Worthy of attention best hockey players our championship.
Sergey KOSTITSYN, Belarus
Nowadays Sergei should be called one of the main creators of the two victories of the Belarusian national team. On account of his two goals, scored in the minority (!), A goal for the Swiss when playing in equal compositions and a magnificent pass to Mikhail Grabowski. By tradition, we call Sergei the youngest of the Kostitsyn brothers, although it should be noted that it is somehow wrong to refer the term “younger” to a 27-year-old man. Sergei has long ceased to be that Novopolotsk boy who showed such great hopes that at the age of 18 he was drafted by Montreal. Today S. Kostitsyn, as Glen Hanlon says, is a world-class hockey player, who has six years of NHL career behind him. Today they choose not him, but he himself.
Joel WARD, Canada
Forward of the Canadian national team and partner of our Grabowski on the link in the Capitals Joel Ward is black. Agree, you rarely see how these guys play hockey. Moreover, Ward is doing well: after three matches, he has 4 (3 + 1) points. He plays for the national team for the first time, calls the Minsk championship his personal Olympics, but at the same time does not see something special in his figure: “I understand perfectly well that I am black, who plays a sport where whites are in the majority. It happened so historically. That's life".
Pekka RINNE, Finland
Following the Russian Sergey Bobrovsky and the Norwegian Lars Haugen, our old acquaintance Finn Pekka Rinne also earned his “shutout”. Remember how in the fall of 2012 he played for Dynamo Minsk during the NHL lockout? He played 22 games, but when rumors about an imminent resumption of the season spread from across the ocean, the Finn flew home to “treat a groin injury” and never returned to Dynamo. But he returned to Minsk as the main goalkeeper of the Finnish national team. Did the Dynamo squads find out all the secrets of the almost two-meter-high goalkeeper during joint training sessions? The answer to this question should have sounded last night.
Victor TIKHONOV, Russia
The legendary Soviet hockey coach Viktor Tikhonov can be proud of his grandson. 26-year-old forward of St. Petersburg SKA now has9 (4 + 5) points and leads the championship bombardier race. Even worldwide famous Alexander Ovechkin walks behind Tikhonov in it.
Ondrej GERMAN, Czech Republic
In the Czech team, which at the start of the championship, obviously decided not to rip the veins and harness slowly, while defender Ondřej Nemec stands out more than others. By the way, he was already the world champion - in 2010. And now he heads the roster of defensive scorers (1 + 4 points) and has "+4" in the utility column. And the most intriguing thing. After playing against the Italians, Nemets has the longest playing time in the Czech team - 90 minutes 14 seconds - more than an hour and a half.
Tim ERIKSON, Sweden
The Swedish national team at the World Championships in Minsk has two Ericsson and one Erickson. Our today's story is about the latter. After three games, Tim Erickson was among the leaders of the championship in terms of plus / minus, he has a +4. Well, to start talking about him, you should definitely mention his father. In the late 80s and early 90s, Ian Erikson played ten seasons in New York for the Rangers. Tim was born in the city of the big apple. In 2009, in the first round of the NHL draft, he was chosen by Calgary, but unexpectedly for many, the defender refused to sign a contract with this club. As a result, the obstinate Swede was sold to the Rangers, where he made his debut in the NHL match.
Defender, permanent captain of CSKA and the USSR national team, three times Olympic champion, multiple champion Peace Viktor Grigorievich Kuzkin recalls the events winter Olympics 1964 in Innsbruck.
« The magnificent five and the goalkeeper "- exactly in 1964 after brilliant victory the USSR national team at the Olympics in Innsbruck, the words of this anthem of Soviet hockey were made in the headlines of numerous publications. They were dedicated to the ice squad led by Arkady Chernyshev and Anatoly Tarasov, for which defender Viktor Kuzkin also played.
It was so long ago, I didn't have any special, vivid impressions, I don't even know where to start, - Viktor Grigorievich sighs.
Maybe you should start with the preparation process for the national team? Maybe Arkady Chernyshev and Anatoly Tarasov prepared the national team for the Olympics according to some special program?
- No, everything was as usual. Before the New Year, the team left for North America to the already traditional Christmas tournament, in which we played about ten games with various amateur teams from the USA and Canada. This was done in order to look at two or three newcomers for the national team. If a player went through the American-Canadian sieve, did not break psychologically (you yourself know what an aggressive, power style the representatives of the North American teams preach), then we can already say that he was 99% in the national team. In general, the composition of the Olympic team was already known in advance. The same players became world champions a year ago in Stockholm.
About two weeks before the start of the Olympics, we left for Alushta, where we sat down for a week's training camp: we lifted the barbell, did physical exercise, athletics and just spending time in pleasant communication with each other. That is, in general, all the preparation.
- Who were the favorites of the hockey tournament before the start of the Olympics?
- Apart from our national team, then, of course, the most dangerous rival was the national team of Czechoslovakia, with which we always played hard. Already during the very Olympic tournament I was surprised by the Swedish national team, which played very well.
