With the World Junior Hockey Championship set to open Boxing Day in the Czech Republic, hockey fans across Canada will follow yet another ride towards a gold medal for the Maple Leaf. For the real diehards, it's also a time to take a look at the state of hockey programs around the world. One of my contacts in the business is a Russian insider who grew up under the old Communist regime, who played for the Soviet Wings and worked for NHL teams . On the eve of the world juniors, I spoke with him to help us understand the Russian mentality these days.
It's been 35 years since one of the greatest hockey series of all time: The 1972 Russia Canada Summit Series. Do Russians still idolize the greats like Valeri Kharlamov, Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Petrov?
Those people are still famous and well-known all around the country. I haven't seen Mikhailov or Petrov [recently], but (Alexander) Yakushev, (Vladimir) Lutchenko are still in a good shape and don't mind to play for the Russian veterans' team. They are all Russian legends.
After the Russia/Canada junior series this fall in which the Russians managed only one tie in eight games, Sport Minister (and Hockey Hall of Famer) Viacheslav Fetisov lamented that Russian hockey has no identity. What happened?
There are key issues to the problem. First of all, coaching. Back in old times, you could easily call the name of the coach's leader. They gave hockey an identity. Coaches in the system would follow their lead. These "head" coaches would rule Russian "hockey fashion" . Arkady Chernyshev, Anatoli Tarasov, Vladimir Yegorov, Nikolai Epshtein and Viktor Tikhonov: they gave identity to their game. They stressed puck control, smart decisions, skill, committed training and fierce competitiveness.
After that, it is hard to pick a name who is a leader. Coaches working at the elite level (today) have no general system. Everyone tries to do their best with their own teams, but it isn't enough. We need to get back to our skill and to play with Russian heart.
However, the junior system for 10- to 15-year-old kids is still good. Certain sport schools work hard and produce players like Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk. They stress skill development, skating, off-ice training and Russian character.
Five years ago, Russia built more than two dozen covered arenas in Moscow. Fetisov has said that the added rinks will help develop Russian hockey. Do you agree?
Sure, [a greater] number of rinks lets more people play hockey. Twelve-million people live here in Moscow. Some countries have less citizens but produce more hockey players [like Canada, because there are so many rinks]. We need even more rinks.
Are kids still attracted to the game? Or have sports such as soccer become much more attractive for kids? What has happened to Russian hockey at the grassroots? How can it be fixed?
Soccer is a way different sport and, in Russia, people love to watch it and play all year long, even in winter on the snow. But I don't think before it was different, I mean the same number of people played soccer and hockey. It's just that now, when people have to pay more for hockey, not like it was in the communist time, hockey is less accessible for [people who are] not rich.
As all of us know, hockey is an expensive sport, not all of the people can afford it and most of the kids who play at the young levels come from financially well-off families. Sport schools can give equipment to the kids who aren't from rich families, but not the latest models. When you take a deeper look in Russia, such as at Magnitogorsk, Omsk or Kazan, you will see that there are very well-organized schools with people who spend good amount of funds for kids hockey. Give them a chance to get of the streets and build up the new future.
How expensive is it to play hockey in Russia? Who covers the cost of travel and equipment? Can you compare minor hockey to when you grew up? Is hockey now limited to only the elite in Russia?
When we talk about Russia, we always should remember that conditions in big cities, like Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the rest of the country are different. Big cities have more men who can afford for their wives to not work and take care just of the kids, take them to the trainings and so on, or even to hire a babysitter who will do it for them. I know one family whose kid, seven years old, played hockey and then their family got some financial problems. His mom had to start to work and that's it, that kid doesn't come for practices. Simple as it is — parents can't take him to the practices, grandparents don't drive car. He is done for now. Sure, if there is a rink in walking distance he still could play, but the rink is too far from their home.
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