Valery Ivanovich Vasilyev (born August 3, 1949, at Volkhovo station, Chudovsky District, Novgorod Region) is a Soviet ice hockey player, a defenseman, and Honored Master of Sport of the USSR (1973). He is one of the outstanding defensemen in the history of Russian and world hockey. He began his hockey career with Gorky's Dynamo, which ties his biography to Nizhny Novgorod.[2]
Early career and the Gorky period
Vasilyev began playing hockey for Gorky's Dynamo, on the boys' team, at about the age of 12. In 1967, at the invitation of Arkady Chernyshyov, he moved to Dynamo Moscow, toward the end of the 1966/67 USSR championship. Sources also mention a brief stint with Gorky's Torpedo in 1967.[2] Soon after the move, Nikolay Puchkov invited the young defenseman to the first-ever European Junior Championship, where the USSR national team took second place and Vasilyev was named the tournament's best defenseman. At the next junior championship, the team became European champions.[1]
Career with Dynamo and the USSR national team
From 1967 to 1984, Vasilyev played for Dynamo Moscow, appearing in 617 games in USSR championships and scoring 71 goals.[2] In 1970 he made his debut for the USSR national team, playing in his first games alongside the veteran Vitaly Davydov. After missing 1971, he returned to the national team in 1972 and remained in its lineup until 1982.[1]
Vasilyev was known for his hard, physical style of play. According to sources, CSKA coach Anatoly Tarasov deliberately planned his games so that the leading forwards — Anatoly Firsov and Valery Kharlamov — would not face Vasilyev, believing that it was impossible to beat him.[2] He wore number 6 for both Dynamo and the national team.
In 1981, Vasilyev was elected captain of the USSR national team, including at the 1981 Canada Cup.[1] His farewell game took place at the end of 1984 — the USSR national team defeated a team of European players by a score of 7:3.[2]
Achievements
Vasilyev is a two-time Olympic champion (Sapporo 1972, Innsbruck 1976) and a silver medalist at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid.[2] He was a World Champion in 1970, 1973–1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, and 1982; a silver medalist at the 1972 and 1976 World Championships; and a bronze medalist at the 1977 World Championship. He was named best defenseman of the 1973, 1977, and 1979 World Championships — an honor that, before him, had been awarded three times in world history only to Nikolay Sologubov.[1] He was selected five times to the World Championship All-Star Team (1974–1977, 1979).[2] He won the 1981 Canada Cup, took part in the 1976 Canada Cup, and played in the Summit Series of 1972.[2] In World Championships, European Championships, and Olympic Games, he played 116 games and scored 18 goals.[2]
He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the Friendship of Peoples (1981), the Order of Honour, and the Medal "For Labour Valour." He is a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame.[2]
After retirement
After the end of his playing career, he worked as vice president of HC MVD and as general manager of HC Krylya Sovetov (through 2007 inclusive).[2]
Sources
- hockeystars.ru — VASILYEV VALERY IVANOVICH — Biography of a Hockey Player — Stars of Russian Hockey (archive)
- dic.academic.ru — Vasilyev Valery Ivanovich — What Is Vasilyev Valery Ivanovich? (archive)