only had 1 goals and 2 assists in 10 games. However, helping Spartak Moscow to win the domestic championship over CSKA again, he was still ranked 4th among Soviet right wingers by the hockey federation and finished 7th in Best Player of the Season voting.

Unfortunately my main source, Boris Mayorov, one goes up to 1970, so it's difficult to get an insight on the following years of Zimin's career. In 1969-1970, he continued to play on the Starshinov line with Spartak, but was dropped from the Soviet national team after December 1969. He didn't play at the 1970 World Championship. In Best Player of the Season voting, he finished 10th that season.

In 1970-1971, Zimin regained his spot on the national team. At the 1971 World Championship, he saw ice time in 4 games out of 10. He scored 1 goal and 1 assist.

In the 1971 offseason, it was discovered that Zimin had Tachycardia. For the remainder of his career, he had to take medication.

In 1971-1972, Zimin was part of the Soviet national team at the 1972 Olympics, but was only used in one game. After his former club coach Bobrov had become the new head coach of the Soviet national team midway through the season, Zimin was dropped from the Soviet national team. He didn't make the roster for the 1972 World Championship.

In 1972-1973, he was recalled to the national team for the Summit Series against Team Canada. Playing on a line with Vladimir Shadrin (at center) and Alexander Yakushev (at left wing), he scored 2 goals in the first game of the series. After the second game, Zimin experienced stomachache and returned to Moscow on directive of team doctor Oleg Belakovsky. It was discovered that he had appendictis. He wasn't able to play again until December 1972. After his return, he was put on a line with center Viktor Shalimov at Spartak.

1973-1974 was Zimin's last season with Spartak Moscow. He played on a line with Shalimov again, both with Spartak and with the Soviet B national team that toured Canada.

In 1974 Zimin, who had escaped conscription thanks to a chronic shoulder injury, was drafted into the Soviet army due to a decree that those who had not yet served could still be drafted until their 27th birthday. Since he wasn't of interest to CSKA at that stage of his career anymore, Zimin was headed towards the second army team, SKA Leningrad under Nikolay Puchkov, but the military bureaucracy put a spoke in his wheel. To his shock, Zimin was forced to serve in the Moscow military district and thus spend the next two seasons (1974-1975 and 1975-1976) with the regional army club SKA MVO Lipetsk in the second tier of the Soviet league.

Yevgeny Zimin (2018):
"I lost two years of my life there. It cost me everything: my game tone, my interest in hockey, my faith in justice. Psychologically, I was simply crushed."

Два года там – вычеркнутое из жизни время. Я потерял все – игровой тонус, интерес к хоккею, веру в справедливость. Психологически был просто раздавлен.

Having completed his service in 1976, Zimin attempted a comeback at Spartak Moscow, but was rejected by Spartak coach Nikolay Karpov.

Yevgeny Zimin (2018):
"He trusted rumours that I had constantly violated the regime at SKA MVO. Of course, I'm not an angel, I did allow myself some [alcohol]. But I knew the measure."

Доверился слухам, будто в СКА МВО постоянно режим нарушаю. Я, конечно, не ангел, позволял себе. Но меру знал.

Eventually Zimin was signed by Krylya Sovietov Moscow and spent another season in the Soviet senior league before he ended his career in 1977.

 

[Theokritos]

Alexander Yakushev (LW, *1947)

Soviet senior league:
1964-1980

Soviet national team:
1967 WCh, 1969 WCh, 1970 WCh, all major tournaments from 1972-1977, 1979 WCh

Soviet recognition:
1964-65: #5 center
1966-67: #4 left winger
1967-68: #4 left winger
1968-69: #4 right winger, 6th in Best Player voting
1969-70: top 5 left winger
1970-71: top 6 left winger
1971-72: 4th in Best Player voting
1972-73: top 3 left winger, 3rd in Best Player voting
1973-74: top 18 forward, 6th in Best Player voting
1974-75: top 18 forward, 3rd in Best Player voting
1975-76: top 22 forward, 5th in Best Player voting
1976-77: top 22 forward
1977-78: top 18 forward
1978-79: 10th in Best Player voting

International honours:
1974 WCh All-star
1975 WCh All-star & Best Forward

General comments:

Hockey handbook (1977):
"One of the best left wingers in the history of world hockey. High speed and amazing agility on his skates. Has a strong and accurate shot from any distance. Exceptionally demanding of himself in the game and in training."

Один из сильнейших левых крайних нападающих в мировом хоккее. Обладает высокой скоростью и поразительной маневренностью катания на коньках. Имеет сильный и точный бросок с любых дистанций. Исключительно требователен к себе в игреи в тренировках.

Anatoly Tarasov (1968):
"During the years we have been in touch with Alexander, the coaches of the national team have never encountered him moody or lazy. He's a smart and decent guy, a bit shy, surprisingly soft and considerate. He listens to the comments of his coaches and the advise of his comrades. He is very demaning of himself and I'm inclined to believe he will become a player of enormous calibre."

За годы общения с Александром тренеры сборной ни разу не видели его капризным, ленивым. Александр -человек умный, порядочный, немного застенчивый, удивительно мягкий и деликатный. Он умеет выслушивать заме-чания тренера, совет тренера или товарищей. Александр очень требователен к себе, и из него, хочу верить, полу-чится игрок громадного масштаба.

Anatoly Tarasov (1987):
"Alexander scored goals in a peculiar and elegant manner, with his great reach, weaving intricate patterns on the ice which only Yakushev could understand. What is interesting is that the puck seemed to be glued to his stick - is this not evidence of the highest level of technique?!
When Alexander skated up ice with those long strides, his eye was fixed firmly on his opponent. Should that opponent bite on a feint, Yakushev, changing gears, could beat practically anyone.
Yakushev did not, however, like to defend, but in my opinion no one could exploit this weakness - everyone was generally too concerned trying to stop Alexander from attacking.
Despite all the checking schemes of his opponents, he always scored goals. And, when finishing in the high-traffic areas, Alexander Yakushev transformed from a refined and intelligent player into a scrappy fighter, ruthless to himself."

Note: I used the existing translation provided by Sturminator.

Вел шайбу Александр своеобразно и как-то элегантно, причем в эти мгновения клюшка в его длинных и сильных ручищах выписывала крюком замысловатые узоры на льду, в предназначении которых разобраться мог только сам Якушев. И что интересно, шайба у него была постоянно будто приклеена к крюку – это ли не свидетельство высочайшей техники исполнения приемов?!
Когда Александр широченными шагами мчался вперед, взгляд его был устремлен только на соперника. И стоило тому поддаться на ложное движение, как Якушев, меняя скорость и маневр, в соответствии с тем, что он сам уже рассказывал, обыгрывал практически любого.
Правда, нападающий Якушев не любил обороняться. Однако этой слабостью его никто, по-моему, так и не мог воспользоваться – все в основном думали о том, как бы нейтрализовать Александра в атаке, а о большем и не помышляли.
Впрочем, несмотря на все ухищрения обороны соперников, забивал он постоянно. И, завершая атаки в условиях плотной опеки, Александр Якушев из хоккеиста изысканного, интеллигентного превращался в бойца стойкого, безжалостного к себе.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"His main passion is to score goals. He's fervently striving ahead towards the opponent's net. Both in training and in the game he constantly looks for an opportunity to strike the goal. He doesn't need to hide his intentions, he is so unique that you need to invent special methods of defending against him. (...)
Yakushev is a pronounced soloist. He knows and understands a lot about the game. But not everything. Notice how rarely he parts with the puck voluntarily. Notice how rarely he judges the situation correctly when it comes to not going forward himself but sending the partners forward. Goals are rarely scored after a pass by him. He doesn't even strive for it. He's aimed at the goal. And it's difficult for him to understand and appreciate the not-so-obvious work his partners are doing to create good scoring opportunities for him. He doesn't do that work himself. He does not yet have the very important skill to remain in the shadows and work there to bring his partners into the light."

Его основная хоккейная страсть — забивать голы. Самозабвенный порыв вперед, к воротам соперника. На тренировках, как и в игре, настойчиво, постоянно ищет возможность поразить ворота. Саше незачем скрывать свон намерения, он так необычен, что против него нужно изобретать специальные приемы защиты. (...)
Якушев ярко выраженный солист. Он очень иногое умеет и понимает в игре. Многое, но не все. Заметьте, как редко Саша расстается с шайбой добровольно, как редко он, правильно оценив ситуацию, не сам выходит вперед, а выводит вперед партнера, как нечасто забрасывают голы с его подачи. Да он к этому пока и не стремится. Он нацелен на ворота. И ему трудно понять и правильно оценить ту не очень заметную, не бросающуюся в глаза работу, которую ведут его партнеры, создавая для него голевую ситуацию. Сам-то он почти не занимается этим! У него еще не родились навыки, очень важные навыки игры, которые я выразил бы так: «я - в тени, работаю для партнера. вывожу его на солнце»...

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971) on the line Yakushev – Shadrin – Martynyuk:
"Sasha Yakushev, one of the most original masters of our hockey, was the strongest player on that line. That's true. But this doesn't mean every attack should have ended with a shot by him. Each of the five players on that unit is a very strong player. Each of them could have taken over the tasks that were often shifted to Yakushev. That's primitive tactics. They made it much easier for the opponent to defend against that line."

Саша Якушев, один из самых оригинальных мастеров нашего хоккея, был сильнейшим в звене. Это так. Но ведь это вовсе не значит, что любая атака должна была закончиться его броском. Каждый из мастеров зтой пятерки — очень сильный хоккеист. Каждый из них мог решать ю же задачи, которые часто перекладывались на Сашу. Тактика примитивна. А как упрощалась задача защиты соперников в атом случае!

Development:

Alexander Yakushev was discovered by Spartak Moscow youth coach Alexander Igumnov. In April 1964, he was first called up to the senior team by head coach Vsevolod Bobrov. In 1964-1965, he made huge strides: he became a regular on the senior team and by December 1964 he was touring the USA with the Soviet B national team. At that early stage of his career, Yakushev still played as a center forward. At the end of the season, he was ranked 5th among Soviet centers by the hockey federation. In 1965-1966, he centered a line with Viktor Yaroslavtsev at left wing and Yeveny Zimin at right wing. In November 1965, the trio received a call-up to the Soviet national team for a game against Czechoslovakia.

In 1966, Bobrov moved Yakushev to left wing and Yaroslavtsev to right wing. They now formed a line centered by Vladimir Shadrin (18). Yakushev was called up to the Soviet national team again and even used as a spare at the 1967 World Championship. At the end of the 1966-1967 season, the Soviet hockey federation ranked him 4th among Soviet left wingers. However, the high hopes for the Yakushev – Shadrin – Yaroslavtsev trio didn't materialize in the two seasons they spent together:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"They were long held in high expectations, so long that some already began to talk: 'How much can you promise? Isn't it time to deliver?' But the Spartak team decided to have patience and wait. But they didn't make progress."

Они долго ходили в подающих надежды, так долго, что уже некоторые стали поговаривать: сколько можно обещать, не пора ли уже и платить по векселям?

Young Vladimir Shadrin was widely viewed as the weak link on the line in contrast to the more established Yakushev and Yaroslavtsev. The latter on his part drew the ire of national coaches Chernyshov and Tarasov for a lack of work ethic and willingness to learn and was dropped from the national team. Meanwhile Yakushev managed to retain his place on the national team for their tour of North America that winter, but in January 1968 he suffered an injury that put him out of consideration for the 1968 Olympics:

Anatoly Tarasov (1968):
"Alexander is a humble and hardworking athlete. Very hardworking, in contrast to Viktor [Yaroslavtsev]. And he's very talented. Arkady Chernyshov and I were very upset when he suffered a serious injury at the end of 1967 during our tour of Canada and was deprived of the opportunity to go to Grenoble. He could have strengthened our team significantly and who knows how our third line would have looked if he didn't get injured."

Александр скромный спортсмен, трудолюбивый, более трудолюбивый, нежели Виктор, и очень талантли-вый. Нам, тренерам сборной, Аркадию Ивановичу Чернышеву и мне, было очень обидно, когда Александр полу-чил в конце 1967 года тяжелейшую травму во время турне по Канаде и был лишен возможности поехать в Гренобль. Александр мог бы значительно усилить нашу национальную команду, и, не получи он травму, кто знает, как выгля-дело бы третье звено сборной СССР.

At the end of the season Yakushev was again ranked 4th among Soviet left wingers by the Soviet hockey federation.

Early in the 1968-1969 season, Spartak coach Nikolay Karpov replaced Yaroslavtsev with Alexander Martynyuk at right wing on the line with Yakushev and Shadrin. The new troika clicked immediately:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"It didn't take long before it became clear to everyone: the prospect troika turned into a top troika, capable of playing against and defeating any opponent."

Прошло совсем немного времени, и всем стало ясно: тройка из перспективной превратилась в тройку высокого класса, способную играть против любых противников и побеждать их.

As Spartak's second line behind Mayorov – Starshinov – Zimin, the line of Yakushev – Shadrin – Martynyuk contributed to the club's domestic championship that season. Yakushev became top scorer in the league with 50 goals and earned a recall to the Soviet national team. At the 1969 World Championship, he played on a line with Starshinov (C) and Zimin (RW), but he only managed to score 1 goal and 1 assist in 6 games.

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"What happened to Yakushev? Fact of the matter is, nothing happened to him. Yakushev remained Yakushev. But at Spartak Moscow, he was treated as a player with an ability to score goals in certain situations and they created these situations for him. Yakushev's defensive work only went that far. Others did the work for him. So he always had his hands untied for a counterattack. When our players won possession of the puck, they knew: Yakushev is already speeding ahead and ready to receive a pass somewhere in the middle of the ice. And they sent him the puck. That's the situation Yakushev is particularly dangerous in: on the move, with the puck, in a wide area of operation. It's difficult to stop him there.
In the national team it was different. Here he had to do the same work as everybody else and therefore couldn't take advantage. When he sensed the moment was right and prepared to rush for a breakthrough, the cry from the coaches was heared: 'Cover your man!' And he skated back. His linemates weren't tasked to play for Yakushev and they weren't used to play with him."

Что же случилось вдруг с Якушевым? В том-то и дело, что с Якушевым не случилось ничего. Якушев остался Якушевым. Но в «Спартаке» к нему относились как к игроку, который силен своим умением забивать голы в определенных ситуациях, и создавали ему эти ситуации. Якушев трудился в обороне, как говорится, постольку поскольку. Эту работу выполняли за него другие. Зато у него всегда были развязаны руки для контратаки. И когда наши наконец завладевали шайбой, они знали: Якушев уже набирает скорость и готов принять пас где-то в середине поля. Туда и отсылалась ему шайба. Вот она, та самая ситуация, где Якушев особенно опасен — на ходу, с шайбой, на широком оперативном просторе. Тут преградить ему путь очень трудно.
В сборной ничего этого не было. В сборной он должен был выполнять те же функции, что и все, и потому не мог приносить пользу. Когда он, почуяв момент, готовился броситься в прорыв, с тренерского КП следовал грозный окрик: «Возьми своего!» — и он возвращался назад. Его партнеры не получали задания играть на Якушева, да они и не привыкли подыгрывать кому-то, в «Спартаке» другие играют на них.

Nevertheless, his domestic scoring resume earned Yakushev a 6th place in Best Player of the Season voting. Meanwhile, the Soviet hockey federation once again ranked him 4th among left wingers.

In 1969-1970, Yakushev was part of the Soviet national team again. At the 1970 World Championship, he was a scratch for the first half of the tournament, but after the USSR had been defeated 2-4 by Sweden in Game 5 he was put on a line with Starshinov (at center) and Maltsev (at right wing). He scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1970):
"It's nice that Yakushev played well. I think he will get a permanent spot on the first team next year."

Приятно, что Якушев сыгралхорошо. Думается, на следующийгод он сможет получить в основном составе постоянное место.

However, Yakushev went on to miss the 1971 World Championship. He was dropped from the national team a few days before the tournament despite being healthy. The reasons are unclear, especially since his two club linemates Shadrin and Martynyuk were both selected. But in 1971-1972, Yakushev returned to the Soviet national team and he was a regular throughout the next couple of years.

 

[Theokritos]

Viktor Yaroslavtsev (F, *1945)

Soviet senior league:
1962-1973

Soviet national team:
1967 World Championship

Soviet recognition:
1963-1964: #5 left winger
1965-1966: #7 left winger
1966-1967: #2 right winger
1967-1968: #5 right winger

Hockey handbook (1977):
"A fast and energetic player who constantly aimed at the goal."

Был очень быстрым, напористым игроком, постоянно нацеленным на ворота.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"Yaroslavtsev has excellent technique, but at times it seems as if he can't use it at high speed. While players such as Kharlamov, Zimin, Maltsev and [Igor] Grigoryev manage to combine speed and technique, as is required in hockey today."

Ярославцев отлично владеет техникой, но иногда кажется, что техника у него существует как бы отдельно от скорости... А у Харламова. Зимина, Мальцева или Григорьева скорость и техника слиты воедино. Так требует сегодняшний хоккей.

Anatoly Tarasov (1971):
"In my opinion the undoubtedly talented Spartak forward Viktor Yaroslavtsev is the most stunning and sad example of a ruined talent. Of course, he has reached considerable heights, he even was a member of the national team and became world champion with his fellow national players [in 1967] (...) And yet I think Viktor has given our hockey, our national team and his club Spartak less than he could have. Much less. It's hurting and annoying: a great talent has faded.
Yaroslavtsev is 26 now and it can already be said with certainty that we didn't get an outstanding player (like Boris Mayorov or Vikulov) out of him, for he happens to be lazy. Viktor is moody and egoistic. There were even cases during team meetings when Yaroslavtsev tried to blame his own mistakes on his linemates. (...) In March 1967, at the World Championship in Vienna, Viktor behaved in the following manner. You probably remember that during the tournament, especially in the first few games, the Spartak line didn't get going. Trying to find the best option, we had Alexander Yakushev and Viktor Yaroslavtsev alternating on the line with Mayorov and Starshinov. And when the unit didn't perform, Viktor – both during the game and in the post-game analysis – argued vehemently that the reasons for the bad performance lied in the shortcomings of such masters as Boris Mayorov and Vyacheslav Starshinov. In conversations with the coaches, Viktor blamed his partners and was capable of being bewilderingly immodest."

Как мне кажется, несомненно одаренный спартаковский форвард Виктор Ярославцев являет собой наибо-лее впечатляющий и печальный пример погубленного таланта. То есть, конечно, Виктор достиг немалых высотв хоккее, он входил даже в состав сборной команды СССР и стал вместе с товарищами чемпионом мира, получил по-сле венского чемпионата высокое звание мастера международного класса, однако... Однако, считаю я, Виктор дал нашему хоккею -и сборной, и своему родному "Спартаку" -меньше, чем мог бы. Значительно меньше. И это обидно, досадно: увял большой талант.
Сейчас Ярославцеву уже двадцать шесть лет, и уже можно, к несчастью, говорить, что из него не получил-ся и, уверен, теперь уже не получится игрок выдающийся, такой, например, как Борис Майоров или Викулов, ибо, как это бывает, лень-матушка родилась раньше него. Виктор капризен, эгоистичен. Были даже случаи, когда Ярославцев пытался на собрании команды перело-жить свою ошибку на плечи партнера. (...)
А вот Виктор в Вене в марте 1967 года, на чемпионате мира, вел себя иначе. Вы, видимо, помните, что в те дни, особенно в первых матчах, игра у спартаковского звена, как говорится, "не шла", и мы, стараясь найти лучший вариант атаки, подключали к Майорову и Старшинову поочередно Александра Якушева и Ярославцева. И когда звено ошибалось, "проваливалось", то Виктор -ив ходе игры и во время разбора матча -оправдывался чрезмерно энергично и видел причину плохой игры в неудовлетворительных действиях таких мастеров, какБорис Майоров или Вячеслав Старшинов. Виктор мог в разговоре с тренерами пожаловаться на своих партнеров, мог вести себя удиви-тельно нескромно.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"In 1967 Viktor was already a member of the national team. Afterwards his star somehow and imperceptibly turned dim. It's not as if he played worse than before. He played on the same level he had played as a member of the national team, but back then it was good and now it wasn't good enough anymore. As the game changes, the player needs to grow with it."

Однако очень быстро Виктор прочно вошел в основной состав и в 1967 году был уже членом сборной СССР. Потом, как-то незаметно‚ Виктор стал тускнеть. Он не стал играть хуже. Нет. Он играет так же, как нграл тогда, когда был "сборником". Тогда ето было хорошо. Теперь — недостаточно хорошо. Изменяется хоккей, спортсмен должен расти вместе с ним.

 

[Theokritos]

Alexander Martynyuk (F, *1945)

Soviet senior league:
1964-1976

Soviet national team:
1971 WCh, 1973 WCh

Soviet recognition:
1968-1969: #5 left winger
1969-1970: top 7 right winger
1970-1971: top 7 right winger, 15th in Best Player of the Year voting
1972-1973: top 3 right winger

Hockey handbook (1977):
"Immensely cunning and agile forward. Has a strong, wicked and unexpected shot. Often manages to outplay the defencemen individually."

Необычайно хитрый, маневренный нападающий. Обладает сильным, коварным и неожиданным броском, нередко добивается успеха за счет индивидуального обыгрывания защитников.

Boris Mayorov (1970) on Bobrov as Spartak coach:
"His eye for talent is astonishing. He brought Yevgeny Zimin (18), Vladimir Migunko (18) and Alexander Martynyuk (21) to Spartak. If the first two were already much talked about as promising players when they played for Lokomotiv Moscow, no-one paid attention to Martynyuk of Krylya Sovietov Moscow. He was a real find by Bobrov."

Чутье на таланты у него поразительное. Он взял в «Спартак» восемнадцатилетних Евгения Зимина, Владимира Мигунько и двадцатилетнего Александра Мартынюка. Если о первых двух много говорили как об интересных хоккеистах и тогда, когда они играли в «Локомотиве», то на нападающего «Крыльев Советов» Мартынюка никто не обращал внимания. Это настоящая находка Боброва.

Starshinov (1971):
"He has great speed and excellent technique. But he will not rush headlong into the close quarters, as Zimin wold have done without hesitation. He probably thinks: 'I have other trump cards. I'm a fast and good skater, why should I skate into a blow?' (...) Martynyuk often puts the puck into an empty net. That's because he almost always tricks the goaltender so that he falls for another of Sasha's cunning ploys and leaves his post. It looks as if the goaltender is helping Martynyuk to score. (...) He always remains himself, a clever and shifty player. A sharp move, a dangerous pass, a clever goal."

У Саши великолепная скорость, отличная техника. Но он не бросится сломя голову в водоворот рукопашной схватки, как это, не раздумывая, сделал бы Зимин. Вероятно, Саша рассуждает так: «У меня другие козыри... Катаюсь хорошо, быстро... Зачем же лезть под удар?» (...) Мартынюк чаще всего забивает в... пустые ворота! То есть он почти всегда так запутает вратаря соперников, что тот, попавшпсь на очередную хитрость Саши, опрометчиво покидает свой пост, как бы помогая нападающему забить гол. (...) Он все время остается самим собой - хитроумньш, изобретательным игроком. Острый проход, опаснейшнй пас, хитрый гол.

 

[Theokritos]

Note: Thanks to @Caser for his help with translating a difficult part.

Vladimir Shadrin (C, *1948)

Soviet senior league:
1965-1979

Soviet national team (major tournaments):
All WChs from 1970-1977, 1972 and 1976 OG, 1972 and 1974 SS

Soviet honours:
1966-1967: #7 center
1968-1969: #4 center, 13th in Best Player of the Year voting
1969-1970: top 7 center, 10th in Best Player of the Year voting
1970-1971: top 7 center, 6th in Best Player of the Year voting
1972-1973: top 3 center, 8th in Best Player of the Year voting
1973-1974: top 18 forward
1974-1975: top 18 forward, 12th in Best Player of the Year voting
1975-1976: top 22 forward, 6th in Best Player of the Year voting
1976-1977: top 22 forward, 14th in Best Player of the Year voting

General comments:

Hockey handbook (1977):
"The unique motor of the famous Spartak troika. He has a precise and timely pass and a strong and accurate shot. Is able to play an active physical game throughout the match. Capable of shouldering the defensive work for his partners. Often on the ice to kill penalties, both with the national team and his club team."

