Though the sport was not popular, "Canadian" hockey's advantage over bandy was that the size of the ice surface made it possible to play on regulation skating rinks. In 1933, an attempt was made to start hockey in Moscow. The regulations of the Moscow bandy championship stipulated that five clubs were each to be represented by a hockey team as well, with the results of those games to count toward the championship. However, a shortage of proper sticks meant that the hockey plans never materialized.

The next serious attempt to introduce hockey to the Soviet Union was undertaken in 1935, but plans for the game were not implemented until the winter of 1938. Efforts to manufacture equipment proved to be unsuccessful and so this attempt to start hockey also failed.

Nevertheless, the development of Soviet hockey did not stop. In 1939, the game was introduced into the curriculum of the Physical Culture Institute in Moscow. Arrangements were made to stage demonstrations of games, seminars were planned for players to share their experiences and experts in the manufacturing of hockey equipment were invited to Moscow from the Soviet Baltic republics of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

The World War II Era

World War II interrupted the development of hockey in the Soviet Union, but training resume as soon as the war was over. The opening games of the first official Soviet championships were played on December 22, 1946, and Arkady Chernyshev - future coach of the Soviet national team, scored the first goal. A major turning point in Soviet hockey occurred in February 1948, with the historic visit of the LTC Prague team of Czechoslovakia. Almost every player on the Prague team had been a member of the Czech national squad, which had received a silver medal at the recently concluded Winter Olympics. The results of the three-game series (the Moscow Selects won 6-3, lost 5-3 and tied 2-2) surprised everyone, but even more surprising was the success of the Soviet national team when it entered the World Championships for the first time in 1954.

The USSR defeated Canada 7-2 in the gold medal game and would remain a power in international hockey until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1992. Since then, Russia has become the successor to the former USSR, though the Russians have struggled on the international scene despite winning a silver medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and Bronze in the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. Russia has had success at the World Junior Championships, including gold medals in 1999, 2002 and 2003.

 

Year by Year Timeline in Russia

1947 First Soviet ice hockey championship started. Dynamo Moscow were the first champions of the USSR.

1954 First appearance in the World Championship for the USSR team - USSR became the world champions.

1956 First appearance at the Olympic Games for the USSR team - USSR became the Olympic champions. USSR National Team coached by A.Chernyshov and V.Egorov won the first Olympic Games (Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy) in the history of Soviet hockey. The first and the last Olympic Games for the great Soviet players - V.Bobrov, V.Kuzin, A.Uvarov.

1960 USSR won 3d place at the Olympic Games in Sqaw Valley. Coaches : A.Tarasov and V.Egorov.

1962 USSR did not participate in the World Championship.

1964 USSR won gold medals on Olympic Tournament in Innsbruk, Austria coached by A.Chernyshov and A.Tarasov. First Olympic Games for E. Majorov and B. Majorov.

1968 Olympic gold in Grenoble, France.

1972 Olympic Gold in Sapporo, Japan. First Olympic Tournament for V.Tretyak and V.Kharlamov. First Superseries between the USSR and Canada. First match in Canada : USSR 7-3 Canada. Result of the series was 3 wins, 4 defeats and 1 tie for the USSR.

1976 USSR coached by B.Kulagin, K.Loktev and V.Yurzinov won Gold on Olympic Games in Innsbruk, Austria.

1980 Silver medal at the Olympic Games in Lake Placid, USA. Coaches : V.Tikhonov and V.Yurzinov. First Olympic Games for S. Makarov.

1984 Gold Medals in the Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Coaches : V.Tikhonov and V.Yurzinov.

1988 USSR won gold at the Olympic Tournament in Calgary. Coaches : V.Tikhonov and I.Dmitriev.

1991 The USSR divides into seperate states.

1992 Playing as the Unified Team of the CIS and coached by V.Tikhonov and I.Dmitriev, they won the Olympic gold medal in Albertville, France. First Olympic Games for S. Petrenko. Russia compete in the World Championships for the first time as an independent nation. They finish 5th in Pool A.

1992 Russian National squad played in the World Championships for the first time. MHL - Mezhnatsionalnaya Hockeynaya Liga (Interstate Hockey League) established in CIS instead of USSR championships. Dynamo Moscow is the first champion of MHL. In the 1992-93 season Final series Dynamo Moscow beat Lada Togliatti by winning all three matches.

1993 Russia wins World Championship Pool A.

1994 Russian Olympic team took 4th place in Lillehammer, Norway. Lada Togliatti became first non-Moscow champion of Russian Championships.

1995 Russia finish 5th in World Championship Pool A.

1996 RHL (Russian Hockey League) was established. Torpedo Yaroslavl is the first champion of RHL 1996-97 season. Lada Togliatti won the European Champions Cup. Russia finish 4th in World Championship Pool A.

1997 Dynamo Moscow became the silver medalist of the first EHL season 1996-97. Russia finish 4th in World Championship Pool A.

1998 Russian Olympic team wins the silver medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. Coached by V.Yurzinov, P.Vorobyov and Z. Bilyaletdinov. Russia finish 5th in World Championship Pool A. Metallurg Magnitogorsk won the RHL Cup in a series of 4 matches against Dynamo Moscow (3 - 1).

1999 Russia finish 5th in World Championship Pool A and wins World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Canada by beating the hosts 3-2 in overtime.

 

2002 Finishes with the Bronze Medal in the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Russian World Junior squad comes from behind in dramatic fashion to beat Team Canada 5-4 for the Gold Medal

 

2003 Team Russia goes 6-0-0 and wins its second straight World Junior Championship over Canada 3-2 in the Gold Medal game

 

Russian Firsts

Russian player to be drafted by the NHL
1978 - Viktor Khatulev was Philadelphia Flyers 7th pick in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft.

 

Soviet players drafted by the NHL
i. 1975 NHL Amateur Draft - 160th - Viktor Khatulev by Philadelphia Flyers (but never played in the NHL)
ii. 1978 NHL Amateur Draft - 201st - Viacheslav 'Slava' Fetisov by Montreal Canadiens (then re-drafted in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft - 150th - by New Jersey Devils but did not play in the NHL until 5th October 1989)
iii. 1978 NHL Amateur Draft - 203rd - Victor Shkurdyuk by St Louis Blues (but never played in the NHL)

Soviet player to play in the NHL
Sergei Priakin for Calgary Flames in the 1988-89 season.

USSR player drafted by the NHL
Viacheslav 'Slava' Fetisov in 1983 NHL Entry Draft but did not play in the NHL until 5th October 1989.
USSR player to play in the NHL
Sergei Priakin for Calgary Flames in the 1988-89 season.

World Championship
The first World Championships were held in 1920 and were played in an indoor arena called Palais de Glace, at Rue de la Santé next to the Botanique Garden in the centre of Antwerp.

World Championship Hockey Match
23rd April 1920 - Sweden 8-0 Belgium

World Championship (Junior)
1974 - unofficial World Championships (Junior) won by USSR (Junior)
1977 - Won by USSR (Junior) - see World Championships (Junior)

World Championship (Women)
1990 - Won by Canada (Women)