A year before Olympic Games in Innsbruck, the Canadian national team was headed by the famous coach Dave Bauer, who immediately announced that he would definitely beat the Russians. Were there any fears that he would keep his word?
- No, it was not. We did not take the Canadians seriously precisely because their team was still raw. Bauer would not have had time to create for such short term a combat-ready team, so there were no fears.
Since we are talking about the Canadians ... In the game with them, the fate of the Olympic "gold" was actually decided, such a kind of final. How did the game develop?
- The game was very difficult for us. The Canadians from the first minutes unleashed a flurry of attacks on our goal, and already in the opening of the meeting Suobrik opened the scoring. We had to win back the puck twice, and only in the third period did Veniamin Aleksandrov score the puck, which turned out to be victorious. The Canadian national team always plays very tough, heavy, power hockey. For me, this meeting was doubly difficult, since before the game I got a back injury. Although, on the other hand, this injury may have allowed me to play more reliably: I did not try to go forward, sharpen the game, focusing only on defense.
- Viktor Grigorievich, what were the living conditions in the Olympic village?
- We can say that these conditions were barracks. We had a wooden bunk bed in our room - and nothing else. We were fed, however, very well. A variety of cuisine was presented, including Russian. We all lived very amicably, went to visit each other. Our delegation even included artists to help us distract ourselves from the Games and have some fun.
- Did you go with the team to cheer for our other athletes?
- Yes, of course, we went to ski jumping, and to the competition of skaters, and to figure skating... The guys thanked us in the final. We played on the last day of the Olympics, so the entire USSR Olympic team came to our game with Canada. It was very gratifying.
- And yet, what did you remember at the Olympics, what was special, Viktor Grigorievich?
- The Olympics itself was special: it was the first in my life. I remember the atmosphere of universal respect for each other and friendship. It is a great honor for any person to be a participant in the Olympic Games.
Qualifying matches
USSR - Hungary - 19: 1
Canada - Yugoslavia - 14: 1
Switzerland - Norway - 5: 1
Czechoslovakia - Japan - 17: 2
Sweden - Italy - 12: 2
USA - Romania - 7: 2
Germany (WGC) - Poland - 2: 1
Finland - Austria - 8: 2
| The final | NS | O | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. USSR | 4:2 | 7:5 | 3:2 | 5:1 | 10:0 | 10:0 | 15:0 | 54-10 | 14 | |
| 2. Sweden | 2:4 | 8:3 | 1:3 | 7:4 | 7:0 | 10:2 | 12:0 | 47-16 | 10 | |
| 3. Czechoslovakia | 5:7 | 3:8 | 3:1 | 7:1 | 4:0 | 11:1 | 5:1 | 38-19 | 10 | |
| 4. Canada | 2:3 | 3:1 | 1:3 | 8:6 | 6:2 | 4:2 | 8:0 | 32-17 | 10 | |
| 5. USA | 1:5 | 4:7 | 1:7 | 6:8 | 2:3 | 8:0 | 7:3 | 29-33 | 4 | |
| 6. Finland | 0:10 | 0:7 | 0:4 | 2:6 | 3:2 | 1:2 | 4:0 | 10-31 | 3 | |
| 7. Germany (JCG) | 0:10 | 2:10 | 1:11 | 2:4 | 0:8 | 2:1 | 6:5 | 13-49 | 4 | |
| 8.Switzerland | 0:15 | 0:12 | 1:5 | 0:8 | 3:7 | 0:4 | 5:6 | 9-57 | 0 |
Best players
Goalkeeper: S. Martin (Canada)
Defender: F. Tikal (Czechoslovakia)
Attack: B.Mayorov (USSR)
By the decision of the USSR national team coaches, the "Best Forward" prize was handed over to defender E. Ivanov.
