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Does anyone know the percentage of USSR players back in the day that were from Russia? I just find it surprising that since the split of the Soviet Union, the Russian team seems to be pretty lackluster.
Probably most of them. Even in the Soviet days nationality was important. They have dropped off because the nature of the game has changed. The players on those Soviet teams lived to play hockey. They played together and practiced together for years and had a chemistry advantage never seen. That's gone now.
Does anyone know the percentage of USSR players back in the day that were from Russia? I just find it surprising that since the split of the Soviet Union, the Russian team seems to be pretty lackluster.
Off the top of my head, the only non Russian star from the USSR glory days was Helmut Balderis (Latvia). Once the USSR collapsed, the ice hockey system tanked as well. As another poster stated, the esprit de corp and commitment forged from the demanding training USSR regimen were lost. That the NHL is now an avenue open to Russian players hasn't helped either. I can't see some of the current Russian elite players (Ovetchkin and Kovalvhuk) being able to hack it in the ancien regime.
I thought that the old Red Army team recruited players from all over their country (including the now 'separate' republics). That's ALL those guys did...hockey, eat, exercise, hockey. Listen to interviews from players of the later versions of the Army team like Sergei Federov and Alexander Mogilny.
They barely won in shootout vs Slovakia today. If they don't medal will Tretiak get a new home in Siberia?
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