Своеобразный «мотор» знаменитой спартаковской тройки. Обладает точным своевременным пасом и сильным точным броском. Способен на протяжении всего матча вести активную силовую борьбу, брать на свои плечи заботы партнеров при защите ворот. Обычно и в сборной, и в клубе появляется на поле при игре в меньшинстве.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"He went his own uncharted path, managing to turn his weaknesses almost into strengths. That's what makes it so difficult to play against Shadrin: he doesn't resemble anyone."

...идущий своим непроторенным путем, сумевший даже слабости свои превратить чуть ли не в достоинства. Потому-то так трудно играть против Шадрина, что он нн на кого не похож.

Anatoly Tarasov (1987):
"Vladimir didn't have an outstanding built at all. His physique wasn't notable. Nevertheless, he was an extremely useful player for Spartak Moscow and our national team. What is the secret of Shadrin's success? First of all, we cannot fail to mention his brilliantly developed sense of the pass. He provided his partners with the puck in a cunning, skillful and, most importantly, timely manner – in time with their speedy maneuvers. He made good use of the puck, from his stick it rarely went to the opponent instead of a partner.
Although it's impossible to say he didn't have a perfect passing technique, his other techniques – his scoring touch, stickhandling and checking – were only developed as well as was necessary for a master, but not beyond that."

Владимир был хоккеистом отнюдь не выдающегося телосложения – особыми, ярко выраженными физическими данными не отличался. Однако и для «Спартака», и для сборной игроком был чрезвычайно полезным. В чем же секрет успеха Шадрина? Прежде всего нельзя не отметить блестяще развитое у Владимира чувство паса. Партнеров он обеспечивал шайбой и тонко, и умело, и, главное, своевременно – в такт с их скоростным маневром. Шайбой дорожил – от шадринской клюшки она чрезвычайно редко попадала не к партнеру, а к сопернику. Хотя нельзя не сказать, что этот игрок-аккуратист, в совершенстве владевший искусством паса, остальными приемами – завершающим броском, обводкой, отбором – владел, как и положено мастеру, но не более того.

Gennady Radchuk (1970):
"Vladimir Shadrin is a master of the passing game."

Владимир Шадрин — мастер игры в пас.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"I really appreciate him as a center forward – as the organizer of the attacks of his line and the destroyer of opposing attacks."

Я очень высоко ценю его как центрального нападающего - и организатора атак своего звена, и разрушителя атак соперников.

Reliability and industriousness:

Anatoly Tarasov (1987):
"Shadrin played a game without inconsistencies and blunders. (...) The coaches have always valued Vladimir Shadrin for his self-discipline and his understanding of the center role. The tasks he was given by the coaches were carried out with pleasure and pride. But he didn't just carry them out, he carried them out exemplarily. This quality is extremely important in modern hockey, in matches against opponents that are strong and almost on par. It helps the coaches to plan victory. Vladimir Shadrin was distinguished by such conscientiousness..."

В игре Шадрина не было больших перепадов, срывов. (...) Тренеры всегда ценили Владимира Шадрина за высокую организованность, за понимание роли центрфорварда в звене. Он же, в свою очередь, с удовольствием, по-моему, и с гордостью выполнял тренерские задания. Но не просто выполнял, а выполнял примерно. Это качество в современном хоккее, в матчах, когда соперники сильны и почти равны, чрезвычайно важно – оно помогает тренеру планировать победы. Однако такая добросовестность, которая отличала Владимира Шадрина, возможна лишь при особой любви к хоккею, при высокой культуре. И с моей точки зрения, чем дальше, тем больше эти качества будут цениться.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"His wingers are also successful because they know that Vladimir does not shy away from the rough work. Vladimir Shadrin is a star that doesn't dazzle with his brilliance, but for Spartak he is irreplacable."

Его крайние играют так удачно еще и потому, что чувствуют и знают - Володя никогда не гнушается черновой работой. Володя Шадрин - звезда, не ослепляющая своим блеском, но для «Спартакаэ он незаменим...

Vsevolod Bobrov:
"He's reliable in everything: in life and on the hockey rink."

Note: Quoted after Olga Burbentsova (2010).

Надёжность во всем — в жизни, на хоккейной площадке.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"His dedication and perseverance do not immediately attract attention. (...) He's strong and passionate and devoid of any desire to play just for show. (...) Vladimir always fights to the end. He is extremely reliable. (...) I have never seen him lose his temper."

Его самоотверженность и настойчивость не сразу обращают на себя внимание. (...) Упорный й страстный, лишенный какого бы то ни было стремления играть напоказ. (...) Володя всегда борется до конца. Он в высшей степени надежен. (...) Я ни разу не видел, чтобы он вышел из себя.

Defensive play:

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"It's no fun playing against Vladimir in our training games. You seem to have beaten him and walked around him... but no! In some incomprehensible way he always manages to hook and raise your stick, make an incredible move around you and be in your way again."

Я не люблю играть против Володи во время наших тренировочных двусторонних игр. Вроде бы обыграл его, обошел... ан нет! Обязательно каким-то непостижимым образом зацепит и поднимет клюшку, невероятным движением вывернется и снова окажется у тебя на пути.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971) on 3 against 5 situations:
"Among those who Spartak Moscow recently entrusts the difficult role of defending in the endless seconds when we're down to three men, most often Vladimir Shadrin appears."

В последнее время среди тех, кому команда «Спартак» поручает труднейшую роль защишаюшегося в бесконечные секунды обороны втроем, чаще других оказывается Володя Шадрин.

Skating:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"Vladimir Shadrin is a splendid player. But others have a headstart on him because he didn't learn how to skate properly as a kid. He doesn't skate as fast as he could and he struggles too much with the ice. But he has an iron will and a hard-working character. He has managed to develop other qualities in himself to the point that they sort of overcame his shortcomings."

Вот Володя Шадрин, прекрасный хоккеист. А знаете ли вы, какую фору дает он остальным только оттого, что в детстве его не научили правильно стоять на коньках? Он и бежит не так быстро, как мог бы, и сил на борьбу со льдом у него уходит непомерно много. Но у него воля, характер, трудолюбие железные. Он сумел развить в себе другие качества до такой степени, что они как бы перекрыли этот недостаток.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"It takes him a lot of energy to reach speed, but he manages."

И хотя быстрота дается ему за счет огромного расхода сил, по он успевает.

Development:

Vladimir Shadrin came up through the youth ranks of Spartak Moscow. An intelligent young man, he also graduated from the Physico-Mathematical College at the Lomonosov Moscow State University. After graduation he attended the Gubkin Moscow State University of Oil and Gas, even though Spartak coach Bobrov urged him to attend the Institute for Physical Culture which would have been easier to combine with a hockey career. Shadrin opted for the difficult way and attended University full-time while simultaneously playing senior hockey for Spartak Moscow in the Soviet elite league. From 1966 to 1968, he centered a line with Alexander Yakushev at left wing and Viktor Yaroslavtsev at right wing. The trio also got to play for the second national team of the USSR on the annual tours of Canada (December 1966 and December 1967) and both wingers, Yakushev and Yaroslavtsev, were called up to the 1967 World Championship. However, the high hopes for the troika didn't become reality as advertised and young Shadrin, the least-touted of the three, was the one who got the blame:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"Both wingers believed that Shadrin was to blame for everything: he was slow and didn't score enough goals. It was understandable: both Yaroslavtsev and Yakushev were older, more experienced and played for the national team. They looked at the inexperienced Shadrin as inferior in class."

Оба крайних считали, что во всем виноват Шадрин: он и медлителен, и шайб забрасывает мало. В общем-то, их можно было понять: и Ярославцев и Якушев поопытней, постарше, провели сезон в сборной, вот им и казалось, что неопытный Шадрин уступает обоим в классе.

Everything changed in 1968 when Yaroslavtsev was replaced by Alexander Martynyuk. The Yakushev – Shadrin – Martynyuk trio worked very well and Shadrin's stance improved:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"The prospect troika turned into a top troika, capable of playing against and defeating any opponent. They demonstrated it soon. And the soul of that line was the 'slow' and 'ineffective' Vladimir Shadrin."

...тройка из перспективной превратилась в тройку высокого класса, способную играть против любых противников и побеждать их. Да она вскоре это и доказала. А ее душой стал «медлительный» и «нерезультативный» Володя Шадрин.

The trio made a substantial contribution to Spartak's domestic championship in 1968-1969 and Alexander Yakushev became the top goal scorer in the league. The way the troika initially operated:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"At Spartak Moscow, Yakushev was treated as a player with an ability to score goals in certain situations and they created these situations for him. His defensive work only went that far. The others did the work for him. So he always had his hands untied for a counterattack. When our players won possession of the puck, they knew: Yakushev is already speeding ahead and ready to receive a pass somewhere in the middle of the ice. And they sent him the puck."

Но в «Спартаке» к нему относились как к игроку, который силен своим умением забивать голы в определенных ситуациях, и создавали ему эти ситуации. Якушев трудился в обороне, как говорится, постольку поскольку. Эту работу выполняли за него другие. Зато у него всегда были развязаны руки для контратаки. И когда наши наконец завладевали шайбой, они знали: Якушев уже набирает скорость и готов принять пас где-то в середине поля. Туда и отсылалась ему шайба.

Therefore, Shadrin mostly contributed with his defensive work and his passing. However, he also drew criticism for passing too much and not scoring enough himself:

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"At Spartak he played next to very strong partners, Alexander Yakushev and Alexander Martynyuk (and before that, Viktor Yaroslavtsev had played in place of Martynyuk). These partners were technically stronger than Shadrin. And so he naively tried to compensate for his shortcomings by passing. (...) Sasha Yakushev, one of the most original masters of our hockey, was the strongest player on that line. That's true. But this doesn't mean every attack should have ended with a shot by him."

В «Спартаке» он играет рядом с очень сильными партнерами — Александром Якушевым и Александром Мартыиюком (прежде на месте Мартынюка играл Виктор Яарославцев). Партнеры технически были сильнее Шадрина. И вот Володя наивно пытался пасом компенсировать свои недостатки. Это, конечно, не лучший путь, и такой умный спортсмен, как Володя Шадрин вскоре понял, что его цель не только «обслужить» Якушева и Мартынюка. Он научился брать игру на себя. Избавился от множества ненужных пасовок, бессмысленных, как бы перекладывающих ответственность за атаку на других. (...)
Саша Якушев, один из самых оригинальных мастеров нашего хоккея, был сильнейшим в звене. Это так. Но ведь это вовсе не значит, что любая атака должна была закончиться его броском.

It took Shadrin some time to learn to shoot more himself. Starshinov remarks that once Shadrin was removed from the usual setup with Yakushev and put on the first line for a shift (presumably switching to left wing; Starshinov played center and Zimin right winger), he immediately scored a goal.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"The fact that Vladimir did not seek Yakushev but took the solution of the problem on himself played a positive role. I think if the same situation had occurred when Shadrin was on his usual line, he would have looked for Yakushev and passed him the puck. (...) Being an intelligent sportsman, Shadrin soon realized it wasn't his purpose to serve Yakushev and Martynyuk. He learned to take the game on himself. He stopped making a lot of superfluous and pointless passes that had made him look like he shifted the responsibility to others."

Но и то обстоятельство, что Володя не искал Якушева, а взял решение задачи на себя, сыграло свою положительную роль. Мне кажется, играй в аналогичной ситуации Володя в своем звене, он нашел бы Якушева и отдал бы ему шайбу. (...) ...и такой умный спортсмен, как Володя Шадрин вскоре понял, что его цель не только «обслужить» Якушева и Мартынюка. Он научился брать игру на себя. Избавился от множества ненужных пасовок, бессмысленных, как бы перекладывающих ответственность за атаку на других.

Later Tarasov would remark on the Yakushev – Shadrin – Martynyuk line:

Anatoly Tarasov (1974):
"Vladimir Shadrin is the organizer, leader and the chief designer on that line."

Владимир Шадрин — хоккеист-организатор, лидер, главный «конструктор» тройки.

By December 1968, the trio was called up to the national team. However, only Yakushev ended up making the cut for the 1969 World Championship. Meanwhile Shadrin toured Canada with the second national team (on a line with Martynyuk and Zimin) in February-March 1969.

In 1969-1970, Shadrin finally managed to gain a spot on the national team. He toured Canada with the national team and earned a ticket to the 1970 World Championship at Stockholm. There he only got to play in one game (11-0 vs Poland) and despite scoring 1 goal and 4 assists while centering Yakushev and Maltsev, his performance wasn't considered convincing.

Gennady Radchuk (1970):
"He also has his weaknesses and Vladimir himself is well aware of them: 'I still have shortcomings in athletic qualities. My aim is to be able to perform the entire game on the same string, to have endurance to play without signs of slacking.'"

Есть у него и недостатки, и о них Володя знает прекрасно: — Чувствую у себя пока нехватку атлетических качеств. Хочу добиться того, чтобы выдерживать весь матч на одной ноте, чтобы выносливость позволила мне действовать без спадов.

Apparently Shadrin proceeded to achieve this aim, as the later quotes (e.g. Tarasov 1987: "without inconsistencies etc") suggest. Hard training helped him overcome this weakness:

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"In training he worked with methodical persistence. This slim graduate of the mathematical school engaged in weightlifting beyond all norms."

Он с методическим упорством работал на тренировках. Тяжелой атлетикой этот худенький выпускник математической школы завимался сверх всяких норм.

From 1970-1971 on, Shadrin was a regular on the Soviet national team.

 

[Theokritos]

KHARLAMOV – PETROV – MIKHAILOV

(Heads-up: Follow-up posts will focus on the individual players of the trio.)

Boris Mikhailov (*1944) played for Avangard Saratov [second tier] from 1962-1965 and for Lokomotiv Moscow from 1965-1967. Vladimir Petrov (*1947) played for Krylya Sovietov Moscow from 1965-1967. Both were brought to CSKA Moscow in 1967 (after Spartak Moscow had snatched the domestic title away from the army club) and were initially overwhelmed by the training requirements, like so many players before and after them. (However, Petrov was more vocal about his aversion than most and that would remain an almost permanent issue throughout his career.) The two newbies bonded as they both came from other clubs and found themselves in a new and challenging environment.
On the ice, Mikhailov and Petrov soon found themselves as linemates. They played together with veteran Veniamin Alexandrov at left wing.

Boris Mikhailov (1978):
"To play with such a great master was an honour. It was interesting. But hard. I don't think it made a lot of sense. We didn't click with Veniamin Alexandrov at all. These things happen."

С таким большим мастером играть — честь. Интересно. Но трудно. Не думаю, что у нас что-нибудь дельное тогда вышло. Совсем мы к Вениамину Вениаминовичу не подходили — бывает так.

30 years later, Mikhailov was a little more forgiving and tried to see some positive sides:

Boris Mikhailov (2008):
"It helped us to play with Alexandrov who was aware of the positioning and always made a precise pass when I was open or Vladimir was. Among other things, his hands were amazing and his passes were so smooth that it was easy to handle the puck. When he was attacking the net himself he was brilliant, he had a good wrist shot and a nose for the goal. We learned to play with him. But there were also some problems. Petrov and I liked to rush forward and Alexandrov, who was used to something different from Lotkev and Almetov, had to adapt. He didn't refuse to do so and took care of us."

Нам в этом смысле помогла игра с Александровым, он чувствовал позицию и всегда, если я или Володя открывались, делал точные пасы. У него, кроме всего прочего, были, как говорят в хоккее, удивительные руки. Сделать передачу он умел мягко, шайбу было легко принимать. Вениамин и сам атаковал ворота блестяще, имел хороший кистевой бросок, обладал голевым' чутьем. Мы учились играть у него. Но были и некоторые проблемы. Мы с Петровым рвались вперед. А Александров, привыкший к иной манере с Локтевым и Альметовым, должен был к нам приспосабливаться. Он не тянул одеяло на себя, заботясь, в первую очередь, о нас.

That sounds like window dressing though when you consider other testimonies:

Leonid Goryanov (1983):
"Veniamin Alexandrov, this illustrious ace of Soviet and world hockey, 'the last mohican' from that superb line, turned out to be a bad or, to put it mildly, an under-patient mentor for the youngsters. He couldn't and didn't want to excuse the mistakes of Petrov and Mikhailov and often got angry with them. Anatoli Tarasov was aware of this imbalance, but he wasn't in a hurry to change it. When for example one of his closest assistants, Boris Kulagin, urged to make a decision on the trio, Tarasov always answered: 'No need to hurry. Point one, no matter who much they swear, Alexandrov teaches them the technical subtleties the hard and thorough way. Point two, let the youngster experience some distress, let them grieve and let them dream of self determination – afterwards they should fly even higher.'"

Вениамин Александров, этот прославленный ас советского и мирового хоккея, «последний из могикан», составлявших прекрасное звено, оказался плохим — или, скажем мягче, недостаточно терпеливым — наставником молодежи. Он не мог и не хотел прощать Петрову с Михайловым их ошибки, часто вспыхивал по каждому поводу. Анатолий Тарасов прекрасно видел несбалансированность этой линии, но не спешил с переменами. И в этой тренерской неторопливости был, оказывается, свой глубокий смысл. Когда кто-либо из ближайших помощников старшего тренера, например Борис Павлович Кулагин, торопил с принятием решения по этой тройке, Анатолий Владимирович неизменно говорил: — Не спешите. Во-первых, как бы они ни ругались, Вениамин учит их умуразуму, учит основательно, вводит в мир сокровенных технических тонкостей. А во-вторых, пусть поживут молодые немного в «тесноте», пусть потоскуют, помечтают о самостоятельности — тогда летаться им лучше будет.

Anatoli Firsov (1973):
"Veniamin didn't appreciate his young linemates, he didn't have the patience to overlook their mistakes and I can understand him: good luck trying to forget all those years spent with Loktev and Almetov, those brilliant and wise wizards of hockey! It's hard for me to judge Alexandrov's comments and complaints towards Vladimir and Boris – I only caught a little of what was said in the heat of the moment after they returned to the bench and a little of what was talked about in our rooms during training camp. I only know one thing: those advices Veniamin gave were essentially true, but he didn't always find the best way to express them and therefore, the younger partners took exception to their older linemate."

Веня не понимал своих молодых партнеров, у него не хватало терпения прощать их ошибки, и я понимаю моего друга: попробуйте забыть, что рядом недавно играли Локтев и Альметов – блестящие и мудрые волшебники хоккея! Мне трудно судить о содержании всех замечаний и претензий Александрова к Володе и Борису – мало ли о чем говорили они в минуты передышки, когда тройка, еще разгоряченная, возвращалась на скамейку, а наше звено сменяло их на льду, мало лк о чем говорили они в своей комнате в дни тренировочного сбора! Замечу лишь одно: те реплики, те советы Вениамина, что я слышал, были по существу, конечно же, верны, но вот форму для выражения своего неудовольствия Веня не всегда находил наилучшую, и потому, пожалуй, молодые партнеры обижались на своего старшего товарища. С другой стороны, Михайлов и Петров чувствовали себя неуверенно в компании с асом, они не понимали многих его необыкновенно тонких решений, и Вениамин порой сердился, что тройка в каких-то эпизодах не могла войти в зону обороны соперника.

However, back in 1967 Firsov himself didn't mince his words either:

Boris Mikhailov (1978):
"In a team meeting, Anatoli Firsov suddenly stood up and said: 'Petrov and Mikhailov don't grasp what they came for. They are not living up to the expectations.' I got up and argued: we are working, we are trying."

И вдруг на собрании встает Анатолий Фирсов и заявляет: «Петров с Михайловым не понимают, куда пришли. Не оправдывают надежд». Я встал и заспорил: мы работаем, стараемся.

Their roster spots weren't secure as Alexander Smolin was competing with Petrov at the center position and Viktor Yeryomin with Mikhailov at right wing. But by late November, the competition had been settled in favour of Petrov and Mikhailov after a series of trials:

Boris Mikhailov (1978):
"Our line didn't lose a single micro-match. However, complete understanding with our great partner did not arrive."

Наше звено не проиграло ни одного микроматча. Однако полного согласия у нас с нашим великим партнером все-таки не возникало...

While Petrov and Mikhailov were brought in from other clubs, Valeri Kharlamov (*1948) came from the CSKA junior teams. As opposed to his two future linemates, he didn't crack the line-up and was sent down to the farm team Zvezda Chebarkul, an army club in the third tier of the Soviet league (October 1967). In March 1968 he was called up to CSKA, but initially used as a spare forward. In 1968-1969 he gained a spot on the third line (where he played with Alexander Smolin and Yuri Blinov) before an injury to Veniamin Alexandrov prompted a line change in late October 1968. Kharlamov replaced Alexandrov and immediately clicked with his new linemates. The line Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov was born.

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"Never in the history of our hockey has an entire troika of forwards had such an overwhelming takeoff. Within one season, three young guys became national team players, World Champions, honored masters of sports and recipients of national awards."

Столь головокружительного взлета целой тройки нападающих не знает история нашего хоккея. За один сезон три молодых парня стали игроками сборной, чемпионами мира, заслуженными мастерами спорта, кавалерами правительственных наград.

Boris Mikhailov (2008):
"It seems that even Tarasov didn't expect we would find a common language with Valery from the first minute of the game. The other CSKA players said they were pleasantly surprised that the three of us played together in harmony as if we had been training and playing together for ages."

Думается, даже Анатолий Тарасов не ожидал, что с первых же минут игры мы найдем с Валерием общий язык. Потом армейские хоккеисты говорили, что были приятно удивлены тем, что втроем мы играли столь слаженно, как будто давно тренировались и выступали вместе.

Valeri Kharlamov (1977):
"I played together with many masters, including some great ones, but with no-one else did I manage to have so much success. It were Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov who made me Kharlamov."

Я играл вместе со многими мастерами, в том числе и с очень большими, но ни с кем не удавалось мне добиться таких удач. Именно Володя и Борис сделали меня Харламовым.

Individual recognition the three players received during the first period they played together (October 1968 to April 1971):

	1968-1969:	1969-1970:	1970-1971:
Kharlamov:	4th in Best Player voting (51 points)	5th in Best Player voting (20 points)	4th in Best Player voting (61 points)
Petrov:	no votes	8th in Best Player voting (2 points)	13th in Best Player voting (3 points)
Mikhailov:	5th in Best Player voting (30 points)	no votes	9th in Best Player voting (5 points)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

In the 1971 offseason changes were made that led to the dissolution of the troika Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov. Most notably, Anatoly Firsov moved from LW to center/halfback on the CSKA top line. The new lines were:

Kharlamov – Firsov – Vikulov
Yuri Blinov – Petrov – Mikhailov​

Petrov and Mikhailov weren't happy about the change.

Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev (1984):
"Petrov and Mikhailov reacted to Blinov without enthusiasm, to put it mildly. They repeatedly expressed their vocal discontent."

А к Блинову Петров и Михайлов отнеслись, мягко говоря, «без энтузиазма» и не раз высказывали вслух свое недовольство.

After the 1972 Olympics, Firsov was dropped from the Soviet national team. He continued playing with Kharlamov and Vikulov for CSKA, but at the national team level Kharlamov and Vikulov were now centered by Maltsev. This continued into the 1972-1973 season (including the 1972 Summit Series).

Individual recognition Kharlamov, Petrov and Mikhailov received when they were apart:

	1971-1972:
Kharlamov:	1st in Best Player voting
Petrov:	no votes
Mikhailov:	no votes

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

It was only in December 1972 that the troika Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov was brought back together at the national team. Subsequently the Soviet hockey federation urged CSKA to reunite the troika at the club too.

Individual recognition during the second period they were together (December 1972 to April 1976):

	1972-1973:	1973-1974:	1974-1975:	1975-1976:
Kharlamov:	1st in Best Player voting	5th in Best Player voting	2nd in Best Player voting	2nd in Best Player voting
Petrov:	2nd in Best Player voting	12th in Best Player voting	4th in Best Player voting	9th in Best Player voting
Mikhailov:	5th in Best Player voting	2nd in Best Player voting	5th in Best Player voting	10th in Best Player voting

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

In the 1976 offseason Kharlamov suffered career-threatening injuries in a car accident. He returned to the ice and the troika kept playing together for another five seasons.

