Vladislav Tretiak

Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM (Russian: Владислав Александрович Третьяк, IPA: [trʲɪˈtʲjak]; born 25 April 1952) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 1997. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries.[1] He is the current president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia and was the general manager of the Russian 2010 Winter Olympic team.

This article is about the Russian goaltender. For the Ukrainian fencer, see Vladyslav Tretiak.

Vladislav Tretiak
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1989
Tretiak in May 2008
Born (1952-04-25) 25 April 1952
Orudyevo, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for CSKA Moscow
National team  Soviet Union
NHL Draft 138th overall, 1983
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1968–1984
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Sapporo Team
Gold medal – first place 1976 Innsbruck Team
Gold medal – first place 1984 Sarajevo Team
Silver medal – second place 1980 Lake Placid Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1970 Sweden Team
Gold medal – first place 1971 Switzerland Team
Gold medal – first place 1973 Soviet Union Team
Gold medal – first place 1974 Finland Team
Gold medal – first place 1975 West Germany Team
Gold medal – first place 1978 Czechoslovakia Team
Gold medal – first place 1979 Soviet Union Team
Gold medal – first place 1981 Sweden Team
Gold medal – first place 1982 Finland Team
Gold medal – first place 1983 West Germany Team
Silver medal – second place 1972 Czechoslovakia Team
Silver medal – second place 1976 Poland Team
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Austria Team
NHL Challenge Cup
Gold medal – first place 1979 New York City Team
Canada Cup
Gold medal – first place 1981 Canada Team
Member of the State Duma
Assumed office
2003
ConstituencySaratov (2003–07)
Radishchevo (2016–)

Early years

Tretiak grew up in the USSR. His parents are from Dmitrovsky District.[2] His father served 37 years as a military pilot, and his mother was a physical education teacher.[3] Although he initially followed his brother as a swimmer, as a child Tretiak excelled 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 at age 11 entered the Children and Youth Sports School of the Central Sports Club of the Army (known by its abbreviation CSKA).[4] His first trainer was Vitaly Erfilov. He began playing goaltender when he saw that no one else had the desire or courage to play the position.[3]

International playing career
Tretiak on a 1979 card

Although Tretiak did not play his first hockey game until the age of eleven (1963), he was well known in the USSR by 1971 (aged 19), 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.[5]

Tretiak became internationally famous after his outstanding performance in the Summit Series in 1972, when he helped surprise the world, including the Canadian team, en route to a narrow loss to the Canadians. A famous story was told of how Canadian scouts seriously underestimated his ability prior to the series; they witnessed him let in eight goals on a particular night, not knowing that he had been married the previous evening (and most of the team had been in attendance).[6] 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, Paul Henderson, Alexandr Iakushev and Valeri Kharlamov. As a result of Tretiak's stellar performance, many NHL teams wanted to draft him – Montreal ultimately did, in 1983 – and Tretiak was willing, but the Soviet government did not let him leave.

During the 1976 Super Series, Tretiak put on a dominant performance against the Montreal Canadiens, holding them to a 3–3 tie despite his team being outshot 38–13.[7]

Tretiak went on to star for the Soviet Union, helping them win gold medals in the 1976 Winter Olympics,[5] and again winning gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics[5] and the 1981 Canada Cup. Tretiak also back-stopped the Soviets to ten IIHF World Championships victories and nine in the IIHF European Championships.

In the 1980 Winter Olympics, a USSR team loss to team USA in a medal round game denied Tretiak a chance at another gold. The Soviet team won silver, as they had the second-highest number of points in the tournament..

Though he was only 32 in 1984 and still capable of playing top-level hockey, Tretiak retired. It is said that he wanted to spend more time with his family and asked the national team coach Viktor Tikhonov for a training regime, in which he could live at home and come to the training camp before games. Since the rest of the team spent most of their time away from home in the training camp, Tikhonov refused.[8] This move by Tikhonov contributed to Tretiak's decision to retire.[9]

Post retirement

Tretiak was one of the guests who spoke at the ceremony during which the Montreal Canadiens retired the jersey number of Ken Dryden on 29 January 2007. Dryden had been one of Team Canada's goaltenders during the 1972 Summit Series, opposite Tretiak.

Tretiak retired in 1984, following a 2–0 victory over Czechoslovakia. He was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1984).[10] In 1987 Tretiak wrote an autobiography, Tretiak, The Legend.[11] He was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, the first Soviet player to be honored.

