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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)
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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.
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Statistics
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| USSR Championships | Regular Season / Playoffs |
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
| 1975-76 | CSKA Moscow |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| 1976-77 | CSKA Moscow |
28 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | | | | | |
| 1977-78 | CSKA Moscow |
35 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 46 | | | | | |
| 1978-79 | CSKA Moscow |
29 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 40 | | | | | |
| 1979-80 | CSKA Moscow |
37 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 46 | | | | | |
| 1980-81 | CSKA Moscow |
48 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 44 | | | | | |
| 1981-82 | CSKA Moscow |
46 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 20 | | | | | |
| 1982-83 | CSKA Moscow |
43 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 46 | | | | | |
| 1983-84 | CSKA Moscow |
44 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 38 | | | | | |
| 1984-85 | CSKA Moscow |
20 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 6 | | | | | |
| 1985-86 | CSKA Moscow |
40 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 12 | | | | | |
| 1986-87 | CSKA Moscow |
39 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 18 | | | | | |
| 1987-88 | CSKA Moscow |
48 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 26 | | | | | |
| 1988-89 | CSKA Moscow |
23 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 18 | | | | | |
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USSR Totals |
481 | 153 | 220 | 373 | 374 | |
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| National Team |
| | Tournament | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1977 | World Championship |
7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 1978 | World Championship |
10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
| 1980 | Olympic Games |
7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
| 1981 | World Championship |
8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1981 | Canada Cup |
7 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| 1982 | World Championship |
10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 1983 | World Championship |
10 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 |
| 1984 | Olympic Games |
7 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 |
| 1985 | World Championship |
10 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 15 |
| 1986 | World Championship |
10 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 10 |
| 1987 | World Championship |
10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| 1987 | Canada Cup |
9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games |
8 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 8 |
| 1989 | World Championship |
10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 17 |
| 1990 | World Championship |
8 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| 1991 | World Championship |
10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 1996 | World Cup |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
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National Team Totals
(including other tournaments) |
313 | 95 | --- | --- | --- | |
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| NHL | Regular Season | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1989-90 | New Jersey Devils |
72 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 52 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1990-91 | New Jersey Devils |
67 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 62 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 1991-92 | New Jersey Devils |
70 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 1992-93 | New Jersey Devils |
76 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 158 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 1993-94 | New Jersey Devils |
52 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 30 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 1994-95 | New Jersey Devils |
4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1994-95 | Detroit Red Wings |
14 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 14 |
| 1995-96 | Detroit Red Wings |
69 | 7 | 35 | 42 | 96 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 34 |
| 1996-97 | Detroit Red Wings |
64 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 76 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 42 |
| 1997-98 | Detroit Red Wings |
58 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 72 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
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NHL Totals |
546 | 36 | 192 | 228 | 656 | 116 | 2 | 26 | 28 | 145 |
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