	1976-1977:	1977-1978:	1978-1979:	1979-1980:	1980-1981:
Kharlamov:	8th in Best Player voting	7th in Best Player voting	3rd in Best Player of Europe voting	7th in Best Player voting	no votes
Petrov:	2nd in Best Player voting	8th in Best Player voting	6th in Best Player of Europe voting	no votes	5th in Best Player voting
Mikhailov:	3rd in Best Player voting	1st in Best Player voting	1st in Best Player of Europe voting	3rd in Best Player voting	no votes

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

In the 1981 offseason Kharlamov was involved in another car accident. This time the accident was fatal.

An interesting quote on the differences between the troikas Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov and Firsov – Polupanov – Vikulov:

Anatoli Firsov (1973):
"Have you kept an eye on the Petrov line? An attack fails, the opponent wins the puck in his own zone – but he cannot start a counterattack. Mikhailov, Petrov and Kharlamov cover all the slightest gaps through which the puck could slip out of the zone of the opponent. All three are distinguished by great tenacity, but, most importantly, they play and they strangle the opponent not due to muscular energy but primarily through their agile minds, their deep and fine understanding of the game. They guard the boards and cover for each other reliably. When our line lost the puck, Polupanov rarely fought for it in the opposing zone. Instead he hurried to pull back, even though Vikulov and I were capable defensively and would have covered for him. But on the Petrov troika, whoever is closest to the puck fights for it immediately, regardless of his position, center forward or wingers.
There is another difference. Valery, Vladimir and Boris are more focused on the goal, they shoot from any position, hoping that the partner will go on to put the puck in the net and disturb the goaltender. Our line was trying to take the safe route, shoot from the close slot and beat the opponent cleanly."

Присматривались ли вы к звену Петрова? Атака сорвалась, шайба у соперника, в его зоне, но... Противник не может начать атаку. Михайлов, Петров и Харламов перекрывают все малейшие щели, сквозь которые шайба могла бы выскользнуть из зоны соперника. Все трое отличаются невероятной цепкостью, но, главное, играют, «давят» не только за счет громадной мускульной энергии, но прежде всего за счет сообразительности, тонкого и глубокого понимания игры.
Они дежурят у бортов и надежно страхуют друг друга. У нас же Полупанов реже боролся за шайбу в зоне соперника, он спешил оттянуться назад, хотя мы с Володей могли бы сыграть в обороне и за него. А в тройке Петрова за шайбу борется тот, кто ближе к ней, независимо от амплуа – и центрфорвард, и крайние нападающие.
И еще одно отличает наши звенья. Валерий, Володя и Борис больше нацелены на ворота, они бросают шайбу из любого положения, надеясь, что партнер пойдет на добивание, помешает вратарю. Мы же стараемся атаковать цель наверняка, поразить ворота с ближнего пятачка, обыграть соперника, так сказать, «вчистую».

 

[DN28]

After the last few posts were dedicated to Arkady Chernyshov, the next one is about another prominent Soviet coach, Nikolay Epshteyn (1919-2015) who coached Khimik Voskresensk from 1955-1975. The defensive and passive style of play his club employed was widely viewed as an antithesis not only to Tarasov's CSKA, but to the fast attacking style of Soviet hockey in general. Khimik Voskresensk was the first non-Muscovite club that managed to crack the top 3 in the Soviet league (in 1964-1965 and 1969-1970).

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"Dinamo Moscow and Spartak adhere to the pointed offensive tactics of power attacking. It's almost a sin to hold and carry the puck in the middle zone. 'Ahead, fast ahead!', that's our slogan. Khimik plays a different game. For them to hold the puck in the middle zone and give it a ride there is a good thing. They don't attack the opponent, instead they lull him, cool his offensive ardor and lure him into a viscous game in the center of the ice. And then suddenly they shock him with an entirely unexpected counterattack. (...) CSKA has in its rows an amplitude of outstanding offensive and defensive players who are physically and technically very strong. That club was made to use the tactics of power attacking, a tactic of complete superiority. Khimik is a different matter. There are no stars of Firsov's brightness in the battle formation of the Voskresensk team. Based on the roster, Khimik coach Nikolay Semyonovich Epshteyn considers the tactics of passive pressing the most suitable and reasonable for his team."



Nikolay Epshteyn (2006):
"We finished third [in the 1969-1970 season]. The question is: Could a team that makes a bet on defence (which I as the coach was repeatedly accused of by my colleagues in the coaching department and some journalists) have achieved this result? Hardly. We always tried to play hockey based on the brains and technical skills of our players and their ability to challenge the opponent collectively. And the 'pressing' that I allegedly 'invented' was in fact just the beginning of our players' attacks, for I always taught the players this: Skate up to the opponent, strip him off the puck and immediately look for a partner to pass it forward. And we began with the pressing in the opponent's zone, in order to extinguish his impulse and to warm up our own offensive spirit."


Vyacheslav Starshinov (1971):
"When you go out on the ice against Voskresensk, you know in advance they will use passive pressing. Having won the puck, they will keep it as long as possible. There will only be an attack when there is a 100% possibility to attack without risk. When we lose the puck, our opponents from Voskresensk skate back instead of attacking. What kind of patience does it take to not lose your self-controle in this viscous sauce of pressing! Voskresensk stubbornly disorganizes and frustrates our game. They weave a web of endless, monotonous non-offensive passes. They wait for our mistakes and they know how to wait for them... But Khimik doesn't always restrict themselves to passive pressing, they also know how to use active pressure. That is: Passive pressure with an added high readiness to counterattack as soon as they've won the puck. For example, our players rush towards the players who carry the puck. They are immediately cut out with a sharp pass and here comes the counterattack that the players of Epshteyn are so good at."
​

Starshinov adds that once the pressing team has lost the puck in the offensive zone, one of their players goes after the opposing defenceman who has the puck – albeit not in an attempt to strip him off the puck, but only to prevent him from turning back. Meanwhile the other four Khimik players cover the remaining four opponents so that the puck carrier has no passing options. With no one to pass to and an opponent in his neck but space in front to move ahead, the defenceman is made to move over the red line and towards the Khimik blue line. The idea is to strip him off the puck deep in the Khimik half and then launch a fast counterattack that leaves him trailing behind.

Finally found the time to respond to this. Nikolay Epshteyn, this black sheep within the Soviet hockey structure, was not an unknown entity to foreign hockey observers and fans. I´ve found two contemporary Czech articles citing Epshteyn´s views on the Soviet and European hockey in the 1960s. The first one is particularly interesting because it reveals the issue of competitiveness of the Soviet league, as Epshteyn (Khimik Voskresensk coach) was the one who raised his voice in favour for more domestic parity. Fact that by the 1966-67, the Soviets were already playing by the NA rules (bodychecking throughout the whole rink) is another key information. That is at least 3 years prior the institutionalization of the rule everywhere in Europe.

Pavel Rýpar, a writer for Kopaná-hokej, reproduces contemporary post-WHC 1967 discussions from Soviet hockey experts in his article written in the Spring of 1967:


“WORLD CHAMPIONS DISCUSS (EVEN IF THEY WON)

• Everything for ‘Sbornaja komanda’
• System of transfers contributes to imbalances
• League interruptions are evil

Various so called experts wouldn´t bet a nickel on Soviet Union hockey players in this year´s January. Vast majority of voices were tuned quite sceptically even in the USSR. Vienna showed that everything remains the same: players of the Soviet Union were in unrivaled position also this year. Indeed it seems that they distanced themselves one step further away from their opponents of the big four to the extent that many ask whether is still the term ‘big four’ justified today?

‘SBORNAJA’ HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PREFERRED

Two ‘Napoleons of Soviet hockey’, coaches Anatoli Tarasov and Anatoli [Arkady] Chernyshev, especially the stronger individual of these two, Tarasov, have been drawing all the possible attention upon themselves all these years. ‘Sbornaja komanda’ was getting a preference in everything, often even at the expense of teams from the highest domestic hockey competition (see the constant enhancing of the CSKA Moscow army team, multiple USSR champion, whose coach is the Tarasov himself). Economic side of the competition didn´t hurt anyone, so there was almost no man to be found, who hadn´t stopped and raised questions about rather low attendance figures (outside Moscow). They stemmed in part from a certain monotony of series of completely lopsided victories of army players; in part from long breaks in competition caused by camps and trips of the ‘Sbornaja komanda’.

However, clear facts have spoken in favour of the ‘everything for the National team’ system, facts in front of which everyone had to retreat. Our Moscow correspondent Konstantin Jesenin confirmed that even in the Soviet Union such experts emerged, who pointed out certain dangers of this one-sidedness but… in year 1957 Canadians won the WHC while Soviet Wings became the USSR Champions, in year 1962 Spartak Moscow won while Sweden [won] at the WHC. Otherwise Tarasov was winning home with the CSKA and with ‘Sbornoj’ at the World Championships. These are those facts.

ONE-SIDED PREDOMINANCE HARMS

We´ve mentioned that nothing has changed on the privileged position of Soviet hockey on the world scale. Although balance of power within the Soviet hockey has somewhat changed, the USSR ‘hockey climate’ has been transforming. Bobrov´s Spartak Moscow has won the Championship and broke the multi-year hegemony of Tarasov´s CSKA. It would surely be an oversimplification to claim that only this fact stimulated the lively discussion among officials, oriented mostly toward inner problems of the Soviet hockey. Nevertheless – there is a discussion (which is a new thing) and the reality that it happens after very successful season testifies to healthy core and good prospects of the ice hockey in USSR.

The most typical voice, which judiciously summed up all the problems and questions, was the voice of Khimik Voskresensk coach Nikolay Epshteyn.

He asked the question: ‘Is it good if two teams, Spartak and CSKA, will fully clearly separate from the rest performance-wise?’ And he answered to himself: ‘It is good when we consider that we had one such team some years ago. It is bad because the gap between these two teams and the rest is too significant.’ And he continued: ‘Perhaps one random goal can bring the victory even to an outsider in soccer. It doesn´t work this way in hockey. If the team keeps losing, people will stop arrive at the gates. Even the players alone wouldn´t go on the ice with large enthusiasm, had they known beforehand that they´re going to lose.’ System of transfers contributed to this disparity. Whenever a promising hockey player appears in one of the non-Moscow clubs, ‘strong ones’ (CSKA most of all) will suddenly make themselves present with handed arm. ‘Such way of obtaining players, in my conviction, harms hockey. If we would build here 6-8 approximately equivalent teams, Soviet hockey would have gone even further ahead and the USSR Championship would have been incomparably more interesting. I´m convinced that the power of Spartak Moscow lies precisely in the fact that it´s mostly their own disciples, who have emotional ties to their collective, that are in the line-up.’

RULES OF PROFESSIONALS IN THE SOVIET UNION?

Definitely interesting is the admission of the honoured coach Epshteyn that they´ve basically transitioned to professional rules in the Soviet Union. Referees have already stopped noticing the physical game, body-checks, regardless of at which part of the ice it occurs. The convergence of the professional and Soviet style of the game is testified even by the fact that, after all, successful tests with officiating the games with three referees took place in this season. It only remains to solve the question of blocking the player without the puck and the last difference between professional and amateur rules will be wiped off. ‘The rules – formally – are the same as they used to for now. Isn´t the time to say also B, when we´ve already said A?’

Nikolay Epshteyn paid attention to one more problem of the Soviet hockey: a ‘calendar problem’. According to his opinion, the league schedule is 1. too much dense, 2. there are many ‘windows’ in it. Too many games cause that by the end of year a player simply ‘can´t even look at the puck’. Breaks between individual rounds discourages viewers without a doubt. Epshteyn highlights the example of the professionals: they don´t care about the games which serve no purpose. Their program is such that it does not leave a space for meaningless games, in which nothing is at stake. And moreover: professional season is precisely and in detail already known before the start of competition and never changes, Canadian pros know well that interruptions bring nothing good. Epshteyn suggests the USSR Championship to be played even without participation of the National team members, or to at least reduce the number of unimportant trips.

We´ve mentioned already before this year´s World Championship that discussion around Soviet hockey – a ‘new thing’ for us in its own way – is not the sign of weakness. More of the opposite. Continuing the discussion after so successful season only confirms it.”

 

[DN28]

...And the 'second' Epshteyn.

Kopaná-hokej in the Spring of 1965, reproduces contemporary mid-1960s discussions about the question of boundaries of physical hockey and possible rule changes from various Soviet and European hockey players and coaches (including Epschteyn) in the following article written by an anonymous author:


“WHAT IS HOCKEY´S TOMORROW GOING TO BE? EXCLUSIVELY ‘HARD’ ABOUT TOUGHNESS

Since a certain time, Europeans as chosen hockey teams regularly visit Canada; Soviet hockey players have started with this. They came back with shield and brought themselves full of knowledge and experience. They found out that they did surpass the Canadian amateurs in speed and in combination game, though they haven´t been as tough yet, that they haven´t been able to play the body so well. So they´ve decided to catch up on Canada even in toughness.

Of course roughing often walks hand in hand with toughness – tendencies to dirty hockey occur in Europe too. Bad examples draw attention. On the basis of this reality, an interesting discussion originated in Soviet sporting press, from which we publish some problems; even our notion of tough hockey has no clearly defined boundaries, which would separate it from dirty hockey.

DIRTY HOCKEY TO PENALTY BOX

Khimik Voskresensk coach N. Epshteyn initiated the discussion. ‘Hockey became dirty – A meaning of the new theory is to scare an opponent – I am for a physical hockey but for such that was played by Sologubov – Players adjust to referees…

Borders separating an allowed game from an ordinary penalty have been gradually blurred lately thanks to common effort from players, coaches and referees. Players, who violate principles of fair-play without any restraints, have emerged in every team. There are voices: ‘Well that´s how hockey should be played after all – why now restrict the boys?’

Simply put – dirty hockey has already laid a claim on a general approval.

I´ve always used to be excited about Sologubov. Sologubov had always so much technique even with his physical hockey, that he didn´t have to help himself with roughing. Today, his place is taken by Ragulin, undoubtedly an excellent and technical player. However, while Ragulin is not shy of using his one hundred kilograms weight against an opponent, he does not hesitate to defend with cross-checking as well. And he´s not alone. Ivanov, Brezhnev, Zaitsev are next to him in this – everyone technically equipped enough so that they can play clean. Why they don´t want to?

I´m hearing the objections now: ‘So what? Just play by the rules and everything will be alright!’ However, the interpretation of the rules is so free today that us, coaches, cannot always answer to natural question: ‘How are we supposed to play then?’ How should I answer, when I myself don´t exactly know what is going to be penalized? Arkady Ivanovich Chernyshev speaks to his players simply: ‘Adjust!’ And adjust to what actually – ice, opponent? No – [adjust] to referees! But why?'

SOLOGUBOV

agrees with Epshteyn – not because he [Epshteyn] is pointing to him as a model, but just because he doesn´t want dirty game to become a cause of Soviet players´ failures on the international scene. ‘Hockey is no ballet! Hockey is not even a soccer. Physical play will always have a place in it. I favour supreme physical hockey but I am against hooligans. That´s how I call all those who employ physical play, as I would say, with bad intention, in an effort to injure the opponent, force him to be afraid… No, a relationship to the opponent has to be different. It is needed to compel the opponent so that he´d have respect to you as fearless and fair adversary, but also so that he´d never have a feeling of fear as [if playing] in front of an enemy capable of using nasty illegal game.’

Sologubov answers to N. Epshteyn on the question: ’How are we supposed to play?’, with his own words: ‘Strictly by the rules!’. We could speak a lot about referees. Explanation of clean physical play is not unclear but games are officiated by many of those who understand hockey a little or not at all.

ADJUST THE RULES

A. Seglin, one of the most recognized Soviet arbiters, debated Epshteyn and Sologubov. He says: ‘Hockey without strength does not exist. There is no need to pack players into a cotton wool, it is necessary to adjust the rules to the actual reality instead.’ He continues: ‘Objective reality gives a clear answer: today´s hockey has come out of the boundaries of the rules. Should we then put the coaches, players, even referees outside the law? Should we, according to the opinion of N. Epshteyn. castrate hockey from the physical play? Majority of our players is hard to intimidate. How many wounds have Firsov, Loktev or Starshinov already gotten (etc., etc.), and yet they keep playing. It´s true that the spirit of hockey sometimes does not correspond with the written law. However, is the spirit of the game ought to corrupt because of it? Isn´t it simpler to change the hockey code? All the more so, since it´s really necessary to institute the physical play in the offensive zone. Hockey has changed. It has grown but didn´t become a hooligan. Efforts of some experts to artificially limit it remind the activity of too anxious mothers alarming at the sight of nineteen year-old young man holding in hands a box of matches with label: ‘Kids! Don´t play with fire!’

GUEST IN THE DISCUSSION

Arne Strömberg, ‘Tre Kronor’ coach, stated that ‘it´s about time to declare a fight against brutal game and other penetrations of bad manners of professional hockey, and simultaneously to unite the rules (body-checking throughout the ice). According to my opinion, body-checking in the offensive zone can´t mean a ‘pollution of hockey’ at good game management. More of the opposite – it will simplify it. On the other side though, various bad habits of professional hockey have been permeating into the amateur hockey. We fight a serious battle with professionalization of amateur hockey demeanors in Sweden. Our referees punish these misconducts in domestic competitions. Although when our players played in international competitions, we use to be always surprised by an indiscriminate game of an opponent especially in front of its goal. It seems to me that among many referees, including our Swedish ones, a double rules interpretation exists: one for international games, another for games of domestic competitions. As a father I would find little pleasure in seeing dislocated teeth or other injuries of my sons. It´s obvious that unfortunate cases exist in every sport – it must be reconciled with that too. But brutality, we have to expel intentional brutality away from all hockey rinks of the world.’

ACTIVE PLAYER

Even Boris Maiorov came to throw his hat in the ring, whose opinions we publish for the conclusion.

‘Epshteyn´s article appeared in time. Yes, our hockey is becoming dirty: tripping, hooking, cross-checks and boarding are not random anymore. I was in Canada in 1960 and many things there seemed to me unusual: I saw a big speed of forwards, also clear fights staged by defensemen. I saw spectacular goals and dislocated teeth. I understood that a physical play can bring a sporting experience, but it can also arouse distaste. Briefly said, I saw hockey extremes upon which it´s worth to think about. Trips to Canada have brought us benefits in many aspects, but we have brought home with us simultaneously – completely unnecessary – this ghost of rough play, with which we not so rarely encounter in our arenas today. Some reader might object here that Maiorov preaches gentleness on the ice while being frequently penalized himself. Well, there is truth to that and I want to add to that my own take. Me and brother terribly like hockey and although we´re engineers today, we´re even now willing to play hockey always and everywhere just as little boys. And this obsession has often served us badly. I´ve seen Maurice Richard playing. He got many wounds on the ice but ignored them. Look at Yakushev – never gets angry, always remains a true sportsman. We want to be like that too this year. I´m using this opportunity to say it with full responsibility for me and my brother.

It is needed to seriously speak about game officiating. I´m convinced that precisely the referees must play the main role for the physical play to come back into bounds of the rules. Let´s think about that especially now before the World Championship!’”

 

[DN28]

And for the third and last time today...

This third article is no longer about Epshteyn but it is an excerpt from one of Tarasov´s books (written most likely sometime in late 1960s). Tarasov deals with the question of how to incorporate individual star players into always working for the success of the team. The article is basically a great showcase of several 1960s elite Soviet players having been subordinated for the Tarasov´s system, and it serves as somewhat of a “propaganda” (for lack of a better word) of Tarasov´s preferred style of hockey. It provides valuable descriptions of certain players which is the main reason why I´ve chosen to translate it and post it in this thread. Circumstances, as described by Tarasov, regarding some of the individual award recognitions at the WHCs, are also interesting.

Anatoli Tarasov published in Československý sport, April 1971:


“Anatoli TARASOV Answers the Question: CAN THERE BE ‘STARS’ IN THE USSR TEAM?

At the meeting with me, Maurice Richard expressed a concern that our collective conception can lead to equalization of performances of players. It seemed to him that we´ve been lowering roles of individual players, and that such a collective conception does not benefit development of character and discoveries of talents.

Is Maurice Richard right?

Not even a little. Each player has the opportunity to show his art during whichever game. And viewers, sports observers, even experts can appreciate his mastery.

A hockey player, who is alone, has especially big responsibility when no one can help him. Sport lovers, who visit the games of our team, have already observed that whenever CSKA founds itself shorthanded, Almetov appears on the ice. This player has no one equal to him in individual play, in the art of holding the puck and defending himself against numerical superiority of an opponent. Almetov is no soloist, but he´s a world-class player, a ‘star’ in a good sense of the word.

Even his teammates in the trio, Konstantin Loktev and Veniamin Alexandrov, are the same as Almetov. Versatile, technical, smart and surprisingly friendly are these forwards. They were not specialists only for passes or only for goal-scoring, they knew both. I understand how it´s hard for an opponent to play against such an attack.

Creative abilities of these three hockey aces vary. They differ from one another by both style of play and by skating, dekes, and by a way of holding the stick as well. But they are unanimous in the main thing – in the view on principles of the game; they understand hockey as one. And that´s why their compliance in actions has already been carried by an intuitive nature in many aspects.

Sometimes inexperienced lovers of hockey ask me: ‘Who would win if Babych, Shuvalov and Bobrov played against Loktev, Almetov and Alexandrov?’

It is a naive question. It´s another time, another hockey. Loktev, Almetov and Alexandrov can undoubtedly do everything that their predecessors could, but in addition they are further. It is understandable after all, hockey, just as life, goes forward.

Let´s take Alexandrov for example – they keep calling him a second Bobrov but he plays differently. He was able to get rid of the habits of individual game. It can´t be said about him, Loktev, even Almetov, that someone would work for them. He himself can and likes to play for others, while remaining the brightest ‘star’ on hockey heaven.

I´ve already said that a player can lose awareness during the one-touch game. But when Almetov´s line plays on one touch, it is not possible, for example, not to notice Alexandrov! Just note how his passes are extraordinarily accurate, witty, how are surprisingly strong and unexpected.

On such a conception of collective game, when players literally forget about themselves and do everything possible so that a teammate will play successfully, hockey experts in the West could not get used to for a long time.

NOT IMPRESSIVELY BUT EFFECTIVELY

When everyone in the Soviet team played with the same mastery, even though not impressively but exceptionally effectively (they became World Champions!), awkward situations would then happen to us eventually.

So for instance WHC Directoriate in 1963 in Stockholm decided that three awards for the best players of the tournament (goaltender, defenseman, forward) would be given to players from all the participating countries except for – the World Champions.

One of the leading officials of the hockey federation, mister Ahearne, justified this decision by [saying] that, there are no ‘stars’ in our team, and so nobody from ours can get the award.

That rightly upset us. Mister Ahearne, a respectable man in the world hockey, allowed for an obvious and gross exchange of the concepts. We didn´t really have a soloist in the Red Army team (and we´re proud of that!). But there was no shortage of world-class players in the USSR Red Army, therefore excellent hockey players.

People, who were making decisions about granting the three awards for best players of the championship, simply did not grasp, that almost all of our players could get them. They were on the same level and were definitely not worse than famous players of other teams.

In the following year, our players became the Olympic winners at the WOG in Innsbruck. And again, the organizers could not decide, to which one from the Soviet team they should hand the special award. A Solomonic judgment was accepted then: they attributed the prize to the captain of our squad Boris Maiorov, so that he would transmit it to an appropriate player. Hence we alone decided at the time, who was our best one.

Players agreed with coaches at the common meeting, that the award would be given to Eduard Ivanov. Of course, everyone played selflessly, everyone gave out their energy for victory till the end. Everyone played with immense courage; if it was necessary, they would throw themselves to the puck and cover the goal with their bodies. But even in this friendly and courageous team, Eduard Ivanov especially excelled with a surprising bravery. He threw himself to the puck not only when it was absolutely necessary. He constantly looked for an opportunity to manifest his courage and to cover the goal with his chest. And he did all that with a smile and he transmitted the effort onto the others.

TAMPERE: HONOUR TO STARSHINOV

It was already certain before the end in 1965 in Tampere that we´re going to be the Champions. Organizers turned to us, the heads of the Soviet team, at the time with a request to mark our best forward for them.

Together with Arkady Chernyshev, the older coach of the USSR squad, we evaluate our players after every game. So we picked three [forwards] according to play and goals scored – Alexander Almetov, Konstantin Loktev and Vyacheslav Starshinov. Starshinov then came out victoriously from yet narrower selection.

