Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vasilyev (June 8, 1962, Moscow Region — November 5, 2026) was a Soviet hockey player, a forward, Honored Master of Sport of the USSR, 1984 Olympic champion, and later a coach; from 2022 to 2025 he was a member of the coaching staff of Nizhny Novgorod's HC Torpedo.[1]
Playing career
Vasilyev spent most of his career with CSKA Moscow, with which he won the European Champions Cup seven times.[2] With the USSR national team he won gold at the 1984 Olympic Games and collected a full set of World Championship medals.[3] Besides CSKA, he played for Yaroslavl's Torpedo and for Italian clubs, and he was also a European champion and a champion of the USSR and of Italy.[4] For the sum of his achievements he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sport of the USSR.[2]
Coaching career
After finishing his playing career, Vasilyev turned to coaching. He passed on his experience to Italian hockey players, coached the Russian and Belarusian junior national teams, worked for many years in the system of Ufa's Salavat Yulaev, headed the club Tolpar, and also worked with the teams Krasnaya Armiya and Toros.[4]
From 2022 to 2025, Vasilyev was part of Igor Larionov's coaching staff at Nizhny Novgorod's Torpedo, where he was responsible for training the forwards and for the team's power play.[1]
Death
Mikhail Vasilyev died on November 5, 2026, in a Moscow hospital at the age of 64.[4] His death was announced by the press service of Salavat Yulaev.[1] The cause was lung cancer — according to Igor Larionov, as relayed by TASS, Vasilyev had been battling cancer for the last five years of his life.[4]
Sources
- NIA Nizhny Novgorod — Legendary hockey player and former Torpedo coach Mikhail Vasilyev dies — Nizhny Novgorod News
- Newsroom24 — Nizhny Novgorod remembers Torpedo coach Mikhail Vasilyev — Sports
- Open Nizhny — Olympic champion Mikhail Vasilyev, who worked for Torpedo, dies of lung cancer
- Living in Nizhny — Olympic champion and Torpedo HC coach Mikhail Vasilyev passes away — Living in Nizhny