Most Scoring
S. Johansson (Sweden): 11 (8 + 3)
W. Sterner (Sweden): 11 (6 + 5)
I. Dolana (Czechoslovakia): 10 (7 + 3)
V. Yakushev (USSR): 10 (7 + 3)
V.Starshinov (USSR): 10 (7 + 3)
Snipers
S. Johansson (Sweden) - 8
A. Andersson (Sweden) -7
U. Erlund (Sweden) - 7
I. Dolana (Czechoslovakia) - 7
V.Starshinov (USSR) - 7
V. Yakushev (USSR) - 7
B. Konaker (Canada) - 7
Symbolic team
Goalkeeper: S. Martin (Canada)
Defenders: A. Ragulin (USSR), R. Seiling (Canada)
Forwards: R. Bourbonnet (Canada), J. Cerny (Czechoslovakia), V. Yakushev (USSR)
USSR
| Defenders | AND | G | NS | O | SHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Alexander Ragulin | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| 2. Eduard Ivanov | 8 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| 3. Victor Kuzkin | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| 4. Vitaly Davydov | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5. Oleg Zaitsev | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Forwards | AND | G | NS | O | SHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Konstantin Loktev | 8 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
| 2. Victor Yakushev | 8 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| 3. Vyacheslav Starshinov | 8 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 6 |
| 4. Boris Mayorov | 8 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| 5. Veniamin Alexandrov | 8 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| 6. Leonid Volkov | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 7. Anatoly Firsov | 8 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| 8. Alexander Almetov | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| 9. Evgeny Mayorov | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 10. Stanislav Petukhov | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
Trainers: Arkady Chernyshov, Anatoly Tarasov
Sweden
| Forwards | AND | G | NS | O | SHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sven Johansson | 7 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 2. Ulf Sterner | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 3. Anders Andersson | 7 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
| 4. Ronald Petterson | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 5. Eulert Meetta | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| 6. Lars-Erik Lundwall | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 7. Uno Erlund | 6 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 8. Nils Nilsson | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 9. Karl-Eran Eberg | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 10. Lennart Johansson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11. Hans Mild | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Trainers: Arne Strömberg
Czechoslovakia
| Defenders | AND | G | NS | O | SHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Rudolf Poch | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2. Frantisek Gregor | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 3. Frantisek Tikal | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 4. Ladislav Schmid | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5. Stanislav Sventek | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards | AND | G | NS | O | SHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jiri Dolana | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| 2. Joseph Cerny | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| 3. Jaroslav Valter | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 4. Joseph Golanka | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 5. Miroslav Vlah | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| 6. Jiri Holik | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 7. Yaroslav Irzhik | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 8. Vlastimil Bubnik | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 9. Jan Klapach | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 10. Stanislav Pryl | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Trainers: Vladimir Kostka, Jiri Anton
Most Scoring
M. Sato (Japan): 14 (12 + 2)
A.Felch (Yugoslavia): 13 (12 + 1)
The free agent market opens in the NHL on July 1. More than 120 players, of those who played at least a dozen matches last season, can choose from any club.
Alexander Radulov / Photo: Vasily Ponomarev
We decided to talk about the most important characters of the upcoming deals, those whose transitions will be the most noticeable in the current offseason.
Goalkeeper
... Philadelphia, 29 years old. Last season he played 58 games, conceding an average of 2.66 goals per match, the percentage of reflected shots 90.9.
The main goalkeeper of "Pilots" has not yet grown into a superstar, as planned at the beginning of his career. In 2009 at Columbus he became best newbie season, then Bobrovsky ousted him from the post of the first number, followed by a transfer to Philadelphia. Three last seasons Mason received $ 4.1 million, not so much for the main goalkeeper of the eminent club, but Philadelphia decided not to associate the future of the team with him. Potential goalkeeper contenders are Winnipeg, Vancouver, Buffalo.
Defenders
... Washington, 28 years old. Last season, 56 points (13 goals, 43 assists) in 80 games.
In all overseas rankings, the defender is in the first position in the unrestricted free agent market. We can say this is the most liquid asset. Shattenkirk moved from St. Louis to Washington during the season, which had counted on him in the Stanley Cup games. But, as we remember, even he could not help the Capitals in the series against Pittsburgh. Now the defender's contract, which received him $ 4.25 million over four years, has expired. Now the defender hopes to sign a long-term agreement - 40-45 million for 6-7 years. "Washington" expects to keep Shattenkirk at home, but competitors may intervene, the main of which is the New York Rangers.
... Washington, 28 years old. Last season 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists) in 82 games.
Washington managers are not to be envied. Within a short time, they need to renew agreements with three key advocates at once. In addition to Shattenkirk and Alzner, Dmitry Orlov's contract ended.
Alzner is a couch potato defender and has played for the Capitals throughout his 9 seasons. Until recently, he was earning $ 2.8 million a year, but it's time for an increase. A queue of people wishing to put on their uniforms has already lined up for Alzner. The most persistent are Montreal and Chicago.
Forwards
... Montreal, 30 years old. Last season, 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists) in 76 games.
So far, Radulov has not been able to agree with the Canadiens on the extension of the agreement. The parties have disagreements over the term of the contract: the player wants 6 years, the club is ready to offer three years. Last season, the Russian forward received $ 5.75 million, the Player's Agent speaks of 10 or more clubs showing interest in Radulov.
... Pittsburgh, 29 years old. Last season, 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 80 games. In the playoffs 7 (4 + 3) points in 21 matches.
Bonino, having moved two years ago to Pittsburgh from Vancouver, became a two-time Stanley Cup winner. In Pittsburgh, he often appears in the third line, but often appears in the majority, where he is especially useful. Perhaps, in any other club Bonino would have come out in the second link, but in Pittsburgh there are Crosby and Malkin. Bonino's salary is only $ 1.9 million. Under the new contract, he may well double it. Almost half of the NHL teams are among the contenders for the American center forward.
... Florida, 33 years old. Last season, 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 68 games.
The Austrian winger played for Buffalo for the first 9 years of his overseas career, and has changed five clubs in the last four years. Last season started at Detroit and ended at Florida. During his career, Vanek earned almost $ 70 million, there were times when his salary was even 10 million a year. But now, of course, his requests are much more modest. Last season, Vanek earned 2.5 million. Received the same (and will receive next season) from Minnesota for the contract terminated early last year. Florida plans to keep the striker. Vancouver, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are also counting on his services. It is curious that Minnesota is also named among the contenders.