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For the fencer, see Vladislav Tretiak (fencer).

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's mother was a middle school physical education teacher (his father taught Russian literature) and although he initially followed his brother as a swimmer, as a child Tretyak was known to excel at many sports and is remembered for his ambition to master all of them. However, like many children of his generation, he loved hockey and was accepted to the elite hockey school of the Central Sports Club of the Army (known by its Russian abbreviation as TsSKA or CSKA). He apparently started playing goal as a bargain in return for a cherished TsSKA hockey jersey, and because no one else wanted to play the position.

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. Out of the entire Soviet roster, Canadian players and fans held Tretiak in the highest regard and respect and Tretiak was one of the most famous players of the Series along with Phil Esposito and Paul Henderson. As a result of Tretiak's stellar performance, many NHL teams wanted to draft him and Tretiak was willing but this was blocked by the Soviet government.

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 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 has personally said that coaching was the next best thing to being to play in the NHL.

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.

Tretiak was elected to the State Duma as a member of United Russia party in December 2003, representing the riding of Saratov. He is chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sport, and Youth. He continues to teach hockey skills in North America and Russia.

Tretiak's wife, Tatiana, is qualified as a Russian literature teacher although she does not work. He has two children, a son Dmitri who is a dentist and a daughter Irina who is a lawyer. Tretiak hopes that Irina’s son, Maxim, born 1996, will become follow in his footsteps as a professional hockey player.

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