Why? Because he not only played great at this Championship, but also appeared as a great friend. He did everything he could to help out the rookie Anatoli Ionov. He understood what feelings his younger teammate had, and that was why he let him know discreetly and tactfully at every opportunity that he doesn´t leg behind his experienced teammates. He helped him to classify into the Red Army as an equal, and so he gave him the opportunity to play to the fullest.

And at the last World Championship in Ljublana, where we became the World Champions for the fourth time, they granted not one but two of the three individual awards to our team – Konstantin Loktev for the best forward and defenseman Alexander Ragulin.

FIRSOV IS COMING

There are stars in our hockey. And among these boys, very much hockey-loving, devoted to this game, Anatoli Firsov with his quite special enthusianism stands beyond others in my opinion.

He has been getting into the best ones for many years now. He´s double Olympic winner, sevenfold World and European Champion, he earned the medal of the USSR Champion multiple times. Many words have been written and spoken about him, but fame did not corrupt him in any way.

Anatoli rejoices from team successes just as much as from his own. This joy, euphoria from winning has not confused him, it did not evoke a boastfulness in him…

He made first steps in the sport in the sports team of the factory plant ‘Red Hero’. There as a 12-year old boy, he started with bandy hockey. He got to know the rubber in Spartak. He then came to CSKA in 1961, and his extraordinary sporting talent fully developed here after. Firsov became the STAR OF THE FIRST MAGNITUDE.

Speed excells in his game. The speed of thinking most of all. It often seems to him that his game consists of continuous series of ideas. He instantly orients in sharp tense situations, comes up with the most unexpected solutions. His quickness of a pass or receiving of a pass as well as skating speed impresses too.

Anatoli is always very different in the game. His linemates, who understandably know him well, can´t ever confidently say, what he´s going to do in the next moments, and that´s why they´re trying to be on alert, to expect a pass.

Firsov always reasonably accepted everything new, never satisfied with only that which had already been discovered and tested.

I remember on the spring of 1963. I wanted to use his agility after the World Championship and suggested to him to learn a fine ‘deke’ – stick-skate. The key is in that a player holding the puck has suddenly the stick above it, so it looks as if he´d lost it, and while deceiving opponent he passes the puck forward back to the stick with his skate. It is very technically demanding. He [Firsov] though, showed this trick in the game in a week.

So that reader understood how difficult it is, I´d add that this deke has been perfectly mastered in our hockey only by Firsov. Now Yuri Blinov and Valeri Kharlamov attempt to learn it too, but how soon will they achieve, hard to say.

DEMANDS ON ONESELF

Firsov´s success rests not only on his talent but also in hunger for hockey. A mere training or mere game is never enough for him. He stays after training for at least 20 more minutes on the ice with his younger teammates, and ‘skates out’ with the rubber yet. He trains even in the days when other players use the rare moments of free time.

He always trains to the fullest, most happily tests his skills on our physically strongest defensemen – Ragulin and Kuzkin.

He plays in about hundred games in a season and every time after, what I told him to relax and not to play in the next one, his reproachful eyes look at me and there is a silent wish in them: will I really not be allowed to play?

He accepts tough play in games, it´s no coincidence. He isn´t big, is of medium stature, rather skinny, in no way reminds of a titan capable of demonstrating his giant power in any event. It´s also understanding of current era´s hockey laws that reflects in his liking for a tough game.

When we spoke about Firsov, it would also be needed to mention about the role, which his wife Nadja has played in his sports life. Just as a coach she knows, how a hockey player must responsibly follow a strict regime, and that´s why she´s been doing everything possible to help her husband.

To talk with Anatoli about necessity of maintaining a demanding regime would be quite useless. His love for hockey excludes any chance of deviating from a developed schedule of preparation and of games. I know that in the days we don´t train, Tolia is getting ready in a way, how he himself feels he needs. He has a barbell at home and it´s needed to add that he takes no day off even with the barbells.

Those, who had assumed that merely his personality is his only interest, would have been deeply mistaken. Not at all! Multiple-year active komsomolsk participant in Sbornaja has become the best mentor to his younger colleagues. He watches them not only in trainings or in game, but helps them, teaches them. He even brings them on holidays with himself.

The captain of Sbornaja, Anatoli Firsov, could have become in Ljublana [at ´66 WHC], and I have no doubts about that, the best forward of the tournament. But he primarily considered his two young linemates and did everything he could to make their National Team debut successful. (Note: it was Vikulov and Polupanov who first started in ´66 Ljublana)

I am convinced that his human kindness, his enormous interest and great love to the game allows him soundly and for long to serve to Soviet hockey, to pass on his invaluable experiences to young athletes. And therefore it´s no accident, that the youth groups up particularly around Anatoli Firsov on every training.

 

[Theokritos]

Thanks @DN28 for these great contributions. I only have a few additions here.

Fact that by the 1966-67, the Soviets were already playing by the NA rules (bodychecking throughout the whole rink) is another key information. That is at least 3 years prior the institutionalization of the rule everywhere in Europe.

Indeed. I'm surprised to learn this, but then, it should be noted that as of 1966-1967, the change wasn't institutionalized in the Soviet Union either:

Nikolay Epshteyn (1967):
"The rules – formally – are the same as they used to for now. (...) The interpretation of the rules is so free today that us, coaches, cannot always answer to natural question: ‘How are we supposed to play then?’ How should I answer, when I myself don´t exactly know what is going to be penalized?"

Why the change in the application of the rules? The following quote shines a light on the sentiment in influential circles:

Anatoly Seglin (1965):
"Today´s hockey has come out of the boundaries of the rules. (...) It´s true that the spirit of hockey sometimes does not correspond with the written law. However, is the spirit of the game ought to corrupt because of it? Isn´t it simpler to change the hockey code? All the more so, since it´s really necessary to institute the physical play in the offensive zone. Hockey has changed."

Some other notes:

Pavel Rýpar (1967):
Whenever a promising hockey player appears in one of the non-Moscow clubs, ‘strong ones’ (CSKA most of all) will suddenly make themselves present with handed arm. [Nikolay Epshteyn:] ‘Such way of obtaining players, in my conviction, harms hockey. If we would build here 6-8 approximately equivalent teams, Soviet hockey would have gone even further ahead and the USSR Championship would have been incomparably more interesting.’

Epshteyn was not the only coach who was rather vocal about the situation. Here is how Anatoly Kostryukov (long-time head coach of Lokomotiv Moscow) describes the imbalance in the Soviet league:

"Our players were stolen! Every season they took our best. And there was nothing we could do. CSKA, Dinamo and Spartak were untouchable. The first had the army behind them, the second the law enforcement and the third the city administration of Moscow."

Потому что игроков воровали по-черному! Каждый сезон выдергивали лучших! И ничего сделать нельзя. ЦСКА, "Динамо", "Спартак" – неприкосновенные. За спиной у одних армия, у других – "органы", у третьих – Моссовет.

The complaints of Epshteyn, Kostryukov and others did find some echo within the Soviet Sports Committee (the governing body of sports in the USSR) and even more so within its Hockey Section, but the actual power of those bodies was limited. They issued toothless resolutions and petitioned the Soviet Army to stop drafting athletes from hockey clubs, but were ignored. On top of it, in the face of the success Chernyshov and Tarasov had with the Soviet national team from 1963 on, the Sports Committee became rather contemplate with the status quo:

Paul Harder, Carleton University:
"...they were held directly responsible for the Soviet Union's international victories by the nation's leadership, and were therefore reluctant to interfere in what had proven to be a formula for success."​

Source: Paul Harder, "Developing World Championship Ice Hockey In The USSR" (2004), p.111 (PDF)​

Thus Kostryukov's complaint:

"The Sports Committee didn't react. All they had for us was that mockery of a wording: 'It's in the interest of Soviet hockey.'"

Спорткомитет никак не реагировал. Если не считать издевательской формулировки – "в интересах советского хоккея".

Source of the two Kostryukov quotes above: A 2015 interview with "Sports Express" (link)​

Kostryukov didn't take it lightly. When Boris Mikhailov opted to leave Lokomotiv Moscow and join CSKA Moscow in 1967, Kostryukov refused to talk with him for two years. And back in 1962 when Lokomotiv player Yevgeny Mishakov was drafted into the Army and ended up playing for CSKA, Kostryukov had already confronted the head coach of the army team himself:

"A little later I asked Anatoly Tarasov: 'How could this have happened?' And he looked me straight in the eyes and answered me, as if nothing had happened: 'Anatoly, I didn't know anything of it!' He was a great artist, he lied without any reluctance."

Спрашиваю чуть позднее Анатолия Тарасова – как же могло так случиться. А он как ни в чем не бывало, с честными глазами отвечает с выражением – Толя, я ничего не знал. Артист был великий, врал без всякого стеснения.

Source: Fyodor Razzakov, Анатолий Тарасов (2014)​

This third article is no longer about Epshteyn but it is an excerpt from one of Tarasov´s books (written most likely sometime in late 1960s).

It's from Совершеннолетие ("Coming of age" or "Maturity"), originally published in 1966. I've been quoting the second edition (1968) extensively throughout this thread.

 

[DN28]

Thanks @DN28 for these great contributions. I only have a few additions here.



Indeed. I'm surprised to learn this, but then, it should be noted that as of 1966-1967, the change wasn't institutionalized in the Soviet Union either:



Why the change in the application of the rules? The following quote shines a light on the sentiment in influential circles:



Some other notes:



Epshteyn was not the only coach who was rather vocal about the situation. Here is how Anatoly Kostryukov (long-time head coach of Lokomotiv Moscow) describes the imbalance in the Soviet league:

"Our players were stolen! Every season they took our best. And there was nothing we could do. CSKA, Dinamo and Spartak were untouchable. The first had the army behind them, the second the law enforcement and the third the city administration of Moscow."
​

The complaints of Epshteyn, Kostryukov and others did find some echo within the Soviet Sports Committee (the governing body of sports in the USSR) and even more so within its Hockey Section, but the actual power of those bodies was limited. They issued toothless resolutions and petitioned the Soviet Army to stop drafting athletes from hockey clubs, but were ignored. On top of it, in the face of the success Chernyshov and Tarasov had with the Soviet national team from 1963 on, the Sports Committee became rather contemplate with the status quo:

Paul Harder, Carleton University:
"...they were held directly responsible for the Soviet Union's international victories by the nation's leadership, and were therefore reluctant to interfere in what had proven to be a formula for success."​

Source: Paul Harder, "Developing World Championship Ice Hockey In The USSR" (2004), p.111 (PDF)​

Thus Kostryukov's complaint:

"The Sports Committee didn't react. All they had for us was that mockery of a wording: 'It's in the interest of Soviet hockey.'"
​

Source of the two Kostryukov quotes above: A 2015 interview with "Sports Express" (link)​

Kostryukov didn't take it lightly. When Boris Mikhailov opted to leave Lokomotiv Moscow and join CSKA Moscow in 1967, Kostryukov refused to talk with him for two years. And back in 1962 when Lokomotiv player Yevgeny Mishakov was drafted into the Army and ended up playing for CSKA, Kostryukov had already confronted the head coach of the army team himself:

"A little later I asked Anatoly Tarasov: 'How could this have happened?' And he looked me straight in the eyes and answered me, as if nothing had happened: 'Anatoly, I didn't know anything of it!' He was a great artist, he lied without any reluctance."
​

Source: Fyodor Razzakov, Анатолий Тарасов (2014)​

It's from Совершеннолетие ("Coming of age" or "Maturity"), originally published in 1966. I've been quoting the second edition (1968) extensively throughout this thread.

True, the contributions don´t actually state that body-checking all over the ice, including offensive zone, was officially instituted and sanctified from Soviet hockey authorities already in 1967 or so. However, the Soviets were definitely "ahead" in this department.

One more minor evidence to this topic, that I have, comes out of Vladimír Kostka's (CSSR national team coach) comments just prior to start of the 1970 World Championship. Naturally, the focal point of most of the writers´ questions were centered around the subject of new rules and abilities of teams and referees to adjust to them.

Mid-March 1970, Československý sport, Vladimír Kostka said:

"They [Soviets] had already practiced tough conception of the game in training and in the League in the USSR even sooner, than when the rules were adjusted according to wishes of the Canadians. They were expecting the match-up with professionals. Opinions of the Soviet hockey management have changed lately, mainly due to bad experiences from trips to Canada, because too much tough, even reckless, game negates the speed, stupefies the technique of such brilliant players like Firsov and others. But at the same time, USSR team is able to produce physically demanding hockey by the new rules. The team is traditionally well-prepared mentally too."
___________

Thank you for the Kostryukov additions. The parity in the Soviet league, or lack thereof, is interesting topic. I wonder if it actually hurt the Soviet hockey more than it helped. It must have demotivated so many people like coaches, managers, from non-big-three clubs (CSKA, Spartak, Dinamo) to work harder on developing talents through this monopolizing of all the domestic hockey 'eliteness'. Why bother of achieving something bigger when there´s absolutely no chance the top home-grown talent is going to stay with the team?

Czechoslovak hockey structure - the interplay between army clubs (mainly Dukla Jihlava) and civic clubs (most of others) - had a way of preventing this by allowing Dukla to draft mostly only young players in late teens or early 20s, and to keep them for limited period of time (usually just 1 season). The army provided Dukla with more resources compared to civic clubs, so players trained harder and longer. These elite young talents were then expected to come back to their original teams as significantly more stronger and developed all-round hockey players. I believe such order was to everyone´s benefit as the League overall quality wasn´t suffering from this.

Has Tarasov or any other defender of the Soviet system rationalized it in any different way than that it´s just good to sacrifice the League parity in favour of international success of the USSR team?

 

[Theokritos]

Vladimir Petrov (C, *1947)

Early Development:

Petrov grew up playing soccer and bandy. His father Vladimir sr. was a football player and his brother Yuri (*1949) would become a successful bandy player (won the 1971 World Championship 1971 with the Soviet national team and the 1972 and 1973 domestic championships with Dinamo Moscow). Vladimir Petrov on his part became attracked to Canadian hockey – not least because of its physical character. In 1965 a try-out earned him a spot with Krylya Sovietov Moscow. No other than former star player Alexey Guryshev was the one who recognized his talent and got him signed. After a successful sophomore season with Krylya Sovietov in 1966-1967, Petrov was invited to join CSKA Moscow. Over the course of the 1967-1968 season he gained a regular spot, centering Veniamin Alexandrov and Boris Mikhailov. The cooperation between veteran Alexandrov and the two newcomers (Petrov from Krylya Sovietov, Mikhailov from Lokomotiv Moscow) was not without initial frictions:

Boris Mikhailov (2008):
"There were some problems. Petrov and I were eager to rush ahead. Alexandrov, who was used to something different from Loktev and Almetov, had to adapt to us."

Но были и некоторые проблемы. Мы с Петровым рвались вперед. А Александров, привыкший к иной манере с Локтевым и Альметовым, должен был к нам приспосабливаться.

During the next season, Veniamin Alexandrov picked up an injury (November 1968). He was replaced by Valery Kharlamov. For general comments on the new trio Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov, see post 311 above. The line quickly made an impact, was promoted to the Soviet national team and rose to stardom at the 1969 World Championship in Sweden. Petrov, however, was initially the least heralded of the three players.

Boris Mikhailov (1976):
"The defensemen Viktor Kuzkin and Vladimir Brezhnev supported us. They were more expierenced than we were and gave us many useful clues. And they made us feel secure about our own end. They were probably aware that Petrov, then, used to play further ahead of us, unlike other center forwards. Back then he faced criticism for this, but it wasn't because he was lazy, it was to combine with us in the attack."

Поддержали нас и защитники Виктор Кузькин и Владимир
Брежнев. Тогда они опытнее нас были. Много полезного подсказывали. И с ними за свой тыл мы не сомневались. Наверное, обратили внимание, с тех пор еще у нас Петров всегда больше впереди играл, в отличие от других центральных нападающих. Ёго потом за это критиковали, но это он не потому, что ленился, а так уж у нас сложилась комбинационная игра в нападении.

In the following season, 1969-1970, he topped the Soviet league in scoring with 51 goals, but his individual recognition remained underwhelming. Anatoly Firsov's account of Petrov's 1969-1970 season indicates that he had not only improved his scoring output, but also his defensive play:

Anatoly Firsov (1973):
"...he managed to backcheck and to be at the forefront of the attack and he scored, scored and scored."

...успевал и возвращаться назад, и выходить на острие атаки, и забивал, забивал, забивал.

Still, the general perception was that it was Valery Kharlamov who carried the line offensively. Anatoly Tarasov's take was apparently not an outlier:

Anatoly Tarasov (1971):
"How do we coaches estimate a player? Who do we consider an ace hockey-player? Our answer is defined by a sum of components: the scope of a player's actions, his passion, technical skill, tactical sophistication, game discipline, his ability to create, improvise and help his partners. Only in Canadian professional hockey the one who scored the goal is considered the favourite. We have different measures and it's no coincidence that in 1969-70 we ranked Boris Mikhailov and Valery Kharlamov above their center forward in their level of mastery, although Vladimir [Petrov] was the most productive scorer in the country."

Как оцениваем игрока мы, тренеры? Кого мы считаем классным хоккеистом? Наш ответ определяется суммой слагаемых - объемом действий спортсмена, его страстностью, технической прочностью, тактической искушенностью, игровой дисциплиной, умением творить, импровизировать, помогать партнерам. Это только в канадском профессиональном хоккее принято считать фаворитом того, кто забросил шайбу. У нас - другие критерии, и не случайно в сезоне 1969/70 года мы в звене Петрова ставили Бориса Михайлова и Валерия Харламова по мастерству выше центрфорварда, хотя Володя был самым результативным игроком в стране.

At the 1970 World Championship, Kharlamov/Petrov/Mikhailov were underwhelming and drew the ire of the coaches. Kharlamov himself thought the expectations on the trio were too high and there was too much pressure on them to deliver.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1970):
"Before leaving for Stockholm there were high hopes for this trio. You bet! This line had scored more than 100 goals in domestic games. But on the ice in Stockholm Petrov and his linemates where unimpressive, especially in the first round. It says everything that they couldn't even get a standard combination done that had been practiced to automatism. (...) After they didn't have success in the first few games Petrov and his comrades perhaps tried a little too hard. Their game didn't become sharp."

Перед отьездом в Стокгольм особые надежды возлагались на тройку Михайлов — Петров — Харламов. Еще бы! Звено забросило в «домашних» матчах более 100 шайб. Но на льду «Юханнесхофа» Петров и его товарищи, особенно в первом круге, играли невыразительно. Достаточно сказать, что им не удавались даже стандартные комбинации, доведенные до автоматизма на тренировках. (...) После неудачно проведенных первых игр он и его товарищи старались, пожалуй, даже чересчур, но от этого их игра не становилась острее.

Valery Kharlamov (1970):
"The three of us were accused of being selfish, of not passing enough. We all understood. We tried. Our sweat was pouring down in streams, both in game and in training. Laziness is probably the only thing we were not accused of."

Укоряли тройку за себялюбие, за отсутствие паса. Мы все понимали. Старались. Шот катил ручьями. И в игре, и на тренировке. Пожалуй, только в лени нас не упрекали.

Vladimir Petrov was particularly singled out for criticism:

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1970):
"Apparently Petrov began the WHC tired from our strenous domestic competition. Therefore, Boris Mikhailov and Valery Kharlamov also didn't really get going. I know myself how akward it is in the face of your comrades when everybody expects goals and beautiful combinations from you and you try your best but nothing works out. That was about the situation Petrov was in."

Видимо, Володя Петров к началу чемпионата мира устал после напряженных игр нашего первенства, а из-за этого не пошла игра и у Бори Михайлова, и у Валеры Харламова. По себе знаю, как неловко перед товарищами, когда все ждут от тебя голов, красивых комбинаций, а ты, стараясь до седьмого пота, ничего не можешь. Вот и Петров оказался в подобном положении.

Valery Kharlamov (1970):
"The coaches started to scold us. We were accused of all mortal sins. Petrov was even benched."

Тренеры на каком-то отрезке чемпионата здорово ругали нас. Упрекали во всех смертных грехах. Петрова даже снимали с игры.

At the end of the season, Petrov received only two 3rd-place-votes in the "Best Player of the Season" poll and thus, the top goal getter of the Soviet league was ranked only 8th. Among Soviet forwards, the following received more votes than him: Maltsev, Starshinov, Vikulov, Kharlamov and Firsov.

Kharlamov/Petrov/Mikhailov continued to play together successfully for another season, but with Petrov and also Mikhailov generally considered inferior to their LW.

In the 1971 preseason, the trio was broken up by Anatoly Tarasov. As Kharlamov was moved to another line, try-out player Alexey Mishin (24) took his place beside Petrov and Mikhailov. The hockey handbook (1977) characterizes Mishin as an "aggressive" forechecker with technical skills and an "understanding of the game", but Tarasov's verdict was still negative: due to his "weak orientation", Mishin wasn't a fit. Next young Sergey Glazov (19) was given a chance, but he didn't stand the test either. Therefore, Petrov and Mikhailov started into the 1971-1972 season with Sergey Kotov (21) on their left wing. This experiment didn't last either: By mid-October 1971, he was replaced by Yury Blinov and the new troika Blinov – Petrov – Mikhailov was established as the second line at CSKA. It was these two linemates Petrov played with at the 1972 Olympics, 1972 World Championship and in the 1972 Summit Series.

Petrov was 25 at the time of the Summit Series. Until that point his record had been that of a solid but not exactly awe-inspiring contributor to the Soviet national team. The encounter with Team Canada made Petrov change his game as he admitted in a famous quote. (Note: I can't find the source and date of that quote.)

Vladimir Petrov:
"By Soviet standards I'd always been considered an offensive centerman. Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke forced me to play a more defensive style. The experience made me a better all around player."

Domestic and international recognition of Petrov reflect this change. Up until 1972 he had only received fringe votes (if any) in the "Best Player of the Year" poll, but in 1972-1973 he finished 2nd, just barely beaten by Valery Kharlamov (who had been reunited with Petrov and Mikhailov in December 1972). He also made the Soviet all-star team for the first time and the World Championship all-star team for the first time. From now on Petrov was considered one of the best players outside of the NHL.

Some of the general comments on his game that follow, in particular the ones on his defensive game, should be viewed as referring to 1972-1981, not so much to pre-1972 Petrov.

Game:

Hockey handbook (1977):
"One of the best center forwards in the history of Soviet hockey. He can do everything on the ice: he knows both how to attack and defend, plays brilliantly in the 'slot' in front of the opponent's goal, has a masterful shot from every distance, is not inferior to the defencemen in physical play and he generously supplies his linemates with assists."

Один из сильнейших центровых нападающих в советском хоккее за все годы. Форвард, умеющий на площадке делать все — и атаковать, и защищаться, блестяше играющий на «пятачке» у ворот соперника, мастерски владеющий броском со всех дистанций, не уступающий защитникам в силовом единоборстве, шедро снабжающий голевыми передачами партнеров.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1981):
"He's a great hockey player. He can do almost everything. He is a sniper and plays a great pass."

Отличный хоккеист. Умеет практически все. Он и бомбардир, и великолепно играет в пас.

Joe Pelletier:
"Petrov wasn't a good skater. He didn't have that fluid skating style that many of his teammates had. His strength was his excellent stickhandling and hard shot. He also wasn't afraid to use his 6'1" and 205 Ibs body in the corners. Petrov was also strong on faceoffs and a dangerous and aggressive forechecker."

Wayne Coffey, "The Boys of Winter" (2005):
"Petrov was perhaps the strongest player on the Soviet national team, with blacksmith arms and a bulging neck, a 200 pound slab of muscle who was possessed of the rarest of Russian weapons: a nasty slapshot."

Vladimir Polupanov:
"His shot is the stroke of a lightning!"

Его бросок – это росчерк молнии!

Note: Vladimir Polupanov was the goaltender of Dinamo Moscow in the 1970s. Quoted after Olga Burbentsova (2010).
​

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1981):
"He has a powerful shot and a no less crushing slapshot."

Обладает мощнейшим броском и не менее сокрушительным щелчком.

Vladislav Tretyak (1979):
"His style: pressure and tenacity. He has the ability to make quick decisions in the most difficult situations and the accuracy of a sniper. He's athletic and strong on his skates. Actually I've never seen anyone manage to dump him to the ice."

