Soviet national ice hockey team
The
Soviet national ice hockey team, or
USSR national ice hockey team (
Russian: Сборная СССР по хоккею с шайбой) was the most dominant amateur
hockey team in international play between
1954 and
1991. They dominated nearly every world championships and olympics during this time held by the
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). However, they were only able to win one
Canada Cup in
1981. It should be noted that the main rival of the Soviet team, the
Canadian national team, always had home-ice advantage (games were played in Canada and by NHL rules) in the
Canada Cup. Due to the questionable nature of the amateur status of the Soviet team, Canada boycotted international amateur hockey games in 1970-1976. These were due to controversies between the IIHF and the
National Hockey League in North America, as well as the fact that there was speculation that the Soviet players received salaries. After that, since
1977, Canadian and other professionals were allowed to play in world championships and olympics, which, however, had not much effect on the performance of the Soviet team. This was due to the fact that these tournaments are usually held while the NHL regular season or playoffs occurred, preventing the best North American players from participating. Soviet players never played in the NHL prior to the late 1980s, giving them an advantage in these tournaments.
*First game: April 22, 1951,
Berlin. 23-2
*Last game: November 10, 1991,
Frankfurt. 2-2
*Largest victory: December 26, 1967,
Colorado Springs. 28-2
*Largest defeat: January 9, 1968,
Ottawa. 8-2 ; March 21, 1975,
Prague. 9-3
Source: [
1]
Top players
*
Vsevolod Bobrov*
Viacheslav Fetisov*
Valery Kharlamov*
Igor Larionov*
Sergei Mikhaylovich Makarov*
Vladimir Petrov*
Alexander Ragulin*
Vladislav Tretiak*
Valeri KamenskyStats
Leading scorers (Olympics, World Championships, Canada Cups, 1972 Summit Series)#
Valery Kharlamov - 199 points#
Aleksandr Maltsev - 198 points#
Boris Mikhailov - 180 points#
Vladimir Petrov - 176 points#
Sergei Makarov - 172 points
*
1956 -
Gold medal winner*
1960 - Bronze medal winner
*
1964 -
Gold medal winner*
1968 -
Gold medal winner*
1972 -
Gold medal winner*
1976 -
Gold medal winner*
1980 - Silver medal winner
*
1984 -
Gold medal winner*
1988 -
Gold medal winner*
1992 -
Gold medal winner*
1972 - Lost to
Canada*
1974 -
Won championship*
1976 - Finished in 3rd place
*
1981 -
Won championship*
1984 - Finished in 3rd place
*
1987 - Finished in 2nd place
*
1991 - Finished in 5th place
*
1954 -
Gold medal winner*
1955 - Silver medal winner
*
1957 - Silver medal winner
*
1958 - Silver medal winner
*
1959 - Silver medal winner
*
1961 - Bronze medal winner
*
1962 - Did not participate
*
1963 -
Gold medal winner*
1965 -
Gold medal winner*
1966 -
Gold medal winner*
1967 -
Gold medal winner*
1969 -
Gold medal winner*
1970 -
Gold medal winner*
1971 -
Gold medal winner*
1972 - Silver medal winner
*
1973 -
Gold medal winner*
1974 -
Gold medal winner*
1975 -
Gold medal winner*
1976 - Silver medal winner
*
1977 - Bronze medal winner
*
1978 -
Gold medal winner*
1979 -
Gold medal winner*
1981 -
Gold medal winner*
1982 -
Gold medal winner*
1983 -
Gold medal winner*
1985 - Bronze medal winner
*
1986 -
Gold medal winner*
1987 - Silver medal winner
*
1989 -
Gold medal winner*
1990 -
Gold medal winner*
1991 - Bronze medal winner
*At the 1984
Canada Cup the Soviets sent a team whose players all shot left-handed.
*
Ice Hockey World Championships*
Russian national ice hockey team*
Hockey CCCP International*
1972 Summit Series.com*
Canada Vs the Soviet Union (1972-1987)
