Peter25
Registered User
How is this possible when the national team consisted of players from four or five different club teams?They trained together eleven months out of the year
How is this possible when the national team consisted of players from four or five different club teams?They trained together eleven months out of the year
How is this possible when the national team consisted of players from four or five different club teams?
For the record, the Soviet forward lines in the 1981 Canada Cup were:
Krutov (CSKA), Larionov (CSKA), Makarov (CSKA)
I don't know when exactly Makarov and Krutov started playing together on a regular basis, but in the 1981 World Championship the two young wingers formed one line with veteran center Vladimir Petrov. Larionov on the other hand only joined CSKA at the end of that season. The Canada Cup 81 was actually the first tournament that saw the line Krutov - Larionov - Makarov in action.
Kapustin (Spartak), Shepelev (Spartak), Shalimov (Spartak)
Shepelev joined Spartak in 1979, Kapustin in 1980. On the national team, the three formed a line since the 1981 World Championship.
Khomutov (CSKA), Zhluktov (CSKA), Skvortsov (Torpedo Gorky)
Skvortsov
Zhlutkov centering Skvortsov (who never played for CSKA) and rookie Khomutov: this line was also launched in the 1981 World Championship.
Drozdetsky (CSKA), Golikov (Dinamo), Maltsev (Dinamo)
Inaugurated in the 1981 World Championship as well. Drozdetsky and Golikov however had already played together in the national team occasionally. I don't know about Maltsev and Golikov at Dinamo Moscow.
Conclusion:
The claim that the Soviets trained together eleven months a year is, at least related to the 1981 Canada Cup, not true. Six months prior to the tournament, three of the four Soviet forward lines did not even exist as lines. That said, it's undeniable that the Soviets took much more preparation time than the Canadians and that several of their players trained and played together for considerable periods of time, which was an important advantage over the Canadians.
The players at CSKA Moscow did train together for 10-11 months a year, but it's not like CSKA Moscow and the national team were identical. CSKA had the priviledge to recruit many top players, that's a fact. Therefore an overproportional number of its players was on the roster of the national team, that's also a fact. And it's undeniable that this constellation favoured the Soviets in their matchups with any selection of NHL stars. But in spite of this disadvantage, Hockey Canada's teams where generally able to deal with the Soviets. Controversial refereeing aside, Canada's superior depth is indisputable (and undisputed!) All the more credit to the Soviets for their victory in 1981.
80% of the national team consisted of Central Red Army players. At the time, if you played for any team in the Soviet Union, but were destined for the national team, chances were you would also end up on Red Army as Tikhonav pulled players from every team at will.
Was the team too old?
I don't think so. Lafleur was only 29, Dionne was 30. And the Islander stars (Bossy, Trottier, Gilles, Goring, Potvin) were all in their prime of course.
It certainly didn't help that Perrault, Canada's best player in the tournament, got injured. Or that Randy Carlyle, who won the Norris that year, wasn't picked.
Also I have no idea why Ron Duguay was on that team.
The Soviets in this era were at thier peak.
They trained together eleven months out of the year, and would be difficult to handle for any all star team, in any era.
80% of the national team consisted of Central Red Army players.
How about the first game of the Summit Series? Canada expected a cakewalk and got defeated 3-7. In 1981, everyone was aware that the Soviets were considerable opponents, but in 1972 they were viewed as amateurs who were asking for a lesson.
Do you think the 1981 Canada Cup Final where the Soviet Union defeated Canada 8-1 was the most embarrassing loss for Canada in international hockey history?
For one, the core was with one club team but even the others just played more hockey together than the Canadian NHLers. The Soviets had the World Champs, the Isvestia tournament and just regular international games to play together, Canada's teams at those had nothing to do with the NHL outfits at the Canada Cup.
How is losing to Soviets/Russia (at any level) an embarrassment?
Here are the goals that Liut gave up
I remember that Fetisov said they heard about Kharlamov's accident and death just before the game. So they decided to take this game for him. That probably played some role in such result.
Boucicaut said:Things like this sometimes play a bigger role than anything else. Tremendous inner motivation can change everything.
Losing to the Soviets can hardly be called more embarrassing than being shut out by Switzerland.
The 1981 game is probably the biggest defensive capitulation by a Canadian team in history. The way Liut has been scapegoated for that game - to the point where it's considered one of the defining moments of his career - is so unfair it's unreal.
Liut was completely, utterly abandoned in that game as a vastly superior team (maybe the best one the USSR ever assembled) tore Canada to shreds. No goalie in the world could have prevented a blowout in that game, and the defensive effort of some of the Canadian players (Guy Lafleur for one) was pathetic.
"Nobody told us!" Phil Esposito
I think that partly translates to "nobody listened". Also, I believe there was some fairly misleading scouting report - based on one game or something. Ken Dryden, for one, should've known, as he was a (backup) goalie for Canadian teams in some international tournaments in the late 1960s and saw the Russians play many times. Maybe USSR improved a bit during the 2-3 years, but nevertheless, you'd think Dryden gave at least some sort of warning.