Его стиль - это напор, цепкость, умение быстро принимать решения в самых сложных ситуациях, снайперская меткость. Он атлет и всегда крепко держится на коньках. Я, во всяком случае, ни разу не видел, чтобы кому-нибудь удалось свалить Петрова на лед.

Anatoly Firsov (1973):
"I would like to emphasize one strength of Petrov which, for whatever reason, is not spoken and written about so much. I mean his excellent defensive game. When Vladimir fights for the puck, he fights until the end. He doesn't give the opponent a second of rest or the opportunity to look around and to get a sense of the game situation. He's good at fighting for the puck and constantly threatening the goal."

Но я хотел бы подчеркнуть и другое достоинство Петрова, о котором почему-то говорят и пишут меньше. Я имею в виду его отменную игру в обороне. Когда Володя борется за шайбу, то борется до конца, он не дает сопернику ни секунды покоя, не дает ему возможности осмотреться, разобраться в игровой ситуации. Он прекрасно воюет за шайбу, успевает постоянно угрожать воротам.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1981):
"When it is required, he helps his defense."

Когда нужно, поможет своей защите.

Character:

Anatoly Firsov (1973):
"How can the work ethic of Valery Kharlamov coexists with the attitude of Vladimir Petrov who is on his guard for any additional workload and who is always opposed to it?" (...) On one hand there's Boris Mikhailov who is very humble and avoids bright light and noisy surroundings. On the other hand there's Vladimir Petrov who strives to be in the center of the general attention."

Я не могу понять, как сосуществуют трудолюбие Валерия Харламова и постоянно критическое, настороженное отношение ко всяким дополнительным нагрузкам того же Петрова? (...) Скромнейший, избегающий яркого света и шумного окружения Борис Михайлов и стремящийся быть в центре всеобщего внимания Володя Петров.

Boris Mikhailov (2008):
"Vladimir with his stubborn character was not going to remain silent. More than once did he argue with Tarasov that the training was too demanding (...) Of course, he played and was one of the best, but on any occasion when something didn't suit him he would debate with Tarasov. And he even forced him to train more. Of course, Tarasov, who couldn't stand bickering and wanted his instructions to be followed stricly, was unhappy about it. But he certainly wasn't going to get rid of Petrov. He couldn't do harm the club and to himself."

Володя, с его упрямым характером, молчать не собирался, он не раз спорил с Анатолием Тарасовым, говорил, что ему тяжело. (...) Он, конечно, заиграл, был одним из лучших, но всегда дебатировал с Тарасовым по любому поводу, который его не устраивал. И тот даже заставлял его дополнительно тренироваться. Конечно, Тарасов, который терпеть не мог пререканий, любил, чтобы его указания выполнялись неукоснительно, был недоволен. Но избавляться от Петрова он, безусловно, не собирался. Он не мог поступить во вред клубу и себе.

Boris Mikhailov (2018):
"Vladimir Petrov, a notorious squabbler, often started arguments with Tarasov during training sessions or during game reviews and thus created additional work for the coach. Tarasov admitted: 'I put up with Petrov because his performance in the game is always good.'"

Владимир Петров, известный спорщик, часто вступал с ним в полемику и по тренировочному процессу, и при обсуждении минувшего матча, создавая старшему тренеру дополнительные хлопоты. Тарасов признался: «Я терплю Петрова, потому что он стабильно показывает высокий уровень игры».

Viktor Tikhonov:
"Vladimir told me: 'I know best how much I need to train.' Or: 'I don't need to follow the sporting regime, it won't affect me.' His main argument was: 'I have my own views on hockey, on training.' In one word, Petrov was behaving like a separate unit within the collective. It was not easy to work with him."

Владимир говорил мне: „Я знаю лучше всех, сколько мне надо тренироваться“. Или: „Я могу нарушать спортивный режим, на мне это не отражается“. И выдвигал главный, с его точки зрения, аргумент: „У меня свои взгляды на хоккей, на тренировку“. Короче, Петров вел себя в коллективе как отдельный коллектив. Работать с ним оказалось непросто…

Note: Quoted after Fyodor Razzakov ("Легенды отечественного хоккея"), 2014.
​

Valery Kharlamov (1977):
"Vladimir Petrov never recognizes his own mistakes. He can't give in to anyone and in anything. (...) Persistence and stubborness are two qualities close to each other. Persistence has helped Vladimir to become a world-class player. Stubborness prevents him from achieving even more. Here is an illustration: In a game against Dinamo Moscow, Petrov made a strong shot from the blue line (he was at the board and shot from an angle) and scored a goal on [Dinamo goaltender] Vladimir Polupanov. In the next game, he kept shooting the puck from the very same spot several times. We tried to convince him that this wasn't reasonable, but it was in vain, he kept doing it. And even when there was a 5 against 3 situation and we had an excellent opportunity to move the puck close to the goal, Petrov shot from the blue line and the Dinamo defencemen were able to pick up the puck and clear it out of their zone."

Володя Петров своих промахов не признает ни за что. Он уступить не может никому и ни в чем. (...) Настойчивость и упрямство -- граничащие друг с другом качества. Настойчивость помогла Володе стать первоклассным хоккеистом. Упрямство мешает ему добиваться еще большего. Вот иллюстрация. В игре с московским "Динамо" Петров сильнейшим броском от синей линии (причем находился он у борта, то есть бросал шайбу в ворота под углом) забил гол Владимиру Полупанову. В следующем матче он бросал шайбу с той же точки еще несколько раз Тщетными были наши попытки убедить его, что это неразумно, Петров продолжал свое. И даже когда соперник втроем защищался против нашей пятерки и у нас была превосходная возможность разыграть шайбу и выйти на позицию для верного взятия ворот, Петров, получив шайбу, швырнул ее издалека от синей линии, и динамовцы, легко овладев шайбой, выбросили ее из своей зоны.

 

[Theokritos]

Petrov post updated with quotes on his game and his character.

 

[Theokritos]

Additions to Starshinov and Boris Mayorov bio made.

 

[Theokritos]

In one of my posts, two sources (Boris Mayorov himself and Leonid Goryanov, a sports journalist who used to write for the magazine Спортивная жизнь России, "Sports Life in Russia") refer to the nickname Spartak Carousel that was inspired by the way Boris Mayorov, Vyacheslav Starshinov and their RW (originally Yevgeni Mayorov, later other players) held on to the puck in the corners and behind the net:

Boris Mayorov (1970):
"Together we kept the puck in the offensive zone for a prolonged time with endless quick movements of all three of us around the goal and in the corners of the rink. Later someone came up with a good name for it: 'Spartak Carousel'."

Leonid Goryanov (1983):
"Those who saw them will never forget the famous and incomparable 'Spartak Carousel' – that's how the game of the Starshinov line was referred to by millions of fans. To me personally, what they did on the ice always appeared comparable to the picture of an aerial combat. Like two state-of-the-art fighter jets making sharp turns over and over again, Boris and Yevgeny perform elaborate aerobatics to avoid the defencemen and then, seizing the right moment, they irresistibly dive down on the goal of the opponent."​

A nice demonstration of this can be seen in the following sequence from the 1967 World Championship (USSR vs Canada). After Ragulin has shot in the puck, Starshinov (#18) and Mayorov (#10) manage to keep the puck in the Canadian end for half a minute with a little help from Valeri Nikitin (#19):



Another example from the same tournament (USSR vs Czechoslovakia):

 

[Theokritos]

Boris Mikhailov (RW, *1944)

Early development:

Mikhailov's beginnings in hockey were modest. He played for the youth team of Lokomotiv Moscow, but struggled since he simultaneously had to work as an auto mechanic to support his single mother. A tryout with CSKA Moscow didn't lead to anything. When it was time to make the jump to senior hockey (1962), an offer by a second-league club, Avangard Saratov, was all that awaited Mikhailov, but it was enough to make him happy. He remembered the first meeting with Saratov coach Valentin Nikolayev:

Mikhailov (2008):
"He made an official proposal, spoke about the situation in the team and the tasks, and he promised me a salary of 220 rubles. All this impressed me greatly."

И сделал мне официальное предложение, рассказал об обстановке в команде, ее задачах, пообещал зарплату — 220 рублей. Все это произвело на меня большое впечатление.

In Saratov, Mikhailov played center. He started on the second line, but by the end of the 1962-1963 season he had been promoted to the first line. The next season, Saratov was joined by Robert Cherenkov, a veteran defenseman who had played for Dinamo Moscow until 1961 and who inspired some improvements.

Mikhailov:
"With the coming of Cherenkov, our team became more streamlined and started to work according to modern standards. It was important for me. Today I can say that Saratov became the starting point of my professional hockey life. It's there I received the first lessons in being a senior team, forms of interaction and approaches to work."

С приходом Черенкова наша команда стала более сбалансированной, работающей с учетом современных требований. Для меня это было важно. Сейчас я могу сказать, что Саратов стал как бы отправной точкой в моей профессиональной хоккейной жизни. В нем я получил первые уроки бытия команды мастеров, форм общения, подходов к работе.

Mikhailov spent three seasons in Saratov. During the third (1964-1965), his friend Yevgeni Mishakov recommended him to Anatoly Kostryukov, head coach of Lokomotiv Moscow in the first league.

Anatoli Kostryukov (2008):
"I learned that there is a good player by the name of Mikhailov with Avangard Saratov from Yevgeni Mishakov who, at that time, was not yet a honored master of sports but had just switched from our club to CSKA Moscow. He gave Boris a good characterization. And I decided to look at what the guy is like."

Я узнал о том, что есть неплохой игрок по фамилии Михайлов в саратовском «Авангарде», от Евгения Мишакова, который в то время еще не был заслуженным мастером спорта, а только что перешел в ЦСКА из московского «Локомотива». Он дал Борису хорошую характеристику. И я решил посмотреть на то, что этот парень из себя представляет.

Kostryukov went to watch two games of Avangard Saratov. By chance, Mikhailov happened to stand in as a defenseman in those games for Robert Cherenkov who was ill. Kostryukov thought Mikhailov played pretty well and could be a suitable replacement for defenseman Vladimir Migunko who was about to jump to Spartak Moscow.

Mikhailov:
"After the second match, Anatoli Mikhailovich [Kostryukov] came up to me. 'Boris', he said, 'you have the makings, you need to develop them at the highest league level. We have an experienced team. If you want, you can quit in Saratov and we take you to Lokomotiv Moscow.'"

После второго поединка ко мне подошел Анатолий Михайлович. «Борис, — сказал он, — у тебя есть задатки, надо их развивать на уровне высшей лиги. У нас опытная команда. Если есть желание, можешь в Саратове рассчитываться, мы берем тебя в «Локомотив».

Avangard Saratov wanted to keep Mikhailov and offered him a two-room-apartement, but Mikhailov was happy to advance to a better team and to move home to Moscow, even though he had to live in cramped conditions there with his mother and brothers. He accepted the offer by Lokomotiv Moscow. However, he was still unaware that Kostryukov thought of him as a defenseman. During the first on-ice training the misunderstanding became evident.

Mikhailov:
"When we went out on the ice, Anatoli Kostryukov unexpectedly put me on the defense, apparently thinking that I should replace Migunko. After the training I went up to Anatoli and explained that I didn't play as a defensemen in Saratov, that I was a center forward and that I had only defended in the match he saw because Cherenkov was ill."

Когда мы вышли на лед, Анатолий Кострюков неожиданно ставит меня в оборону, видимо, имея в виду, что я смогу заменить Мигунько. Подхожу после тренировки к Анатолию Михайловичу и объясняю — я защитником в Саратове не играл, был центральным нападающим, просто в оборону меня в том матче, который он видел, перевели из-за болезни Черенкова.

Anatoli Kostryukov:
"I thought for a moment and went through my memories of Mikhailov's actions: he was quick and persistent. And I told him that our agreement remained in force. Actually, it didn't put me in a difficult position since our right-winger Yevgeni Zimin was also leaving for Spartak Moscow."

На какое-то мгновение я задумался, прокрутил в памяти действия Михайлова — быстрый, настырный. И сказал ему, что наш договор остается в силе. Тем более что он не поставил меня в сложное положение, поскольку к тем же спартаковцам перешел правый крайний Евгений Зимин.

Mikhailov:
"At first glance the situation was curious. But I was not funny to me at all, for I assumed that Kostryukov didn't need a forward and I reasonably told myself that I was in trouble. But almost without hesitation, he said: 'It's fine. I have a lot of holes to fill. We'll try you in the attack on the right wing instead of Yevgeni Zimin." And thus, from his light hand I took the position where I should play for 15 years."

Ситуация получилась, на первый взгляд, довольно курьезная. Но мне было совсем не смешно, предположил, что нападающий Кострюкову не нужен, и резонно сказал себе, что дела твои, Боря, плохи. Тем не менее он почти без раздумий сказал: «Ничего страшного. У меня «дыр» полно. В атаке попробуем тебя на правом фланге вместо Жени Зимина». Так с его легкой руки я занял позицию, на которой отыграл пятнадцать лет.

Joining Lokomotiv Moscow was a big step for Mikhailov, but a crucial one.

Mikhailov:
"The training process was intense, Anatoli Kostryukov took all modern requirements into account. On the ice he constantly told you how to behave in different match situations. Particular attention was paid to the power play and the penalty killing, the fast change of lines, technique and shooting. With Lokomotiv I learned what it means to prepare: groundwork and weight training. It was hard work. But at that time I didn't know yet that it was a cakewalk compared to what would await me at CSKA and the national team."

Учебно-тренировочный процесс был интенсивным, Анатолий Кострюков учитывал все современные требования. Он, находясь на льду, постоянно подсказывал, как вести себя в матчах в различных ситуациях. Особое внимание уделялось игре в большинстве и в меньшинстве, быстрой смене звеньев, технике, броскам. В «Локомотиве» я понял, что такое подготовительный процесс - работа на земле, занятия с отягощениями. Это тяжелый труд. Но тогда я еще не знал, что все это семечки по сравнению с тем, что ждет меня в ЦСКА и в сборной.

Anatoli Kostryukov:
"Boris was welcomed with open arms at Lokomotiv. The guys liked his dedication, his desire to grow and his modesty. In fact, even when he had become a great master, he never strived for self-advertisement."

Борис сразу пришелся в «Локомотиве» ко двору, ребятам нравилась его самоотдача, стремление к росту, скромность — собственно, и став большим мастером, он никогда не стремился к саморекламе.

Mikhailov:
"There were no cliques and there was no servility. The leaders – Mikhail Ryzhov, Viktor Yakushev, Viktor Tsyplakov and other experienced players –, did not seek to elevate themselves, the mual relationship was smooth and peaceful. Of course, when it came to mistakes in the game, sometimes the newcomers got the blame, but it was done carefully, without rudeness. That's probably one of the reasons Lokomotiv Moscow remained in the company of CSKA, Spartak and Dinamo, even though the club didn't have the same resources as them. The players understood the measure of responsibility and no-one didn't put the sleeves up. For me it had never been true either. My best qualities were my speed and my appetite for the battle."

Здесь не было каких-то кланов, чинопочитания. Лидеры — Михаил Рыжов, Виктор Якушев, Виктор Цыплаков — и другие опытные игроки не стремились возвысить себя, взаимоотношения были ровными, спокойными. Конечно, когда дело касалось ошибок в игре, кто-то мог новичка упрекнуть, но делалось это аккуратно, без хамства. Наверное, кроме всего прочего, и поэтому «Локомотив», не имеющий таких возможностей, как ЦСКА, «Спартак», «Динамо», оставался в их компании. Хоккеисты понимали меру ответственности, и никто не трудился спустя рукава. Ко мне это вообще никогда не относилось. Моими лучшими качествами были скорость, жажда борьбы.

In his first season with Lokomotiv (1965-1966), Mikhailov played on the second line with Alexander Grishin (C) and Alexander Safronov (LW). After the season, he was ranked #5 among Soviet right wingers by the Soviet hockey federation and received an offer by Vsevolod Bobrov to play for Spartak Moscow. Lokomotiv Moscow quickly countered with the promise of a one-room apartement for Mikhailov and his wife if he decided to stay. This convinced Mikhailov to keep playing for the railway team.
In his second season with them, his linemates were Yuri Tsitsinov (C) and Alexander Safronov (LW) and at the end, Mikhailov was named the 5th best RW again.
After the season, he was offered a spot with CSKA Moscow. The first meeting with Tarasov left a lasting impression. (At that time, Mikhailov was apparently still playing soccer too and trying to make the Lokomotiv soccer team.)

Mikhailov:
"'You have character, the desire to play and you don't quit'", he said. 'But you don't know anything about hockey. If you want me to make a man out of you, forget about football, think about hockey 24 hours and sleep with your sticks.' Then he asked me how much I earned. He said: 'I will pay you less, 120 rubles.' Of course I didn't give him a promise. I was dumbfounded. When I got out of his car I was as red as a tomato. Apparently I had been playing for a senior team in the elite league for two years but didn't have a clue about anything."

«У тебя есть характер, настырность, желание играть, — сказал он. — Но ты в хоккее ничего не умеешь. Если хочешь, чтобы я из тебя сделал человека, забудь про футбол, думай все 24 часа о хоккее, спи на клюшках». Потом спросил, сколько я получаю, сказал: «У меня будешь получать меньше — 120 рублей». Гарантий, понятно, никаких не давал. В общем, огорошил меня. Я вышел из машины красный, как помидор. Вроде два года за команду мастеров высшей лиги отыграл, а здесь — ничего не умею.

The decision didn't come easy for Mikhailov, but in the end an advise by his teammate Viktor Yakushev ("not everyone is invited by Tarasov") tipped the balance in favour of taking the chance. There was a problem though: when Mikhailov went to the army registration center, the medical examination uncovered that the vision in his right eye was severly impaired and the Army refused to accept him.

Mikhailov:
"For sure, I had never talked about this issue. Everything had gone fine regardless and I think there have never been any complaints about my game in any team, even though of course I wasn't without mistakes."

Конечно, я об этом никогда не говорил. Все же шло нормально, по игре претензий ко мне, пожалуй, никогда не было ни в одной команде, хотя, естественно, без ошибок не обходилось.

CSKA had to send assistant coach Boris Kulagin to convince the responsible army authorities to draft Mikhailov nevertheless (May 1967). Having joined CSKA, he was put on a line with the renowned "grandmasters" Almetov (C) and Alexandrov (LW). The further development has already been covered in a post above on the Kharlamov Petrov - Mikhailov trio.​

General comments on his game:

Hockey handbook (1977):
"One of the best Soviet players ever. A fighter, tough, unbedinging, not afraid of anyone or anything. Boldly crashing into the thick of the opposing defense, he fights for the puck and neither spares himself nor his opponent. Very effective. Scores most of his goals from the slot. Captain of CSKA and the Soviet national team for many years, knows how to inspire and lead his team mates. A brave player, regularly used on the penalty kill."

Один из сильнейших советских хоккеистов всех лет. На поле всегда боец, несгибаемый, стойкий, не боящийся никого и ничего. Смело врезаясь в гущу защитников, борется за шайбу, не жалея ни себя, ни соперника. Отличаясь отменной результативностью, большинство шайб за бивает с «пятачка». Долгие годыявляясь капитаном ЦСКА и сборной СССР, умеет в игре увлечь партнеров,повести за собой. Отважно играет и в обороне, как правило, всегда появляется на площадке при игре в меньшинстве.

Anatoli Firsov (1973):
"Hard-nosed, humble and gifted, Boris Mikhailov is the right winger on the line that has been our best in recent years. He's an aggressive and ill-tempered player, but a good-natured person. (...) He fights for the puck even more tenaciously and persistently than Petrov. It's impossible to get away from Mikhailov: no puck is lost for him, he feels you can and have to fight in any situation and in any position."

Серьезен, скромен и одарен и правый нападающий самого лучшего звена последних лет Борис Михайлов. Резкий, злой хоккеист и добродушнейший человек. (...) Он борется за шайбу еще более цепко и настойчиво, чем Петров. Уйти от Михайлова невозможно – проигранных шайб для него не бывает: бороться можно и нужно в любой ситуации, в любом положении.

Anatoli Kostryukov (2008):
"What made Mikhailov stand out was his tremendous efficiency, his great concentration and his amazing endurance. Playing as a winger, he achieved magnificent results. He did not have a super-strong shot, but he shrewdly chose a position for the attack and boldly went into the battle in the slot. And he scored, scored and scored."

Надо сказать, что Михайлов отличался колоссальным коэффициентом полезного действия, высокой концентрацией, потрясающей выносливостью. Будучи крайним нападающим, показывал прекрасную результативность. У него не было сверхмощного броска. Но Борис умело выбирал позицию для атаки, смело лез в борьбу на пятачке. И забивал, забивал, забивал…

Sergei Gimayev (2014):
"For Boris there was no situation when it was impossible to shoot or give a pass. There were no akward moments with the puck, he could always receive it and do something with it."

Note: Gimayev played with Mikhailov on CSKA from 1976-1981.

Для Бориса Петровича не было ситуации, когда нельзя было бросить или отдать пас. Неудобных моментов с шайбой не было никогда, он всегда мог принять шайбу и её обработать.

Anatoli Tarasov (1987):
"For many years Boris Mikhailov had no equal when it came to hard work and the effort to do the seemingly impossible. He didn't divide games into important and unimportant ones, he never saved his energy, he gave a full effort on every shift. (...) It's no coincidence Mikhailov was at his best when the intensity of the match reached its limit, from the second half of the second period on: by that time, Boris had exhausted the left defensemen of the opponent with his explosive maneuvering, so that those who were initially strong and formidable became passive and prone to technical mistakes he could take advantage of."

В течение многих лет в трудолюбии, в стремлении действовать через «не могу» Борису Михайлову не было у нас равных. Он не делил матчи на главные и второстепенные, никогда не экономил силы и в каждом игровом отрезке действовал во всю силушку. (...) Не случайно наиболее успешно Михайлов действовал, когда накал матча достигал предела – со второй половины второго периода. Своим взрывным маневрированием Борис к этому времени так изматывал левых защитников соперника, что те, поначалу сильные и грозные, становились малоподвижными, допускали технические осечки, которыми тот пользовался.

Sergei Gimayev (2014):
"He did not possess the crazy slapshot of Petrov or the wristshot of Kharlamov. But Boris was always where he needed to be."

При этом он не обладал таким сумасшедшим броском, каким был щелчок у Петрова или кистевой у Харламова. Но Борис Петрович всегда был там, где надо.

Leonid Trachtenberg (1984):
"While he always respected those who played with artistry and outward flash, his game was different. And it never betrayed him. He didn't need a murderous shot like Petrov and he never dared to circle like Kharlamov. Mikhailov persistently tackled the task of not being able to do what others could do (and could even do elegantly). And yet, the most viligant defencemen fell into the web of his alleged inability. In situations asking for an outrageously simple solution, situations which in my opinion make up 90% of the game, Mikhailov's approach was working."

Note: Trachtenberg was a sport journalist for many years.

Он всегда очень уважал тех, кто играет артистично, внешне броско. Но его игра — иная. Ей он не изменял никогда. Ему не нужен был такой убийственный бросок, как у Петрова. Он никогда и не рисковал так обводить, как Харламов. Михайлов настойчиво решал свою задачу: ничего не уметь из того, что другие умеют и элегантно исполняют. Но в паутину его неумения попадали и вязли самые бдительные защитники. В ситуациях, поддающихся только простому решению на грани озорства, в ситуациях, из которых, на мой взгляд, на девяносто процентов состоит игра, и срабатывала михайловская «фамильность» игры.

Work in the Slot:

Vladislav Tretyak (1998):
"Tarasov once told Boris: 'Why are you running around the corners of the rink? Your place is in front of the goal. You'll be the king of the slot!' And he was right once again. No-one scored more goals in the championships of the Soviet Union than Boris Mikhailov."

Борису внушал: «Зачем ты бегаешь по углам площадки? Твое место перед воротами. На пятачке будешь королем!» И прав в очередной раз оказался Тарасов: Борис Михайлов забросил больше всех шайб в чемпионатах Советского Союза.

Anatoli Tarasov (1987):
"Physical play by the opponent didn't seem to bother Mikhailov. Morever, he was perhaps our first forward who was eager to constantly go into physical encounters himself. Boris fought particularly hard in the area around the goal. He was such a cunning and bold finisher, blessed with quick and strong hands, and created so much disturbance that the opposing goaltenders often lost their temper."