In 1990, Mike Keenan hired Tretiak as a goaltender coach for the Chicago Blackhawks, which allowed him to coach goaltenders such as Ed Belfour, Dominik Hašek, and Jocelyn Thibault. Keenan was so impressed with Tretiak's abilities in practice that he suggested the 38-year-old might still be able to play in the NHL. Tretiak said that coaching was the next best thing to playing in the NHL. After leaving the Blackhawks, Belfour wore uniform number 20 as a tribute to Tretiak. Numerous other goalies, including Evgeni Nabokov, also wore number 20 as a tribute to Tretiak.[12]

In 2000, he was voted Best Russian Hockey Player of the 20th century.[13] 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 the United Russia party in December 2003, representing the Saratov constituency. He is chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sport, and Youth.

He continued to work for the Chicago Blackhawks until the start of 2006–07 season. On 25 April 2006, his 54th birthday, Tretiak was elected head of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. He obtained 93 out of the possible 96 votes, with the remaining three voters abstaining. A few days later, on 28 April, the Governor General of Canada awarded Tretiak the Meritorious Service Medal in a ceremony at Rideau Hall. Tretiak earned the award for, among other things, his founding of the Friends of Canada organization to foster good relations between Canada and Russia.[14] He was the first Russian to be conferred this honor.

He also ran a goalie school at the Canlan Ice Sports in Toronto, Ontario. Called the Vladislav Tretiak Elite School of Goaltending, it was considered one of the most physically punishing goaltending schools in the world, and students could be refused admittance if not in top physical condition. He also ran a goalie school in Montreal during the 1990's where he trained many famous NHL goaltenders such as Jose Theodore and Martin Brodeur. Tretiak also ran a goalie hockey camp in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota in the early 2000s.

On 28 March 2007, Tretiak went to Ottawa to discuss with Canadian officials the possibilities of holding another Summit Series during the summer of 2007, which would be 35 years after the initial event. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov had also discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the possibilities of holding another event.[15] In the end, a series was held in September 2007 between the national junior teams of Canada and Russia.

On 21 December 2012, he voted in favor of the "Dima Yakovlev Law" in the State Duma. This legislation bars the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. The legislation was the response to the Magnitsky bill, whose purpose was punishing Russian officials responsible for the death of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009 and also to grant permanent normal trade relations status to Russia.[16][17]

Tretiak was the final torchbearer in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and lit the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony along with Irina Rodnina.

Personal

Tretiak married his wife Tatiana (born 1950) on August 23, 1972, six weeks after they met. Their first son, Dmitri, was born the following year and their daughter, Irina, was born 3 years later. Tatiana is qualified as a Russian literature teacher, although she no longer works. Tretiak is a devout Russian Orthodox Christian.[18]

Sanctions

Tretiak was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.[19]

Career statistics

Soviet League
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1968–69 CSKA Moscow Soviet 3 — — — — 2 — 0.67
1969–70 CSKA Moscow Soviet 34 — — — — 76 — 2.24
1970–71 CSKA Moscow Soviet 40 — — — — 82 — 2.03
1971–72 CSKA Moscow Soviet 30 — — — — 78 — 2.60
1972–73 CSKA Moscow Soviet 30 — — — — 80 — 2.67
1973–74 CSKA Moscow Soviet 27 — — — — 94 — 3.48
1974–75 CSKA Moscow Soviet 35 — — — — 104 — 2.97
1975–76 CSKA Moscow Soviet 33 — — — — 100 — 3.03
1976–77 CSKA Moscow Soviet 35 — — — — 98 — 2.80
1977–78 CSKA Moscow Soviet 29 — — — — 72 — 2.48
1978–79 CSKA Moscow Soviet 40 — — — — 111 — 2.78
1979–80 CSKA Moscow Soviet 36 — — — — 85 — 2.36
1980–81 CSKA Moscow Soviet 18 — — — — 32 — 1.78
1981–82 CSKA Moscow Soviet 41 34 4 3 2295 65 6 1.70
1982–83 CSKA Moscow Soviet 29 25 3 1 1641 40 6 1.46
1983–84 CSKA Moscow Soviet 22 22 0 0 1267 40 4 1.89
Soviet totals 482 — — — — 1158 — 2.31

