Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 00:27, 12 September 2005

Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak (Russian: Владисла́в Алекса́ндрович Третья́к; born April 25, 1952 in the village Orudyevo in Moscow Oblast, Russia), was a goaltender on some of the most successful hockey teams of the Soviet Union and is considered one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of hockey.

Tretiak was well-known in the USSR by 1971, when he was named to the Soviet Ice Hockey League's First All-Star Team, while playing for the powerhouse Red Army team, CSKA Moscow. He also played well in the 1972 Winter Olympics, in which the Soviets took the gold medal. He became internationally famous because of his outstanding performance in the Summit Series in 1972, where he helped surprise the world, and more importantly, the Canadian team, en route to a narrow loss to the Canadians.

Tretiak went on to star for the Soviet Union, helping them win gold medals in the 1976 Winter Olympics, and again winning gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics and the 1981 Canada Cup. Tretiak also back-stopped the Soviets to ten IIHF World Championships victories and nine in the IIHF European Championships. However, in the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Miracle on Ice left an embarrassing stain on Tretiak's otherwise sterling record. Tretiak was pulled by Viktor Tikhonov in the first period in favor of Vladimir Myshkin, following a bad play by Tretiak that led to a goal for the Americans by Mark Johnson.

With that exception, though, Tretiak's goaltending record is virtually unblemished. He was a First All-Star in the Soviet League every year from 1971 until 1984. In those fourteen years, he won thirteen league titles with the Red Army team, and was named MVP of the league five times. Tretiak won the Golden Hockey Stick, awarded to the best player in Europe in 1981, 1982, and 1983. In 1978, Tretiak was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Tretiak also starred in several exhibitions in North America. He gave a legendary performance on December 31, 1975 against the Montreal Canadiens in which he salvaged a 3-3 tie despite being outshot 38-13. He also played very well in a 1982 tour of North America.

Tretiak retired in 1984, fittingly following a 2-0 victory over Czechoslovakia. In 1990, Mike Keenan hired Tretiak as a goaltender coach for the Chicago Blackhawks, a position which he still holds and which has allowed him to coach some of the top goalies of the past 15 years, such as Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek, and Jocelyn Thibault

Tretiak was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, the first Soviet player to be so honored. In 2000, he was voted Best Russian Hockey Player of the 20th century . He was a vital cog for some of the most dominant hockey teams in history and is now considered one of hockey's greatest ambassadors.

External links

• Tretiak's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Tretiak's Hockey Academy
• Tretiak's biography and statistics at 1972summitseries.com

• 1952 births
• NHL Assistant Coaches
• Olympic competitors for the Soviet Union
• Soviet ice hockey players
• Hockey Hall of Fame