Что до силовых приемов противника, то, казалось, они Михайлову нипочем. Больше того, он, пожалуй, стал первым нашим форвардом, кто так охотно сам постоянно предлагал соперникам помериться силой. И особенно упорно Борис бился в зоне у чужих ворот. Он так умело и дерзко действовал при добивании (благо, руки у него были «быстрыми» и сильными), создавал столько помех вратарям соперников, что те зачастую теряли выдержку и грубили.

Anatoli Firsov (1973):
"Boris is particularly dangerous in front of the goal, in the danger area – he completely ignores all the attempts to distract him from the target, he's not afraid of jolts and blows and will endure everything. He won't give the defensemen and the goalkeeper any rest."

Особенно опасен Борис у ворот, на самом горячем месте, – он полностью игнорирует все попытки соперника отвлечь его от цели, ему не страшны ни толчки, ни удары, он вытерпит все, но покоя ни защитникам, ни вратарю не будет.

Vladislav Tretyak (1979):
"He's the fighter of all fighters. His favorite spot in the attack is the slot, the toughest place to play, the one where the opponents don't know politeness when things get serious."

В команде он всем бойцам боец. Его излюбленное место во время атаки на пятачке, где играть больнее всего, где соперники в жаркие моменты обычно не церемонятся.

Mikhailov:
"I was an uncomfortable player for the opponent. Without hesitation, I went to the goal and hopped in the slot. Of course, they battled me without mercy, but I went there. The opponents didn't like it, but I didn't give in and countered with toughness. I scored a lot of goals for a winger. And since I was often in the slot, I was able to deflect a lot of pucks into the net. (...) My style of playing was to never be afraid of anyone, I always liked to play in the patch near the opponents' goal, deflected pucks into the net and finished attacks with success, but I also got a lot of bumps and bruises. And still, I went on the attack against powerful opponents time and time again. The size didn't matter to me. Big defensemen couldn't cope with me: I was fast and nimble and withstood any pressure."

Я был неудобным для соперника игроком. Не стесняясь, шел на ворота, крутился на пятачке. Конечно, били меня нещадно, но я лез к воротам, на пятачок. Это соперникам не нравилось, но я не уступал, отвечая жесткостью. Много для крайнего нападающего забивал. Причем часто за счет того, что, находясь на пятачке, старался подправить шайбу, и та, изменив направление полета, оказывалась в воротах, неплохо получалась игра на добиваниях.(...) По манере игры я никогда и никого не боялся, всегда любил играть на пятачке у ворот соперников, подправлял шайбы в сетку, успешно действовал на добивании, но и синяков и шишек получал много. Тем не менее раз за разом шел в атаку на мощных соперников. В моем случае решающую роль играли не габариты. Крупные защитники не могли справиться со мной — быстрым, юрким, выдерживавшим любое силовое давление.

Attitude and leadership:

Vladislav Tretyak (1979):
"Not possessing the technique of Kharlamov or the speed of Balderis or the strength of Petrov, he is nevertheless so useful to the team that I simply cannot imagine our collective without Boris. He is a leader: everyone wants to be his equal, to follow him and to emulate him."

Не обладая техникой Харламова, скоростью Балдериса, мощью Петрова, он тем не менее настолько полезен команде, что я просто не представляю себе наш коллектив без Бориса. Он вожак - на него равняются, за ним тянутся, ему хотят подражать.

Anatoli Tarasov (1987):
"Not particularly talkative in life, Boris campaigned for his like-minded friends on CSKA and the national team not so much in word but in deed. He compelled others to imitate him in courage, fighting spirit, fearlessness and in the aspiration to capably fulfill the tasks assigned by the coaches. And from this point of view, the contribution of team captain Boris Mikhailov in many difficult victories, especially in the battles with the Canadian professionals, was no less than the contribution of the coaches."

Не особенно разговорчивый в жизни, Борис агитировал своих друзей-единомышленников по ЦСКА и сборной не столько словом, сколько делом. Он невольно вынуждал, чтобы ему подражали в удали, в боевитости, бесстрашии, в стремлении умело выполнить задания тренеров. И во многих сложных победах, особенно в сражениях с канадскими профессионалами, вклад капитана команды Бориса Михайлова был с этой точки зрения не меньше, чем вклад тренеров.

Anatoli Kostryukov (2008):
"He was the alpha and the leader of the team, its motor."

Но он был еще вожаком, лидером команды, ее мотором.

Anatoli Tarasov (1987):
"Playing next to Mikhailov was both a joy and a challenge. It was a joy because you had someone you could follow, someone who gave you support in hard times. And it was a challenge because it was painfully hard: he didn't just play without regard to himself, but he demanded the same audacity and skill from his partners."

Играть рядом с Михайловым было и радостно и сложно. Радостно потому, что было на кого равняться, у кого найти в трудную минуту поддержку. Сложно, ибо больно крепко, с беспощадностью к себе не играл, а сражался Борис, требуя такой же дерзости и мастерства от партнеров.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1981):
"At the beginning of his sports life, Boris Mikhailov perhaps didn't stand out at all. Persistent work has shaped this wonderful athlete, an indefatigable fighter and a reliable worker on the rink, and his strong sporting character."

Нозволю себе сказать, что Борис Михайлов в начале своей спортивной жизни не поражал, пожалуй, ничем. Упорный спортивный труд сформировал этого замечательного спортемена, неустраиимого бойца и безотказного работника на хоккейной площадке, сформировал этот могучий спортивный характер.

Anatoli Kostryukov (2008):
"It was a pleasure for me to work with Boris because I have special respect for players give themselves entirely to the game."

Мне приятно было работать с Борисом, поскольку с особым уважением отношусь к хоккеистам, целиком отдающим себя игре.

Vladimir Lutchenko (2014):
"Boris had the spirit of a winner, he didn't like to lose, even in training when we were playing soccer or basketball. He was an example to us. When you played with him, it was impossible to let things slide. Boris was a true captain."

Бориса отличал дух победителя, н не любил проигрывать, даже на тренировках, если играл в футбол или баскетбол. Он был для нас примером. Играть с ним спустя рукава было нельзя. Борис был настоящим капитаном.

Vyacheslav Starshinov (1981):
"I'm truly happy that Boris continues to improve his class and continues to grow as an athlete despite of his age (which, according to some 'experts', is already close to critical)."

Меня искренне радует то, что Борис, несмотря на возраст (по мнению некоторых «специалистов», близкий к критическому), продолжает повышать свой класс, продолжает расти как спортсмен.

Anatoli Tarasov (1987):
"New coaching ideas are not always welcome by experienced players. Mikhailov however was a model in this regard..."

Новые тренерские идеи не всегда принимаются игроками опытными, сложившимися. Однако и в этом Михайлов был образцом...

Quoted:

Anatoly Firsov: Зажечь победы свет (1973)
Anatoli Komarov: Хоккей. Справочник. ("Hockey handbook", 1977)
Vladislav Tretyak: Когда льду жарко (1979)
Vyacheslav Starshinov: Чистое время (1981)
Anatoli Tarasov: Настоящие мужчины хоккея (1987)
Anatoli Tarasov: Хоккей. Родоначальники и новички (1998) [Tretyak 1998 quotes from this source]
Boris Mikhailov: Такова хоккейная жизнь (2008)

Anatoli Kostryukov quotes from the foreword of Mikhailov (2008)
Gimayev and Lutchenko (2014) quotes from an article by championat.com

 

[Theokritos]

I'm working on a post about Valeri Kharlamov. Here's one quote I have come across. It's from Stanislav Shatalin (1934-1997), an economist (who taught at the Moscow State University) and an avid fan of Spartak Moscow. He served as a member of the presidium of the Soviet hockey federation from 1973-1985.

"The qualities of a player fully emerge in key meetings and the matches between CSKA and Spartak have been such meetings for many years. On such days Kharlamov was inexhaustibly inventive. I consider his partners Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Petrov to be players of exceptional strength, but even this designation doesn't strike me as sufficient to appreciate Valeri Kharlamov. He literally shredded 'our' defence. It's precisely 'shred': I couldn't pick any other word (…) How many times Kharlamov spoiled my mood, I cannot count (…) Although the main thing in sport is the struggle for the result, for the victory, something else is still significant – how the results and victories are obtained. And thus, at the bottom of my heart, I admired Valeri Kharlamov for the entire 60 minutes of the game, despite of my fan affections. (…) It is no coincidence that my favourite player Alexander Yakushev, who I have been close to for many years, has repeatedly said the best forward in the world is Valeri Kharlamov."

Достоинства игрока в полной мере проявляются в ключевых встречах, а такими на протяжении уже многих лет являются поединки между армейцами и спартаковцами. Харламов бывал в такие дни престо неистощим на выдумку. Его партнеров по тройке Бориса Михайлова и Владимира Петрова причисляю к хоккеистам исключительной силы, но и это определение не кажется мне достаточным, чтобы оценить Валерия Харламова. Он буквально кромсал «наши» защитные построения, именно кромсал: другого слова не подберу. (...) Сколько раз Харламов портил мне настроение — не сосчитать. (...) Хоть главное в спорте - борьба за результат, за победу, но есть еще очень существенное — то, как добываются результаты и победы, поэтому все шестьдесят минут хоккейного действа я, вопреки своим болельщицким привязанностям, в глубине души любовался Валерием Харламовым. (…) Не случайно мой любимый хоккеист Александр Якушев, которого много лет близко знаю, неоднократно говорил, что лучший форвард мира — Валерий Харламов.

 

[Theokritos]

As was the case with Firsov, the material about Kharlamov is so extensive that I will create two separate posts, one dedicated to his game and one to his career. The first post is about the career.

 

[Theokritos]

Valeri Kharlamov (LW, *1948) – His career

1) Junior hockey

Kharlamov started skating when he was five. His father was a bandy player and his son grew up playing football and hockey. His mother was from a Communist family in Bilbao (Spain) and had come to the Soviet Union as a child during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). In 1956, young Kharlamov spent a few months in Bilbao with his mother who wanted to see her parents again. Having returned to Moscow, he resumed playing hockey, but the boy was sickly and when rheumatic fever was diagnosed, he had to spend three months in hospital (1961). Out of the hospital, Kharlamov ignored the orders of the doctors to stop doing sports and continued to play football and hockey in the yard. When he underwent another medical examination in 1962 or 1963, the condition had disappeared.
In 1962, Kharlamov attended a tryout for the CSKA hockey school in front of Tarasov's assistant Boris Kulagin and was admitted.

Boris Kulagin:
"Skating was as natural for him as walking. At the age of 14, he made turns to the left and to the right, of the kind that others have to train a long time, with such ease that no-one doubted whether we should take him or not."

Бегать на коньках было для него столь же естественно, как и ходить. А повороты налево, направо, которые другие разучивают подолгу, четырнадцатилетний Харламов выполнял во время того самого отбора-конкурса настолько непринужденно, что ни у кого не вызывало сомнений, брать его или не брать.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Vladimir Bogomilov, teammate of Kharlamov with CSKA junior team:
"He skated with aplomb, but overall he didn't particularly stand out. Who could have imagined that Kharlamov would be a future star? No-one, I think. It is owed to the CSKA teachers that he didn't get lost in the shuffle. But to assume that they recognized the talent in him right away would mean to engage in wishful thinking."

Валера на коньках держался уверенно, но в целом особо не выделялся. Кто бы мог предположить, что он, Харламов, — будущая звезда? Думаю, никто. В том, что не затерялся он, есть заслуга армейских педагогов. Но считать, что они сразу разглядели в нем дарование, — значит выдавать желаемое за действительное.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Anatoli Tarasov:
"His talent, his fanatical perseverance and his magnificent character were not revealed to all of us right away. It happened gradually."

Его талант, его фанатическое упорство, его чудесный характер раскрылись для всех нас не сразу, постепенно.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Viktor Yerfilov, coach at the CSKA school (2014):
"When he came to our section, I had the impression that he needed to be coached. But when he was a little older, I came to the opinion that there was nothing particular to teach him. Because all the skill in him was so deeply ingrained, genetically and intuitively based, that he was better not told where to move, how to pass and what to do. And when he grew up a bit and became more or less famous, they asked me: 'How does one develop an oustanding player like Valeri Kharlamov? I replied: We need to find a talented kid and to not interfere with his development."

Когда он пришел в секцию, у меня было ощущение, что его надо обучать. Но когда он немного подрос, я пришел к такому мнению, что его обучать-то особенно и нечему. Потому что все умение в нем было настолько глубоко, генетически интуитивно заложено, что ему говорить, куда двигаться, как пасовать, что делать — лучше бы и не стоило. И когда он подрос немного, когда стал более-менее знаменитым, меня спросили: “Как на примере Валеры Харламова вырастить выдающегося игрока?” Я ответил: “Надо найти талантливого парнишку и не мешать ему развиваться”.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

In a game against the junior team of Spartak Moscow, Kharlamov first drew the attention of Anatoli Tarasov. A penalty was called against Kharlamov while he was struggling with Spartak defenceman Igor Lapin.

Valeri Kharlamov:
"Igor Lapin was already physically strong at that time and faced with him, I violated the rules and was sent to the penalty box. Of course I was sorry and ashamed that I had let my comrades down, but suddenly Anatoli Vladimirovich Tarasov came up to me and said: 'Good boy, for you're not scared. Thanks for the courage. Don't be afraid of anybody!' I was happy, proud and delighted. The famous, legendary Tarasov himself, the incomparable hockey magician, had noticed me and praised me for my courage!"

Я нарушил правила, столкнувшись с уже мощным в ту пору Лапиным, и меня посадили на скамью штрафников. Я был, конечно, огорчен, мне было стыдно, что я подвел товарищей, и вдруг ко мне подошел Анатолий Владимирович Тарасов я сказал: "Молодец, что не испугался. Спасибо за мужество. Никогда никого не бойся!" Я был обрадован, горд, восхищен. Сам знаменитый, легендарный Тарасов, несравненный маг хоккея, заметил меня, похвалил за смелость!
→ Source: Valeri Kharlamov, Хоккей - моя стихия. (1977)

Anatoli Tarasov:
"Of course, I noticed the guy, because as the head of the hockey collective, I supervised the training process and always made sure to participate in the admission of novices. I didn't look so much at their athletic data or the skating ability, but whether the guy's eyes were burning and whether it was visible he was obsessed with the desire to become a real player. Kharlamov had all of this in spades."

Естественно, заметил парня и я, поскольку, как руководитель хоккейного коллектива, контролировал учебный процесс и обязательно принимал участие в наборе новичков, присматриваясь не столько к их атлетическим данным или умению кататься на коньках, сколько к тому, горят ли у парня глаза, видно ли, что он одержим желанием стать настоящим хоккеистом. Всего этого в юном Харламове было, как говорится, через край.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Others like Vladimir Pisarevsky, sports commentator for the state television, became aware of young Kharlamov due to his skills.

Vladimir Pisarevksy:
"The first time I saw Valeri was during the youth hockey competition for the championship of Moscow. He was 15 years old and struck me, a sport commentator, with his unusual vision of the game. He beat his opponents in masterly fashion and already had some of his moves to elude the defencemen."

Впервые я увидел Валеру во время юношеских соревнований по хоккею на первенство Москвы. Было ему тогда 15 лет, и он поразил меня, тогда спортивного комментатора, своим необычным видением игры. Он виртуозно обыгрывал своих соперников, у него уже тогда были какие-то свои неуловимые защитниками движения.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Viktor Yerfilov (2014):
"The fact is that his way of skating, his way of moving and his coordination were on another level compared to his peers. And the movement and its amplitude and the attack vector formed an amazing conjunction together."

Дело в том, что его манера катания, его манера движения, его координация были неизмеримо выше в сравнении с остальными сверстниками. И движение, и его амплитуда, и направление атаки складывались вместе в удивительное сочетание.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

A dissenting voice:

Vladimir Bogomilov:
"No matter how many times I go through my memory, I don't find anything outstanding in young Kharlamov. As opposed to Smolin. Alexander Smolin was called wizard and skated circles around all five opponents with ease."

Сколько я ни перебираю в памяти, ничего необыкновенного в юном Харламове не нахожу. Вот Смолин — дело другое. Кудесник, как его звали, Саша Смолин запросто обводил пятерку соперников.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

2) Football prospect

While attending the CSKA hockey school, Kharlamov was still playing for a football team during the summer months and undecided which of the two sports he should devote himself to.

Vadim Nikonov, football player, played for the Soviet national team in the 1970s:
"Valeri had big makings of a football players too. He stood out on the pitch in that he could achieve everything if he wanted. He had complete control over the ball."

У Валерки тоже большие задатки были как у футболиста. Он выделялся на поле тем, что если хотел, то всего добивался. У него в общении с мячом полный порядок был.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Vladimir Bogomilov:
"On the green field, the ball was glued to his leg. He dribbled with ease. He faked in one direction and went in the other."

На зеленом поле мяч у него был как приклеенный к ноге. Обводка была простая. Показал корпусом в одну сторону, а ушел в другую. Надежно прикрывал мяч.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

In 1963, television broadcasts from the World Championship in Sweden (where the Soviets won gold) made a big impression on Kharlamov. Gradually, he moved away from football and gravitated towards a career in hockey.

Valeri Kharlamov:
"I've never been lazy, but to be honest, I didn't enjoy running around the football field. My idols were Vsevolod Bobrov and Eduard Streltsov. Both appeared calm and even sleepy on the pitch. But when the moment came, they found themselves at the most advantageous spot on the pitch and did everything they had to do as fast as required. They scored and made the game intelligent and captivating. They made the game a game, not a tiresome job. Alas, most of the football coaches of that time, including mine, merely repeated: 'Work, work and move more!' In hockey, it's much easier: one push and you have crossed the entire rink. In short, I chose hockey."

Лентяем я никогда не был, но, честно говоря, и носиться без толку по футбольному полю не любил. Моими футбольными кумирами были Всеволод Бобров и Эдуард Стрельцов. Оба казались на поле спокойными, даже сонными. Но вот приходит момент, и они оказывались именно в той точке поля, где им выгоднее всего было быть, и делали всё то, что им следовало делать, с такой скоростью, какую нужно было включить. Они и забивали, и делали игру умной, захватывающей. Они делали игру игрой, а не нудной работой. Увы, большинство футбольных тренеров того времени, да и нынешнего тоже, только и повторяли: работай, работай, двигайся больше! В хоккее хоть проще: оттолкнулся раз — и всю площадку пересек. В общем, остался я в хоккее.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Viktor Yerfilov:
"Kharlamov played in a way that only a talented player can. And I realized that it would be a loss for him and our game if he quit hockey."

Так вот, Харламов сыграл тогда так, как может сыграть только талантливый игрок. И я понял, что, если он бросит хоккей, это будет потерей н для него, и для нашего хоккея.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev:
"He trained at the hockey school of CSKA for four years. During this time, his muscles got used to great physical exertion and his heart became attached to the game."

Он уже четыре года тренировался в хоккейной школе ЦСКА. За это время его мышцы привыкли к большим физическим нагрузкам, его сердце привязывалось к игре.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

3) Transition to senior hockey

In 1966-1967, Kharlamov won the Soviet Under-19 Championship with CSKA. Among his teammates were Alexander Smolin and Vladimir Lutchenko. All three of them were recommended to Tarasov by their coach Viktor Yerfilov. Interestingly, Kharlamov's teammate Vladimir Bogomilov didn't receive a recommendation, even though he had just been named Best Forward of the final tournament.
While Yerfilov and Boris Kulagin lobbied for Kharlamov, Anatoli Tarasov was sceptical about his prospects. Since CSKA had lost the domestic championship to Spartak Moscow, Tarasov thought his team needed to get bigger and more rugged, which is why he brought in Petrov and Mikhailov. Kharlamov didn't fit in his plan.

Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev:
"What Kharlamov didn't know was that the CSKA coach had decided to bet on big guys. (...) If Kharlamov's speed was more or less comparable to that of the senior players, then he obviously lacked mass. (...) Having absendmindedly listened to his assitants who recommended the 18-year-old Kharlamov, Tarasov uttered a phrase that many would later recall: 'Well, he's pint-sized. What's the point?
Anatoli Vladimirovich was a temperamental man and tended to use exaggerations. Of course, Kharlamov was not a strongman, but it was questionable to call a guy who was 174 cm tall and weighted 72 kg 'pint-sized'.
The helpers led Kharlamov to the hockey autocrat. He gave Kharlamov a sharp look, shrugged and said: 'Well, if you want to take a chance, go ahead. If you make it – well done. If you don't cut it – there will be no-one to blame.'"

Не знал Харламов, что тренер ЦСКА в то время решил сделать ставку на крупных ребят. (...) И если скорость у Харламова была более или менее сравнимой со скоростямн мастеров, то массы ему явно не хватало. (...) Рассеянно выслушав своих помощников, рекомендовавших ему восемнадцатилетнего Харламова, ои произнес фразу, которую многие потом вспоминали: — Ну, вот, еще один метр с кепкой. Зачем он нам?
Анатолий Владимирович — человек темпераментный — часто пользуется в разговоре преувеличениями. Харламов, конечно, богатырем не был, но и «метром кепкой» назвать парня ростом 174 сантиметра и весом 72 килограмма было трудно.
Помощинки привели его к хоккейному самодержцу. Тот остренько посмотрел на Харламова, пожал плечами и сказал: — Ну что ж, хочешь рискнуть — давай. Пробьешься — молодец. Не пробьешься — винить некого будет.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Kharlamov was drafted into the army. In the 1967 offseason, he attended the CSKA training camp and improved his physical strength.

Vadim Nikonov:
"When he took his shirt off, I just didn't recognize him. His torso was so powerful. It seemed like he was literally all made of muscles. It was rather strange and even scary to see him like that."

Когда уже Валерка приехал ко мне, он снял майку и я просто не узнал его. Такой мощный торс у него был. Казалось, что он весь буквально был соткан из мышц. Даже как-то непривычно, даже пугающе немного было видеть его таким.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

But when the new season got under way, Tarasov's opinion of Kharlamov had not improved. During the first month, he didn't see any game action at all.

Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev:
"Kulagin and Yerfilov kept lobbying for Kharlamov. 'Let's try him in a game', Kulagin suggested to Tarasov.

Кулагин и Ерфилов продолжали ходатайствовать за Харламова. — Давай попробуем, — предлагал Тарасову Кулагин, — паренька.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

On October 22nd, Kharlamov finally got his chance. He was used as a spare in a game against Sibir Novosibirsk, but didn't do much in that game. Tarasov wasn't impressed at all.

Anatoli Tarasov (October 1967):
"He's nothing special, he's like a little pony out there."

Ничего особенного, какой-то «Конек-горбунок».
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Viktor Yerfilov (2014):
"He didn't believe in him at all. His take was that Valeri was small, skinny and frail. Okay, he was agile, but he wasn't a player who could stand up to the Canadians. At that time, in 1967, Tarasov had the Canadians on his mind. He was preparing for them."

Неверие в него, он в него не верил абсолютно; Валера, по его мнению, был маленький, дохлый, хилый, пусть верткий, но это не был игрок, который мог противостоять канадцам. У Тарасова же тогда в 1967 году были одни канадцы в голове. К ним он готовился.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

4) Sent down to Chebarkul

In November, Kharlamov found himself cut from the squad altogether. He was assigned to a farm team in the third league, Zvezda Chebarkul, "for probation" – often a one-way ticket with no return. Accompanying him was defenceman Alexander Gusev who was sent to Chebarkul as punishment for a "violation of the sporting regime".

Valeri Kharlamov:
"And then coaches told me that I wasn't able to improve my skills with the senior club team and therefore they decided to send me to one of the army teams for probation."

А потом тренеры мне сказали, что, выступая только за клубную мужскую команду, я не смогу повышать свое мастерство, и потому в ноябре они решили направить меня на стажировку в одну из армейских команд.
→ Source: Valeri Kharlamov, Хоккей - моя стихия. (1977)

Later, after Kharlamov had become a star, Tarasov would try to portray the assignment and his earlier opinion of Kharlamov in a slightly different light.