International statistics
Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1968 Soviet Union EJC 1 — — — 20 1 0 3.00
1969 Soviet Union EJC 2 — — — — — — —
1970 Soviet Union EJC 2 — — — — — — —
1970 Soviet Union WC 6 — — — 215 4 — 1.12
1971 Soviet Union EJC 3 — — — 180 5 — 1.67
1971 Soviet Union WC 5 — — — 241 6 — 1.49
1972 Soviet Union Oly 3 3 0 0 180 7 0 2.33
1972 Soviet Union WC 8 — — — 430 15 — 2.09
1972 Soviet Union SS 8 — — — 480 31 — 3.87
1973 Soviet Union WC 7 — — — 420 14 — 2.00
1974 Soviet Union WC 8 — — — 440 12 — 1.64
1974 Soviet Union SS 7 — — — 420 25 — 3.57
1975 Soviet Union WC 8 — — — 449 18 — 2.41
1976 Soviet Union Oly 5 5 0 0 300 11 0 2.20
1976 Soviet Union WC 10 — — — 577 19 — 1.98
1976 Soviet Union CC 5 — — — 300 14 — 2.80
1977 Soviet Union WC 9 — — — 482 17 — 2.12
1978 Soviet Union WC 8 — — — 480 21 — 2.63
1979 Soviet Union WC 7 — — — 407 12 — 1.77
1980 Soviet Union Oly 4 3 0 0 160 8 0 3.00
1981 Soviet Union WC 7 — — — 420 13 — 1.86
1981 Soviet Union CC 6 — — — 360 8 — 1.33
1982 Soviet Union WC 8 — — — 464 19 — 2.46
1983 Soviet Union WC 7 — — — 420 4 — 0.57
1984 Soviet Union Oly 6 6 0 0 360 4 2 0.67
Oly totals 18 17 0 0 1000 30 2 1.80
WC totals 98 — — — 5445 174 — 1.92

Olympic stats from Olympedia[20]

Super Series statistics

The Super Series were exhibition games between an NHL team and Soviet teams (usually a club from the Soviet Championship League). Tretiak competed in three such series.

YearTeamEvent GPWLTMINGAGAASO
1975–76CSKA MoscowSuper-S 4211240123.000
1980CSKA MoscowSuper-S 5320300183.600
1983Soviet UnionSuper-S 4024041.00

Records and honours

Support for other sports

Tretiak has supported the bid for bandy to be recognized as an Olympic sport.[23]

References
  1. IIHF Centennial All-Star Team. Iihf.com. Retrieved on 2013-04-05.
  2. Kolesnikov, Boris. "ХК "Донбасс" на открытии новой ледовой арены в Луганске". 7 September 2013. HC Donbass. Retrieved 7 September 2013."Третьяк обмолвился, что он корнями-то украинец, родители его с Сумщины" - "Tretiak has mentioned that he is of Ukrainian-roots, his parents are from Sumy"
  3. "Владислав Третьяк". Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  4. "THE VOICE OF RUSSIA (VIS-A-VIS with the world)". Archived from the original on 15 January 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). vor.ru (interview in Russian, 1999)
  5. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vladislav Tretyak". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  6. Vladislav Tretiak. 1972 Summit Series. Retrieved on 2013-04-05.
  7. Legends of Hockey Spotlight Archived 2009-12-22 at the Wayback Machine The Pinnacle
  8. Вратарь без маски on YouTube. Goaltender without a mask. Documentary to the 60th anniversary of Vladislav Tretiak.
  9. Tretiak Interview to Vladimir Pozner
  10. Panorama of the 1984 Sports Year (in Russian). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. 1985. p. 37.
  11. Vladislav Tretiak. Hockeygoalies.org. Retrieved on 2013-04-05.
  12. Ward, Doug (2 February 2006). "Numbers game for Nabokov". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  13. "Iihf - News". Archived from the original on 24 December 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2004.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). IIHF News
  14. "Governor General announces 14 Meritorious Service Decorations". Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2006.. gg.ca, March 27, 2006.
  15. CTV News (28 March 2007). "Russian PM asks Harper to consider Summit Series". CTV. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009.
  16. "Справка о голосовании по вопросу:(третье чтение) О проекте федерального закона № 186614-6 "О мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушениям основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан Российской Федерации"". State Duma. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  17. Д1 (2 чтение) ФЗ №186614-6 "О мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушению основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан РФ" – Система анализа результатов голосований на заседаниях Государственной Думы. Vote.duma.gov.ru (2012-12-19). Retrieved on 2013-04-05.
  18. "Владислав Третьяк". Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  19. "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  20. "Olympedia – Vladislav Tretyak". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  21. Legends of Hockey. net. "Vladislav Tretiak Biography". Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  22. Bektemirov, Farid (20 June 2011). "Во славу ИИХФ. Часть 18. Владислав Третьяк". Championat (in Russian). Moscow, Russia. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  23. rsport.ru
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