Viacheslav Alexandrovich Fetisov

 

Position: defenseman
Shoots: L 
Height: 6-01  Weight: 200 
Born: 4/20/1958 in Moscow, USSR
NHL Draft: Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in 1978 #201 overall

Olympic medals: 2x Gold (1984, 1988); 1x Silver (1980)
World Champion: 7x (1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990)
Junior World Champion: 2x (1977, 1978)
Canada Cup Winner: 1x (1981)
Winner SSSR Championship: 13x
Stanley Cup: 2x (1997, 1998)

Awards:

  • All-star Team World Championships: 8x (1978, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991)
  • All-star Team Canada Cup: 1x (1987)
 
Video
 
Biography [Source: www.geocities.com/e_ouzikov] There are many reasons why Slava Fetisov is a hero of our era. His life story doesn't just make him one of the best hockey players ever, but a great person and leader too. In 1976, Slava was a sensation in his first season in the Soviet League with CSKA. Slava was 18 years old, standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 220 pounds. A year later, he got a mysterious disease and was paralyzed waist down, losing 45 pounds. The doctors said he'd be lucky if he would ever walk again, but 5 months later, with pain, Slava took to the ice. At the World Juniors in 1978, Slava was named Best Defenseman, and his performance was good enough for him to drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, who later dropped Fetisov. All those world championships were the beginning of the Fetisov-Gretzky battles. In early 1982, Fetisov was named the captain of both the Red Army team and the national squad. Fetisov felt great responsibility, and pain inside, being surrounded by the tragedies of superstar Valeri Kharlamov's death and the embarrassment at the Lake Placid Olympics. Being on a team that hadn't lost for 39 straight games, and then losing one game, many players showed their discouragement, but not Fetisov. The Soviets' 1984 Olympic win in Sarajevo was a highlight in Slava's career. Then tragedy hit again: Fetisov broke his leg, making him unavailable for the 1984 Canada Cup, and the next year Slava was in a car crash, leaving Slava's brother, Anatoli, killed. Fetisov was a man who refused to sign up for the Communist Party, being one of the first to take such a stand. By 1989 Fetisov was tired of coach Viktor Tikhonov and wanted to defect, but his teammates wouldn't play without him. Back in Moscow, Fetisov was under KGB surveillance, but managed to get a ticket to New Jersey, being the first Soviet citizen to receive a visa for open travel, opening the doors for everyone else to follow. This was definitely a personal victory for Fetisov. Being in New Jersey, Slava felt lost, unwelcome, exhausted and lonely. In his first two months with the Devils, Fetisov lost more than in his entire career with the national team. Being traded to Detroit in 1995 to be part of the Red Wings' 'Russian Five' - himself, Fedorov, Kozlov, Konstantinov and Larionov, Fetisov won a Stanley Cup in 1997. The celebration was short. Another tragedy occured. Fetisov was in the limo that crashed into a tree and left teammate Vladimir Konstantinov and Wings' trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov with brain damage. Fetisov lost feeling of his right leg, but played one more season and won the Stanley Cup again. After retiring, Fetisov was an assistant coach for the Devils from 1998 to 2002. He was the head coach of Russia at the 2002 Olympics, leading the team to a bronze medal. After that, he returned to Russia to accept a government post as Minister of Sport. Fetisov is truly a legend, a hero of humanity. A teammate died, his brother died, his every move was followed by the KGB, he fought for freedom, battled loneliness in a foreign land, two more friends were left paralyzed for life... but Fetisov countered that with two Olympic gold medals, two World Junior Championships, seven World Championships, nine Soviet all-star berths, nine USSR 1st team honors, thirteen Soviet League championships, three European Player of the Year awards, two Stanley Cups, and the respect of millions.
 

Statistics

USSR ChampionshipsRegular Season / Playoffs
SeasonTeamGPGAPtsPIM 
1975-76CSKA Moscow 10000
1976-77CSKA Moscow 2834714
1977-78CSKA Moscow 359182746
1978-79CSKA Moscow 2910192940
1979-80CSKA Moscow 3710142446
1980-81CSKA Moscow 4813162944
1981-82CSKA Moscow 4615264120
1982-83CSKA Moscow 436172346
1983-84CSKA Moscow 4419304938
1984-85CSKA Moscow 201312256
1985-86CSKA Moscow 4015193412
1986-87CSKA Moscow 3913203318
1987-88CSKA Moscow 4818173526
1988-89CSKA Moscow 23981718
USSR Totals 481153220373374 
National Team
 TournamentGPGAPtsPIM
1977World Championship 73362
1978World Championship 10461011
1980Olympic Games 754910
1981World Championship 81456
1981Canada Cup 717810
1982World Championship 104376
1983World Championship 1037108
1984Olympic Games 738118
1985World Championship 10671315
1986World Championship 10691510
1987World Championship 1028102
1987Canada Cup 92579
1988Olympic Games 849138
1989World Championship 1024617
1990World Championship 828108
1991World Championship 103148
1996World Cup 402212
National Team Totals
(including other tournaments)
31395--------- 
NHLRegular SeasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1989-90New Jersey Devils 728344252602210
1990-91New Jersey Devils 673161962700015
1991-92New Jersey Devils 703232610860338
1992-93New Jersey Devils 764232715850224
1993-94New Jersey Devils 521141530141018
1994-95New Jersey Devils 40110----------
1994-95Detroit Red Wings 143111421808814
1995-96Detroit Red Wings 6973542961914534
1996-97Detroit Red Wings 6452328762004442
1997-98Detroit Red Wings 5821214722103310
NHL Totals 5463619222865611622628145