Anatoli Tarasov:
"I saw that he was a talented, remarkable guy, but it was too early to be on the ice with the masters. He was lacking in skills and experience. (...) I invited Kharlamov to play for one of our middle-class army teams for one season, so that the could develop independence in his game, improve his stickhandling, learn new dekes and test them against real opponents."

Видел, что он — человек способный, незаурядный, но выпускать его на площадку с мастерами было еще рановато, не хватало у парня умения, опыта. (...) Чтобы Харламов смог развить в себе игровую самостоятельность, усвовершенствоваться в обводке, разучить новые финты и опробовать их на реальных соперниках, я предложил ему один сезон поиграть в одной из наших армейских команд среднего класса.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

In reality, Kharlamov was not "invited", and of course, Tarasov wasn't eager to recall the more colourful assessments (pint-sized, little pony) he had used in 1967. It's true, however, that Kharlamov's development was in Tarasov's focus: he gave the Chebarkul coaching staff clear instructions on how to deal with the youngster – including the specification that he should play 42 minutes each game!

Anatoli Tarasov:
"Make sure he trains three times a day. In scheduled matches, Valeri should spend at least 70% of the time on the ice, regardless of how the game develops."

Вы должны создать ему условия для ежедневных трехразовых тренировок. В календарных встречах Валерий должен проводить не менее семидесяти процентов времени на льду независимо от того, как складывается игра.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Having arrived in Chebarkul, a town just east of the Ural Mountains dividing the European part of Russia from Siberia, Kharlamov didn't make a favourable first impression on the coaching staff of the local army team. That changed quickly though.

Boris Kulagin:
"I remember the first conversation with the leadership of Chebarkul. They thanked us for giving them Gusev and expressed doubt about Kharlamov: this kid will have a hard time in our league, they said – he will be pushed and they will supply him with so many bruises that he will run away from hockey. I chuckled to myself and told them: Well, let's see... Soon I returned to Chebarkul to see how Valeri and Alexander were doing. And the very leaders who had doubted whether Kharlamov 'would cope' literally couldn't find words to express their admiration for his game."

Помню первый разговор в Чебаркуле с руководством. Поблагодарили нас за то, что дали в команду Гусева и выразили сомнение насчет Харламова: мол, в нашей лиге этому малышу трудно придется — затолкают его, столько синяков наставят, что он из хоккея убежит. Я слушал и про себя посмеивался. А вслух сказал: «Ну что ж, посмотрим...». (…) Вскоре я вновь приехал в Чебаркуль, посмотреть, как поживают Валерий и Саша. И те самые руководители, которые сомневались, «потянет ли Харламов», буквально слов не находили, чтобы выразить восхищение его игрой.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Valeri Smagin, teammate of Kharlamov in Chebarkul:
"We appreciated Valeri for his high skill level and as a kind and caring comrade. I remember that I was greatly impresed by him in a match against the team of Nizhni Targil (...). They were stronger than our team. But we beat them, largely thanks to Valeri, who scored three goals. One time he skated around four opponents before he scored! After this game, our players began to take a closer look at his dribbling. We learned a lot from him."

Мы ценили Валерия за высокое мастерство и как доброго, отзывчивого товариша.
На меня, помню, огром ное впечатление произвела его игра в матче с командой Нижнего Тагила (...). Тагильчане были сильнее нас. Но мы их обыграли, во многом благодаря Валерию, забившему три гола. Одну шайбу он забросил, обведя четверых игроков сопейника! После этого матча игроки «Звезды» начали внимательнее присматриваться к дриблингу Харламова. Многому мы у Валерия научились...
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Kharlamov became a local hero in Chebarkul and a sensation in the third league.

Alexander Gusev:
"He played unselfishly and improved his skill with each day. (...) Hundreds of spectators attended our training sessions. During the games, the arena couldn't accommodate everyone. (...) When we came to a new town on road trips, his reputation had already arrived before him."

Играет самоотверженно и в мастерстве прибавляет день ото дня. (...) На тренировки приходят сотни зрителей. Во время матчей стадион не может вместить всех желающих. (...) так что, когда мы в новый город для игр приезжали, слава о нем.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Kharlamov spent four months with Zvezda Chebarkul. At the beginning of March 1968, Boris Kulagin attended a game by the Chebarkul team. Since a few CSKA defencemen had picked up injuries, Gusev was the primary target of the scouting trip, but Kulagin came away most impressed by Kharlamov.

Boris Kulagin (March 1968) to Tarasov:
"The young player has literally unfolded over the season and showed a great game."

Молодой хоккеист буквально раскрылся за сезон и показывал великолепную игру», — доложил Кулагин Тарасову об игре Харламова.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

A few days later Kharlamov was finally recalled to CSKA.

5) Breakthrough

Kharlamov played for CSKA in the remaining 14 games of the Soviet league season. He was used as a spare and tried out in various line-up combinations.

Vladimir Lutchenko:
"I remember how happy and self-confident he was when he returned from Chebarkul. His eyes were shining. And most importantly, he showed great strength. (...) He skated to the goal and he wasn't bothered by anything. He was unafraid and had a lot of confidence in what he did. (...) During training, I ran into him and almost bounced off from him. Surprised by his strength, I approached him and said: when did you get so pumped, Valeri?"

Вспоминаю, какой счастливый и уверенный в своих силах вернулся он из Чебаркуля. Глаза блестели. И главное, он показывал огромную мощь. (...) И катил на ворота, и всё ему было нипочем. Ни страха, огромная уверенность в правильности своих действий. (...) Тогда я столкнулся с ним во время тренировки, чуть не отскочил от него. Подъехал, удивленно, признавая его силу, говорю: Где ты так накачался, Валер?
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

In late April, he scored his first two league goals (against Krylya Sovietov). A few days later, CSKA played their last game of the season against Spartak Moscow and Kharlamov first drew the attention of Vsevolod Bobrov, then Spartak coach.

Vsevolod Bobrov (1971):
"I remember his first match against us very well. A skinny, rather small guy appeared on the ice. During the warm-up, he looked like a frowning little sparrow. After taking two or three shots on goal, he collided with another Army player and skated off the ice. He was either upset or unwell. 'Looks like a weakling', [Spartak defenseman] Vladimir Migunkov said. But already after the first period, during the break, he, wiping his forehead with a towel, admitted: 'I was wrong. A strong guy!' I cracked a smiled: he had given Vladimir something to handle. Several times Valeri had passed him and others of our experienced defencemen at great speed, demonstrating flawless stickhandling."

Отлично помню матч его дебюта. На лед вышел худенький, небольшого робта паренек. На разминке он выглядел эдаким насупившимся воробышком — ударил два или три раза по воротам, столкнулся с кем-то из армейцев и отъехал к борту. Не то обиделся, не то почувствовал себя неловко. — Вроде бы лапша, — сказал пристально наблюдавитий за ним Володя Мигунько. Но уже после первого периода, в перерыве, он, вытирая полотенцем залитый потом лоб, признался: — Ошибся. Силён парень! Я улыбнулся: дорого далось это Володе. Валерий несколько раз на огромной скорости обходил его и других наших опытных защитников, демонстрируя безупречную обводку.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

The next season (1968-1969) started like the prior one had ended with Kharlamov in a spare role, but he managed to establish himself more and more. By late October 1968, a youth line with Kharlamov (20) at right (!) wing, Alexander Smolin (20) at center and Yuri Blinov (19) at left wing emerged for a few games. Then he was tried out in place of veteran left wing Veniamin Alexandrov on the troika with Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov for a game. It was a one-off, but a month later Alexandrov picked up an injury and Kharlamov got to play with Petrov and Mikhailov again. The three developed chemistry quickly, something Alexandrov had never really had with Petrov and Mikhailov.

Boris Mikhailov:
"It seems that even Tarasov didn't expect we would find a common language with Valeri from the first minute of the game. The other CSKA players said they were pleasantly surprised that the three of us played together in harmony as if we had been training and playing together for ages."

Думается, даже Анатолий Тарасов не ожидал, что с первых же минут игры мы найдем с Валерием общий язык. Потом армейские хоккеисты говорили, что были приятно удивлены тем, что втроем мы играли столь слаженно, как будто давно тренировались и выступали вместе.
→ Source: Boris Mikhailov, Такова хоккейная жизнь. (2008)

Kharlamov became the leading player of the new troika, even though his game still had to develop.

Valeri Kharlamov:
"When I joined their line, I basically had only one advantage: my good (or, as the coaches said, 'non-standard') stickhandling. Everything else I had yet to figure out: an error-free defensive game, the ability to score and the art of passing."

Когда я попал к ним в тройку, у меня, по существу, было только одно достоинство – неплохая, или, как говорили тренеры, нестандартная обводка. Все остальное предстояло постигать – и безошибочную игру в обороне, и умение добивать шайбу, и искусство игры в пас.
→ Source: Valeri Kharlamov, Хоккей - моя стихия. (1977)

Vsevolod Bobrov (1971):
"Stickhandling is one of the passions and one of the greatest strength of this player. In the beginning he even overused it, but then he straightened everything out and established himself on the line."

Обводка — вот одна из страстей и одна из самых сильных сторон этого игрока. На первых порах он даже злоупотреблял ею, но потом все образовалось, и Валерий поставил ее на службу эвену.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Valeri Kharlamov:
"Boris and Vladimir played for me, they played without unnecessary words and reproaches. They hurried to help me when, having lost the puck, I didn't get back in time due to my inexperience, they patiently waited for the pass to which in the beginning I wasn't inclined. They told me: 'Play your game, but look at us, look for us on the rink.' It took a while before I learned to see the whole rink, to play for the partners and to give them precise passes. (...) It was Vladimir and Boris who made me Kharlamov."

Борис и Владимир играли на меня, за меня, играли без лишних слов, без упреков. Они спешили мне на помощь, когда, потеряв шайбу, я по неопытности не успевал вернуться назад, терпеливо ждали паса, к которому я поначалу не питал особого пристрастия. Они говорили мне: "Играй в свою игру, но посматривай на нас, ищи нас на площадке". Прошло немало времени, прежде чем я научился видеть всю площадку, играть на партнеров, выдавать им точные пасы. (...) Именно Володя и Борис сделали меня Харламовым.
→ Source: Valeri Kharlamov, Хоккей - моя стихия. (1977)

Even though his passing game was still work in progress, Kharlamov emerged as something of an unorthodox playmaker.

Leonid Trachtenberg:
"He was not a soloist in the usual sense. He scored less than his partners. In the beginning he rarely passed to them. But the situations he created alone by himself opened an excellent chance for his comrades to attack the goal."

Он не был и солистом в привычном понимании. Он и забивал меньше, чем партнеры. А пасовал им вначале и вовсе редко. Просто ситуации, им создаваемые, сами по себе открывали товарищам отменный шанс непосредственно атаковать ворота.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

The troika Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov quickly became one of the top-scoring forward lines in the USSR and they played for for the Soviet B (second) national team at the international tournament in Moscow (December 1968). Their performance there earned them a call-up to the national team for their annual tour of Canada (January 1969). For Kharlamov, the success in those encounters with the Canadian national team was a big confidence booster.

Vladimir Dvortsov:
"I remember Kharlamov telling me that after the first tour of Canada, he believed in their strength as hockey players."

Помнится, Харламов рассказывал, что в свои силы хоккеиста он поверил после первого турне по Канаде.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

At the 1969 World Championship, the troika Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov made a big impression and Kharlamov received the 4th most All-star votes among all forwards (behind Ulf Sterner, Anatoli Firsov and Václav Nedomanský).

Boris Mayorov:
"Never in the history of our hockey has an entire troika of forwards had such an overwhelming takeoff. Within one season, three young guys became national team players, World Champions, honored masters of sports and recipients of national awards."

Столь головокружительного взлета целой тройки нападающих не знает история нашего хоккея. За один сезон три молодых парня стали игроками сборной, чемпионами мира, заслуженными мастерами спорта, кавалерами правительственных наград.
→ Source: Boris Mayorov, Я смотрю хоккей. (1970)

The troika played together until the end of the 1970-1971 season. Individual recognition during those three seasons (Soviet Best Player voting; Soviet All-star honours; World Championship All-star honours):

Kharlamov: 4th, 4th, 5th. One time Soviet All-star (1971). One time World Championship All-star (1971).
Mikhailov: 5th, 9th, no votes. One time Soviet All-star (1969).
Petrov: 8th, 13th, no votes.

6) Away from Petrov and Mikhailov

In the 1971 offseason, the troika Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov was broken up. Petrov and Mikhailov got a new left wing and Kharlamov was put on a line with Anatoli Firsov (who switched from LW to center) and Vladimir Vikulov (RW).

Valeri Kharlamov:
"When Tarasov told us about his idea, the team was at a training camp in East Germany, in Berlin. We were terribly upset." (...) And I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was sorry to part with my friends, it was a shame that the leading line of CSKA and the national team was broken up and that everything we had worked for so hard was broken up. On the other hand, I now stood next to Anatoli Firsov and Vladimir Vikulov. It was simply impossible to play poorly in that company."

Когда Тарасов поделился с нами своей идеей, команда была на тренировочном сборе в ГДР, в Берлине. Мы ужасно обиделись. (...) А мною владели двойственные чувства. С одной стороны, мне жаль было расставаться с друзьями, было обидно, что ведущее звено не только ЦСКА, но и сборной расформировали, что пропадает все, чего мы с таким трудом достигли. С другой же... Я выступал теперь рядом с Анатолием Фирсовым и Владимиром Викуловым, выступал в компании, где плохо играть было просто невозможно.
→ Source: Valeri Kharlamov, Хоккей - моя стихия. (1977)

Vladimir Dvortsov:
"There were several reasons for it. One was that Tarasov wanted to extend the career of an outstanding player, Firsov, by then a veteran. Thus he decided to add Kharlamov to him and Vikulov. The other reason: moving Kharlamov gave him the opportunity to frighten his partners [Petrov and Mikhailov] who were often arguing, not only among themselves but also with the coach. It was a message to them: 'If you make a fuss, I will disband your troika...'."

Причин для этого было несколько. Во-первых, Тарасов хотел продлить жизнь в хоккее выдающегося форварда, к тому времени ветерана Фирсова. И для этого к нему и Викулову решил добавить Харламова. Во-вторых, забрав Валерия, он имел возможность «постращать» его партнеров, которые искали истину в споре не только между собой, но и нередко в полемике с тренером. Этим он как бы намекал: будете «бузить», разгоню вашу тройку...
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Anatoli Tarasov
"In terms of skill, he satisfies the most demanding partner, and therefore I was convinced that Kharlamov would complement this company on equal terms, strengthen it and make the actions of this line more interesting and varied. The way he plays is quite attractive and convincing. His magnificent stickhandling, unusual decisions and fearlessness are complemented by a willingness to neither spare himself nor the opponent, an insatiable thirst to score and great athleticism.
Valeri's weakness: his passing game is not on the same level. But firstly, this is fixable, and secondly, you can allow the front player to pass less. Not all the players should act in the same manner, for what kind of hockey would it be if every player passed and beat his opponent following a single model! Let Kharlamov remain himself – the closeness of his outstanding partners alone will make him pass to them."

Манера игры Валерия достаточно привлекательна и убедительна. Великолепная обводка, необычные решения, бесстрашие дополняются беспощадностью к себе и к противнику, неутолимой жаждой забивать, прекрасным атлетизмом.
Недостаток Валерия – хуже играет в пас. Но это, во-первых, поправимо, а, во-вторых, переднему игроку можно, согласитесь, позволить меньше играть в пас — не должны же все хоккеисты действовать одинаково: что это за хоккей, если игроки пасуют и обводят соперника по единому стандарту! Пусть он останется прежним Харламовым — уже сама по себе близость выдающихся партнеров заставит его играть с ними в пас.
→ Source: Anatoly Tarasov, Путь к себе. (1974)

At the same time, Tarasov revived his 1-2-2 system. Together with defencemen Alexander Ragulin and Gennadi Tsygankov, the new forward line was advertised as a 1-2-2 unit with Kharlamov and Vikulov as forwards, Firsov and Tsygankov as midfielders and Ragulin as stopper.

Valeri Kharlamov:
"The game in the new unit taught me a lot and gave me a lot. I began to complain less. Maybe because I had more space (the width of the rink was divided between two forwards, not three like before) or maybe because I began to see hockey with different eyes. Playing next to such masters as Anatoli Firsov, I discovered many finer points from anew, I gained a deeper understanding of the tactics of hockey. The new partners taught me to act with more consideration, to follow the game plan more strictly, to prepare in advance for one or another tactical formation which the coaches wanted us to use to puzzle the opponent. In each match, Vikulov and Firsov not only carried out the pre-thought game plan but they were also creative, they improvised and they confronted the opponent with one riddle after the other. They played in both the attack and the defence. And if I played more ahead with my former partners, with little concern for the defence and for helping the defencemen, now, being on the ice with such distinguished players, I couldn't help but follow their example. To play in a different manner and to work less on the ice would have been disrespectful."

Игра в новой пятерке многому меня научила, многое мне дала. Я стал меньше суетиться. Может быть, потому, что теперь у меня был больший простор (разделите ширину площадки -- 30 метров -- не на троих, как прежде, а на двоих), а может быть, потому, что стал иначе видеть хоккей. Играя рядом с таким мастером, как Анатолий Васильевич Фирсов, я заново открывал для себя многие тонкости, иначе, глубже понимал тактику хоккея.
Новые партнеры научили меня действовать на площадке более вдумчиво, строже выполнять планы, разработанные перед матчем, заранее готовиться к тем или иным тактическим построениям, которыми, по замыслу тренеров, мы должны были озадачить соперника. Викулов и Фирсов в каждом матче не только выполняли заранее продуманный план игры, но и творили, импровизировали, предлагали соперникам один ребус за другим. Они действовали и в нападении и в защите. И если с прежними своими партнерами я больше играл впереди, мало заботясь об обороне, о помощи защитникам, то теперь, находясь на льду рядом с такими прославленными игроками, не мог не следовать их примеру. Играть иначе, чем они, меньше трудиться на льду было бы неуважением к ним.
→ Source: Valeri Kharlamov, Хоккей - моя стихия. (1977)

Anatoli Tarasov:
"Having come to the new line, Kharlamov infected such established players as Alexander Ragulin and Anatoli Firsov and Gennadi Tsygankov with his incredible energy and his inexhaustible optimism. Vladimir Vikulov also played his best game in the very season he was put on a line with Valeri."

И, придя в новое звено, сумел зарядить своей невероятной энергией, своим неиссякаемым оптимизмом и Александра Рагулина, и Анатолия Фирсова, и Геннадия Цыганкова — игроков к тому времени уже именитых. Лучшая игра Владимира Викулова тоже приходится на тот сезон, когда он выступал в одном звене с Валерием.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

The unit had success at the 1972 Olympics, but after the tournament, Chernyshov and Tarasov were let go as coaches of the national team. The new head coach Bobrov decided to scratch two veterans from the roster: Davydov (captain of Chernyshov's club Dinamo) and Firsov (captain of Tarasov's club CSKA). He might have viewed both as too loyal to their club coaches. With CSKA Moscow, the troika Kharlamov – Firsov – Vikulov kept playing together, but at the national team level, Firsov was replaced by Alexander Maltsev. The Soviet team failed to win the 1972 World Championship, but Kharlamov made the All-star team together with Maltsev and Vikulov. The three also became Soviet All-stars and to top it off, Kharlamov shared a win in the Best Player survey with Maltsev.

7) Reunited with Petrov and Mikhailov

In 1972-1973, Kharlamov impressed North American observers with his performance against Team Canada in the Summit Series. His linemates Maltsev and Vikulov were less outstanding. After the Series, Bobrov decided to dissolve the troika and reunited Kharlamov with his old partners Petrov and Mikhailov. At the club level, Kharlamov initially kept playing with Firsov and Vikulov like in 1971-1972, but the Soviet hockey federation pressured Tarasov into following the example of the national team (January 1973). The following years (until the end of the 1975-1976 season) constitute the prime era of the troika Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov. Individual recognition during that time (Soviet Best Player voting; Soviet All-star honours; World Championship All-star honours):

Kharlamov: 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 5th. Four time Soviet All-star. Two times WCh All-star, one time WCh Best Forward.
Mikhailov: 2nd, 5th, 5th, 10th. Three time Soviet All-star. One time WCh All-star, one time WCh Best Forward.
Petrov: 2nd, 4th, 9th, 12th. Two time Soviet All-star. Two times WCh All-star.

The period ended when Kharlamov had a car crash in May 1976. He suffered a two-fold fracture of the right tibia, fractures of two ribs, a concussion and several bruises and abrasions. The doctors who treated him told him his career was over, but Kharlamov started working for a comeback as soon as he was back on his feet.

Anatoli Tarasov:
"When he began to participate in game exercises, the passing and shooting skills returned and he skated as fast as before, but I noticed that his famous stickhandling was missing. And it's not that he had lost his skill or forgotten the dekes, no, he was timid, as if he didn't believe in himself. He rarely tried to outplay an opponent. (...) It seemed to me that it was not a matter of technique or of coordination of movements – he was performing the different tricks perfectly well. The reason was different: the pyschological confidence in his ability to outplay the opponent was gone."

Когда он стал участвовать в игровых упражнениях, восстановил навык передач и бросков, начал кататься с привычной скоростью, я заметил, что у него как-то не идет его знаменитая обводка. И не то, чтобы утерян навык или забыты финты, нет, он робко, словно не веря в себя, лишь изредка пытается обвести соперника. (...) А мне казалось, что дело не в технике, не в координации движений — выполняет же он идеально точно другие приемы. Причина в ином — утрачена психологическая уверенность в себе, в своей способности переиграть соперника. И я посоветовал ему включить в дневной цикл, а он состоял у команды из двух-трех тренировок, дополнительную ровку.
→ Source: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Tarasov says Kharlamov's self-confidence grew step by step through the training, but when he returned to play for CSKA in mid-November 1976, the issue had not disappeared.

Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev:
"Independ of his mind and will, his body – remembering the grave injury – instinctively went into self-defence mode. (...) Kharlamov was not afraid, but his muscles and nerves were. Yes, he went to the battle. He ordered the muscles to rush into the thick of the fight, but the instincts sent their signal: this is dangerous! The instincts slowed down the brain commands a little bit, and this little bit was enough for him to be late."

Совершенно независимо от ума и воли тело его, помня о тяжкой травме, инстинктивно обеегало себя. (...) Не он боялся, боялись мышцы, нервы. Да, он шел на схватку. Он приказывал мускулам бросаться в пекло борьбы, а инстинкты посылали свой сигнал: это опасно. Инстинкты чуть тормозили команды мозга, чутьчуть, и этого чуть-чуть было достаточно, чтобы опоздать.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Dvortsov claims that Kharlamov forced himself into physical battles to overcome his hesitation and that his self-confidence slowely returned. Perhaps it did, compared to his level right around the time of his comeback in fall 1976, but the general perception seemed to be that he was not quite the player he had been before. Individual recognition in this period (to the end of the 1980-1981 season):

Kharlamov: 3rd*, 6th, 7th, 8th, no votes. One time Soviet All-star.
Mikhailov: 1st, 1st*, 3rd, 3rd, retired. Three times Soviet All-star. One time WCh Best Forward and All-star.
Petrov: 2nd, 5th, 6th*, 8th, no votes. Two times Soviet All-star. Two times WCh All-star.
(*Izvestia European Poll instead of domestic voting, 1978-1979)

In August 1981, Kharlamov was involved in another car crash. This time it was lethal, not only for him but also for his wife and her cousin.

 

[Theokritos]

Valeri Kharlamov (LW, *1948) – His game

1) General comments:

Hockey handbook:
"One of the strongest Soviet players ever. Not possessing a strong physis, he gained fame with his delicate technique in handling the puck, his elegant mastery of skating, his amazing speed and his agility in maneuvering around the rink which helped him to avoid collisions with the defensemen."

Один из сильнейших советских хоккеистов всех лет. Не обладая богатырским телосложением, снискал себе славу филигранной техникой владения шайбой, отточенным мастерством катания на коньках, удивительной быстротой и ловкостью маневрирования по полю, помогающего ему уходить от столкновения с защитниками.
→ Source: Anatoli Komarov (editor), Хоккей. Справочник. (1977)

Anatoli Tarasov (1971):
"The strength of Kharlamov lies in his peculiar stickhandling and in his decision-making. Fine technique, strong will and working capacity don't always go hand in hand in an athlete. Kharlamov combines them."

Сила Харламова в необычности обводки и решений. Не всегда в спортсмене уживаются вместе высокая техника, крепкая воля и работоспособность. Харламов их сочетает.
→ Source: Yuri Tsybanev in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Boris Kulagin:
"Valeri was born to play. In football he could have achieved and been much. In basketball if he was taller. His ability to see the site and anticipate the course of events set him apart in everything. Add his pride – Valeri couldn't stand being second – and it's easy to see why even at the billiard table Kharlamov had few equals."

Валерий был прирожденный игровик, он многого мог бы добиться и в футболе, и, будь. Харламов повыше ростом, в баскетболе, поскольку всюду его умение видеть площадку, способность предугадать ход событий выделяли его среди остальных. Добавьте к этому самолюбие — Валерию претило быть вторым — и нетрудно понять, почему даже за биллиардным столом Харламову немного было равных.
→ Source: Boris Kulagin in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Anatoli Tarasov (1991):
"Valeri brought his control over the three speeds of hockey to an extraordinary degree of perfection: the speed of explosive maneuvers on the ice, the speed of handling the stick and the instant reaction to changes in the game situation, and finally, the speed of thought, not inferior, I believe, to the latest computers. There are many classy forwards who had one of the three speeds. But in combination, in entirety, only Valeri Kharlamov owned them in perfect harmony."

В чем же, собственно, состояло дарование Харламова, почему его считали сильнейшим форвардом этой самой популярной в мире игры? Он владел в необычайной степени тремя скоростями: взрывной быстротой передвижения и маневра на льду, молниеносной реакцией на малейшие изменения игровой ситуации и поведения партнеров и соперников, нестандартно быстротой технического мышления.
→ Source: Anatoli Tarasov, Хоккей. Родоначальники и новички. (2005)

Vsevolod Bobrov (1971):
"After watching Valeri play for a while, our guys [on the Spartak team] began to say: 'This kid resembles Veniamin Alexandrov somewhat...'. Indeed, in the richness and refinement of the technical skills he has mastered and in the grace of their execution at tremendous speed, Valeri is really similar to his famous predecessor Veniamin Alexandrov. Just like him, Valeri has one passion: the attack. His coaches took these qualities and his linemates into account: while defending the goal, Valeri remains slightly behind, quasi intentionally, in order to rush ahead at the first opportunity. Like the sword of Damocles, he is always 'hanging' over the goal of the opponents. He is always ready to rush forward to score a goal or create a scoring opportunity for his partners."

Понаблюдав игру Валеры, наши ребята стали через некоторое время говорить: — Этот парень чем-то смахивает на Веню... Действительно, по своей технической подготовке, по богатству и отточенности освоенных приемов, по изяществу их исполнения на колоссальной скорости Валерий и впрямь похож на своего знаменитого предшественника Вениамина Александрова. Так же, как у него, страсть Валерия — атака.Эти качества учли тренеры команды, учли партнеры: Валерий во время обороны своих ворот как бы умышленно чуть отстает, чтобы при первой же возможности рвануться вперед. Он как дамоклов меч всегда «висит» над воротами соперников, всегда готов броситься вперед, чтобы лично забить гол или создать голевую ситуацию партнерам.
→ Source: Vsevolod Bobrov in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Anatoli Tarasov (1991):
"No matter which hockey stars were surrounding Valeri – either in the camp of the opponent or among his teammates –, he remained the strongest of the strongest and the first among the best."

И какие бы хоккейные звезды ни окружали Валерия – и в стане соперников, и среди партнеров по команде, – он оставался сильнейшим среди сильнейших, первым среди лучших.
→ Source: Anatoli Tarasov, Хоккей. Родоначальники и новички. (2005)

Ron Ellis (1981):
"He's one of the most gifted hockey players I've ever played against."
Source: Montreal Gazette, August 28th 1981

Jim Coleman (1981):
"Kharlamov, superbly endowed with skating speed and agility, physical strength, co-ordination and a flaming competitive spirit, was one of the greatest hockey players in the long history of the sport. When he was at this peak his passion for the game earned him the right to be mentioned in the same breath with such immortal forwards as Howie Morenz, Rocket Richard, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe and Jean Believeau."
Source: Calgary Herald, August 28th 1981

2) Stickhandling and movement:

Anatoli Tarasov:
"Kharlamov's stickhandling is almost legendary. Outsmarting and outplaying not just one but several opponents, and not just once but again and again, and with ease, amazing the opponents and filling them with insecurity and respect – that was the famous Kharlamov."

«Обводка Харламова» — это уже почти легенда. Перехитрить, переиграть в единоборстве не одного, а нескольких противников, и не единожды, а снова снова, с легкостью поразительной и внушающей соперникам неуверенность и почтение — этим был славен Харламов.
→ Source: Anatoli Tarasov in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Vsevolod Bobrov:
"In particular, Kharlamov caused the defencemen trouble with his fabulous stickhandling. He could literally outplay an opponent on the spot or 'unwind' two and even three opponents. Valeri played at a very high speed and physically he was exceptionally sturdy. But the main thing is what made him the number one player of his time: he only needed a tiny bit of space to outplay an opponent or several opponents."

Особенно Харламов досаждал защитникам своей потрясающей обводкой. Буквально на «пятачке» он мог обыграть одного или «раскрутить» двух, а то и трех соперников. Валерий играл на очень высоких скоростях, был исключительно крепок физически, но главное все-таки, что его делало мастером хоккея с шайбой номер один своего времени: ему достаточно было крохотного пространства, чтобы обыграть соперника или соперников.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov & Zinovi Yurev, Форвард № 17. (1984)

Yuri Lyapkin:
"His stickhandling at top speed was such that you didn't catch how he went around the defencemen. To me it seemed like the famous Brazilian soccer player Garrincha was on the ice. Valeri did the same: poof, a turn of movements and he went the other way. I was fortunate enough to play against the Almetov line and the Starshinov line and the Petrov line. The latter was the most difficult to handle, in particular Valeri. (...)
Kharlamov made good use of his speed and his coordination. He could break away anywhere: to the left and to the right, and he could slip between the two defencemen and score right away."

У него уже была обводка коньком такая на скорости, было непонятно, как он через защитников перешагивал. Мне всегда казалось, что на льду играет знаменитый правый крайний бразильской сборной Гарринча. Валерка тоже так делал — раз, смена движений и в другую сторону поехал. Мне посчастливилось играть и против альметовской тройки, и против старшиновской, и против петровской. Этой первой тройке ЦСКА и особенно Валере противостоять было труднее всего.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Leonid Trachtenberg:
"The uniqueness of Kharlamov was explained by one factor – his non-standard stickhandling. But behind this boring word, everyone saw a stunning picture: a forward who knows the shortest way to the goal and moves straight towards the defencemen, and while his last move is virtually unpredictable, the consequences for the opponents are dramatically obvious."

Неповторимость Харламова объясняли элементарно - нестандартной обводкой. Но за скучным словом виделась всем поразительная картина: форвард, знающий самый короткий путь к воротам, движущийся по прямой на защитников, когда последний ход практически не предсказуем, а последствия его для соперников драматически очевидны.
→ Source: Leonid Trachtenberg in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yuri Tsybanev:
"He did not use majestic flowing gestures nor the quick stick-fencing of the masters who had developed before the introduction of the physical game. His drives to the opposing end were not sprawling, they rather were direct with sharp short deviations. Walking around the defencemen, he adjusted the puck towards his turn a little, imperceptibly, like an experienced dressage rider guides the horse with movements eluding the observer."

Он не применял ни величественных плавных жестов, ни проворного клюшечного фехтования мастеров, сложившихся до введения силовой игры. Его набеги на тылы соперника не были размашистыми, скорее были прямыми, с чуточными резкими отклонениями. Обводя защитников, он подправлял шайбу себе на ход самую малость, незаметно, так, как в выездке опытный всадник неуловимыми для наблюдателя движениями направляет коня.
→ Source: Yuri Tsybanev in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Lev Lebedev:
"Sometimes he walked around renowned defencemen with such ease that it looked like an experienced master had decided to fool around with the kids on a backyard rink."

Порой признанных защитников призанных он обходил так непринужденно, что могло показаться — опытный мастер решил побаловаться с детворой на дворовом катке.
→ Source: Lev Lebedev in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yuri Lukashin (1972):
"Valeri Kharlamov always bypasses his opponents at maximum speed. He comes very close to the opponent, but using his 'rocket' skating with an instant change of direction, rhythm and pace, he manages to slip past the defenceman."

Валерий Харламов всегда обводит соперников на максимальной скорости. Он подходит очень близко к сопернику, но, используя свое «реактивное» катание с мгновенной сменой направлений, ритма и темпа, успевает проскочить мимо защитника.
→ Source: Yuri Lukashin in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yuri Tsybanev:
"Our current 'technicians' (and they will object to that term) Sergei Makarov and Vladimir Krutov have repeatedly been asked if they have adopted any of Kharlamov's technique. Both have answered that it obliged them to develop their technical skills, but to adopt and repeat something that Kharlamov did was impossible."

Видных нынешних «технарей», а они наперечет, Сергея Макарова и Владимира Крутова, не раз спрашивали, переняли ли они что-либо из харламовской техники. Оба отвечали, что наблюдению за ней обязаны развитием своего технического умения, но перенять что-то у Харламова, повторить что-то его было невозможно.
→ Source: Yuri Tsybanev in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Scotty Bowman (1981):
"He was such a great player in that '72 series. He was a great stickhandler. He was close to Yvan Cournoyer's style at his prime."
Source: Montreal Gazette, August 28th 1981

Guy Lafleur (1981):
"I think he was the greatest of the Russians I've seen play or played against. I haven't really seen too many people as good as him with the puck."
Source: Montreal Gazette, August 28th 1981

3) Decision-making and creativity:

Lev Lebedev:
"He was not afraid to make unexpected decisions where others would rather make a standard play. Mind you, a good and rational play, but a standard play. His decisions were often ingenious and animated the game in bright colours."

Он не боялся принять неожиданное решение там, где друтой предпочел бы сыграть по стандарту, пусть правильному, рациональному, но стандарту. Его решения часто были остроумны, расцвечивали игру веселыми красками.
→ Source: Lev Lebedev in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yevgeni Rubin:
"When you review a situation in which Kharlamov acted in one way or another, you think to yourself: 'Wow, what an idea!'"

Но когда потом мысленно восстанавливаешпь ситуацию, в которой Харламов поступил так или иначе говорили себе: «Надо же, до чего додумался!»
→ Source: Football-Hockey 23/1972 (June 4th 1972)

Anatoli Firsov:
"If you manage to guess and predict his game play and his decision in any given situation in just one case out of three, then you have the talent of a good hockey defenseman."

Если отгадаете, сумеете предсказать его игровой ход, решение в той или иной ситуации хотя бы в одном случае из трех, значит, в вас пропал талант хорошего хоккейного защитника.
→ Source: Anatoli Firsov, Зажечь победы свет. (1973)

Herb Brooks (1981):
"At one time, he was one of the top half-dozen players in the world. He was an exciting and creative player."
Source: Montreal Gazette, August 28th 1981

4) Shooting:

Valeri Kharlamov:
"I try to get the shot off at some point in the middle of the stickhandling, when the goaltender is still waiting for my battle with the defencemen to come to an end. If this succeeds, the goaltender tends to be caught off guard. (...) The wrist-shot is more dangerous for the goaltender [than the slap-shot]. It is more unexpected and it's harder for the goaltender to predict the direction of the puck's flight."

В какой-то момент обводки, когда вратарь ждет, чем единоборство кончится, я стараюсь, не завершая ее, бросить. Если это удается, вратарь, как правило, оказывается застигнутым врасплох. (...) Кистевой бросок для вратаря опаснее. Он неожиданнее, и ему труднее предугадать направление полета шайбы.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Maxim Makarychev:
"How many goaltenders fell victim to Valeri Kharlamov when his moves on the ice signaled that he would shoot, let's say, to the right, and then he put it to the high left. Vyacheslav Fetisov has stated that Kharlamov demonstrated these tricks brilliantly in training: 'Tretyak knew about it and was prepared, but Valeri still scored on him time after time', he recalled."

Сколько натерпелись от Валерия Харламова вратари соперников, когда он «своим танцем» на льду показывал, что будет бросать, скажем, вправо, а сам поражал левую девятку ворот. Вячеслав Фетисов признавался, что Харламов с блеском демонстрировал эти фокусы на тренировках. «Третьяк об этом знал, готовился, а Валера все равно, раз за разом, забивал ему», — вспоминал он.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Ken Dryden:
"You couldn't take your eyes off Kharlamov for a second when he was on the ice. I realized this after our first meeting in the fall of 1972 when he scored two goals on me. His shots were hard, accurate and, most dangerous, often unexpected."

С мистера Харламова, когда он был на льду, нельзя было спускать глаз ни на секунду. Я понял это после первой же встречи осенью семьдесят второго года, когда он забил мне два гола. Он бросал шайбу сильно, точно и, что опаснее всего, часто неожиданно.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

5) Passing and playmaking:

Anatoli Tarasov:
"The pass – precise, perfectly accurate, hidden from the opponent and known to the partners – has been used in our hockey for a long time. It was employed by Nikolai Khlystov, the forward of Krylya Sovietov and the national team, at the dawn of the development of our game. Excellent use of it was made by Alexander Almetov, Alexander Uvarov, Anatoli Firsov, Boris Mayorov, Vladimir Vikulov and many others. But no-one was able to pass as skillfully, as creatively and as cunningly as Kharlamov."

Пас — выверенный, ювелирно точный, скрытый от противника и известный партнерам был изобретен в нашем хоккее довольно давно. Его применял еще Николай Хлыстов — нападающий команды «Крылья Советов» и сборной страны на заре освоения этой игры. Отлично использовали его Александр Альметов, Александр Уваров, Анатолий Фирсов, Борис Майоров, Владимир Викулов и многие другие. Но так искусно, так творчески и хитро, как делал это Харламов, пасовать никому не удавалось.
→ Source: Anatoli Tarasov in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yevgeni Rubin:
"It's hard to find an equal to him in the skill of solving tactical tasks with a pass and the game without the puck. He scores a lot, but more often by finishing a combination play or finding a way to go one-against-one with the goaltender."

Трудно найти равного ему по умению рештать тактические задачи с помощью паса и игры без шайбы. Он много забивает но чаще всего — завершая комбинацию звена или найдя способ выскочить один на один с вратарем.
→ Source: Football-Hockey 23/1972 (June 4th 1972)

Yuri Lyapkin:
"He went ahead aggressively. And he returned the puck with a timely pass. If he saw his partner was in a better position, he wasn't greedy, he always gave the pass. His eyes didn't overlook anything."

Он упорно лез вперед. И вовремя мог пас отдать. Если он видел, что партнер находится в более выгодной позиции, он не жадничал, всегда пас отдавал. При этом глаза ничего не выдавали.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Vsevolod Bobrov (1971):
"His rapid drives and his delicate dribbling allow him to advance into the zone quickly while leaving the opposing defencemen behind or, conversely, drawing them torwards him like a magnet. This opens up space for his linemates to operate."

Его скоростные проходы, его филигранный дриблинг позволяют ему стремительно проходить в зону, оставляя за спиной защитников соперника или, наоборот, притягивая ых, как магнитом, к себе. Это открывает оперативный постор для партнеров.
Понаблюдав игру Валеры, наши ребята стали через некоторое время говорить: — Этот парень чем-то смахивает на Веню... Действительно, по своей технической подготовке, по богатству и отточенности освоенных приемов, по изяществу их исполнения на колоссальной скорости Валерий и впрямь похож на своего знаменитого предшественника Вениамина Александрова. Так же, как у него, страсть Валерия — атака.Эти качества учли тренеры команды, учли партнеры: Валерий во время обороны своих ворот как бы умышленно чуть отстает, чтобы при первой же возможности рвануться вперед. Он как дамоклов меч всегда «висит» над воротами соперников, всегда готов броситься вперед, чтобы лично забить гол или создать голевую ситуацию партнерам.
→ Source: Vsevolod Bobrov in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Anatoli Tarasov:
"He forced the opponents to rush at him in fear for the safety of their goal, thereby freeing his partners from their custody. It was then that Valeri stealthily sent the puck forward to a teammate who took an advantageous position near the goal."

Вынуждал соперника в страхе за безопасность своих ворот бросаться на него вдвоем, освобождая тем самым от опеки партнеров. Вот тут-то Валерий скрытным броском переправлял шайбу товарищу по команде, занявшему выгодную позицию вблизи ворот.
→ Source: Anatoli Tarasov in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

6) Consistence in key games:

Stanislav Shatalin:
"The qualities of a player fully emerge in key meetings and the matches between CSKA and Spartak have been such meetings for many years. On such days Kharlamov was inexhaustibly inventive. I consider his partners Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Petrov to be players of exceptional strength, but even this designation doesn't strike me as sufficient to appreciate Valeri Kharlamov. He literally shredded 'our defence'. It's precisely 'shred': I couldn't pick any other word (…) How many times Kharlamov spoiled my mood, I cannot count (…) Although the main thing in sport is the struggle for the result, for the victory, something else is still significant – how the results and victories are obtained. And thus, at the bottom of my heart, I admired Valeri Kharlamov for the entire 60 minutes of the game, despite of my fan affections [for Spartak]. (…) It is no coincidence that my favourite player Alexander Yakushev, who I have been close to for many years, has repeatedly said the best forward in the world is Valeri Kharlamov."

Достоинства игрока в полной мере проявляются в ключевых встречах, а такими на протяжении уже многих лет являются поединки между армейцами и спартаковцами. Харламов бывал в такие дни престо неистощим на выдумку. Его партнеров по тройке Бориса Михайлова и Владимира Петрова причисляю к хоккеистам исключительной силы, но и это определение не кажется мне достаточным, чтобы оценить Валерия Харламова. Он буквально кромсал «наши» защитные построения, именно кромсал: другого слова не подберу. (...) Сколько раз Харламов портил мне настроение — не сосчитать. (...) Хоть главное в спорте - борьба за результат, за победу, но есть еще очень существенное — то, как добываются результаты и победы, поэтому все шестьдесят минут хоккейного действа я, вопреки своим болельщицким привязанностям, в глубине души любовался Валерием Харламовым. (…) Не случайно мой любимый хоккеист Александр Якушев, которого много лет близко знаю, неоднократно говорил, что лучший форвард мира — Валерий Харламов.
→ Source: Stanislav Shatalin in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yuri Tsybanev:
"He kept the game initiative against any opponent, for him there were no inopportune and inconvenient opponents. Whether in the CSKA jersey against Spartak or in the national team jersey against Canada, Czechoslovakia and Sweden, nobody brought him out of his playing rhythm."

соперником, для него не было неподходящих, неудобных. Вы ходил ли он в форме ЦСКА против «Спартака» или в форме сборной против команд Канады, Чехословакии, Швеции, ритма дыхания его игры не сбивал никто.
→ Source: Yuri Tsybanev in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

7) Physical play:

Valeri Kharlamov:
"In physical battles, I did not immediately succeed. But then I figured it out somehow: in this matter, it is crucial to choose the right moment for the collision with the opponent. If you do everything right, you stay on your feet and with the puck. If you rush it or you're late, you've got yourself to blame. I learned a lot from Starshinov, Vikulov and Davydov."

С силовой борьбой не сразу у меня стало получаться. Но потом как-то додумался: в этом деле очень важно правильно выбрать момент для столкновения с противником. Сделаешь все в аккурат, останешься на ногах и с шайбой, поторопишься или промедлишь — пеняй на себя. Многому я научился в этом у Старшинова, Викулова, Давыдова.
→ Source: Vladimir Dvortsov in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Yevgeni Rubin:
"Physical battles are now allowed everywhere on the rink and the defending team has thus been handed a powerful weapon: to stop the opponent with force, you don't have to wait until he appears in your own zone.
The requirements for the forwards have also become different. It was always believed that success in hockey is determined by the speed of reaction, speed of thinking and speed of executing technical skills. But the rule change has forced a reconsideration of the very concept of speed. What was previously considered to be fast is no longer good enough: before you have time to look around, you will be left without the puck, knocked down to the ice and plastered onto the board. Everything has to be done not in a matter of seconds, but even in fractions of a second. And you have to do what the opponent doesn't expect: even pause, even slow down. That's how Maltsev and Kharlamov play. And they themselves are looking for physical battles and feel at home in them."

Силовая борьба разрешена теперь на площадке повсюду, и обороняющаяся команда получила таким образом в свои руки мощное оружие: чтобы остановить противника силовым приемом, не надо ждать, когда он появится на твоей территории.
Иными стали и требования к нападающим. Всегда считалось, что-в хоккее успех решают быстрота реакции, быстрота мышления, быстрота выполнения технических приемов. Но нововведення заставили пересмотреть само это понятие — быстрота.
То, что прежде очиталось быстрым, теперь не годится: не успеешь оглянуться, как тебя оставят без шайбы, собьют на лед, припечатают к борту. Все надо делать нев секунды даже, а в считанные доли секунд, делать не так, как ждет противник, неожиданно. Даже паузы, даже сбрасывание — скоростей. Так играют Мальцев и Харламов. И они сами ищут силовую борьбу и чувствуют себя в ней в родной стихии.
→ Source: Football-Hockey 23/1972 (June 4th 1972)

Valeri Kharlamov:
"If a one-hundred-kilogram defenceman is standing still and I rush at him, my kinetic energy is greater. All that matters is to catch the moment when he relaxes and to take him by surprise. And for this it's necessary to make him believe that I'm not going for a collision, that I'm trying to avoid it. And then I push him. The ability to outwit the opponent is needed here just the same."

Если стокилограммовый защитник стоит, а я мчусь на него, моя кинетическая энергия больше. Важно только поймать момент, когда он расслабится, застигнуть его врасплох. А для этого надо убедить его в том, что я не иду на столкновение, постараюсь сейчас избежать его. И толкнуть. Тут необходимо то же умение перехитрить противника.
→ Source: Maxim Makarychev: Валерий Харламов. (2015)

Bobby Clarke:
"Kharlamov was an incredible player and he could play physically too."

Source

8) Attitude:

Anatoli Firsov:
"Like Vikulov, Kharlamov belongs to the category of players who don't have to be called to train."

Харламов принадлежит к той категории мастеров, что и Викулов, – их не приходится призывать тренироваться.
→ Source: Anatoli Firsov, Зажечь победы свет. (1973)

Leonid Trachtenberg:
"Petrov couldn't help but argue with the coaches. He always expressed his own point of view. You couldn't make Kharlamov speak at team meetings, while Petrov, watchful of any utterance he heared, was always ready to speak and to fuel a controversy. Kharlamov on his part usually just smiled at his partner's passion. But Petrov always sneered at Kharlamov's contemplancy, which, however, did not harm their friendly relations."

Петров же не мог не спорить с тренерами. Всегда высказывал собственную точку зрения. Если Харламова невозможно было заставить высказаться на собрании, то Петров — внимательный к любому высказыванию — всегда готов был выступить, обострить полемику. Харламов же обычно только улыбался запальчивости партнера. Но и Петров всегда иронизировал над благодушием Харламова, что, правда, ничуть не вредило их дружеским отношениям.
→ Source: Leonid Trachtenberg in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)

Vladislav Tretyak:
"Big players tend to be people with difficult characters. They give a lot to the game and demand a lot from themselves. That's probably why they don't have mercy towards the mistakes of others, especially in the seconds right after the mistake. At the very least, I had to listen to a lot of bitter words from leading players of several generations. I tried no to take offence, to understand them, but their criticism still bothered me... And then I remember that in all those years I never heard a single rebuke from Valeri Kharlamov. Quite the opposite, he always hurried to console me."

Но большие игроки — люди, как правило, с нелегкими характерами. Они много отдают игре, многого требуют от себя. Они потому, наверное, бывают беспощадны к промахам других, особенно в первые секунды после неудачи. Мне, во всяком случае, приходилось выслушивать немало горьких слов от ведущих игроков разных поколений. Я старался не обижаться, понять их, но все равно тяжело переживал критику... И вот вспоминаю, что от Валерия Харламова я за все годы ни разу не услышал ни единого упрека. Он, наоборот, всегда спешил утешить.
→ Source: Vladislav Tretyak in: Boris Levin (editor), Три скорости Валерия Харламова. (1984)