Early 70's USSR Equipment

[Tarantula]

I was in grade school and a year prior to being a young hockey fan when this tourny was played. I have a now beat up copy of "28 Days In September" which has quite a few quality colour photos. Some of the Russians appear to have Cooper helmets. How did capitalist equipment make it across the Iron Curtain? Was there any other Western equipment that made a appearance over the Berlin Wall? I just thought that most or all of it would be manufactured by themselves?

Will have to dig that book out and look over the rest of the equipment.

Click to read more...

 

[Canadiens1958]

I was in grade school and a year prior to being a young hockey fan when this tourny was played. I have a now beat up copy of "28 Days In September" which has quite a few quality colour photos. Some of the Russians appear to have Cooper helmets. How did capitalist equipment make it across the Iron Curtain? Was there any other Western equipment that made a appearance over the Berlin Wall? I just thought that most or all of it would be manufactured by themselves?

Will have to dig that book out and look over the rest of the equipment.

Soviet players touring NA and Europe attracted all the manufacturers with the results you describe.

 

[Theokritos]

From the thread "The Soviet Hockey Program":

When abroad Soviet players were always keen on getting their hands on foreign equipment. Harder (p.83): "photographs of elite league Soviet players from the 1960's on show them playing with foreign made Jofa, Koho and CCM sticks."
(...)
According to Harder one of the task Soviet assistant coaches had when their team was on tour abroad was to ask their foreign opponents whether they had sticks to spare.

Some direct quotes from Markku Jokisipilä's book about the hockey stick issue, freely translated by me:

"In Finland the Rahunen family company saw market possibilities in the USSR and it took as their task to spread the clientele of their produce called "Toronto", which was widely used in the Finnish league. They had manufactured an innovative model in which the handle and the blade were of the same wood with no joints/seams needed. When the Moscow Dynamo visited Finland in the early 1960s Rahunen provided them with a stack of sticks. Shortly afterwards Seppo Rahunen received an official invitation from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to come to Moscow to showcase his sticks, and shortly afterwards many red army players switched to Toronto sticks. Another Finnish producer "Montreal" also ended up being used to the Soviet star players."

"Players too did their best to better their equipment and tried to buy equipment straight from their rivals hockey platers. Because the Soviet players didn't have western currency the trade wasn't that extensive but because some of the western players felt sorry for their Soviet colleagues they occassionaly gave them skates, sticks and other material for free. They also traded sticks for the Soviet-manufactured items which had appeal - matryoshka dolls, Lenin pins, samovars, wooden spoons and vodka did however have only marginal value and Soviet equipment was of little interest. Best exchanges were done with champagne and caviar."

 

[alko]

I was in grade school and a year prior to being a young hockey fan when this tourny was played. I have a now beat up copy of "28 Days In September" which has quite a few quality colour photos. Some of the Russians appear to have Cooper helmets. How did capitalist equipment make it across the Iron Curtain? Was there any other Western equipment that made a appearance over the Berlin Wall? I just thought that most or all of it would be manufactured by themselves?

Will have to dig that book out and look over the rest of the equipment.

A little intro. Maybe it seems, that the Soviets were completely blocked from West, but that isnt true. There were still people, that could travel and take some stuff back home.

And maybe you will wonder, but there was business between USSR and West.

 

[Tarantula]

A nice cryptic intro like that has me wondering if you could tell a few good stories!

I find this very interesting indeed, but makes sense. I have heard of clothing and record albums making their way across the curtain so to speak so having some friendly trades would make sense amongst a community like hockey.

Any insight on gloves, goalie and skater, skates themselves Alko? Did the Russians have a few domestic choices and possibly if special enough the chance to wear something from the so called West?

Sorry, no caviar to trade for the info and I am currently working on the only vodka I have so all I can trade you is my attention, and it's value is falling as we slide closer to the deadline.

 

[Albatros]

Sure there was domestic production even if product development wasn't on par with foreign makes. In some other Eastern Bloc countries that wasn't the case though, in East Germany the league consisted only of two teams because equipment acquisitions in hard currency were deemed too costly.

 

[Tarantula]

Good point, I mainly thought of Russia since my reference was a pic from the 72 Summit Series. I don't know why I find this so interesting, maybe because there has to be some incredible stories, or maybe I am just fixated on anything contraband, or perhaps verbotten!

All poor puns aside, I really would like any more info, anecdotal or pics of some of the wares available at the time.

I still laugh at the stitching in the plastic helmets, my first two were like that before the CSA and cages came in Ontario Ca, I think 1977?

 

[alko]

A nice cryptic intro like that has me wondering if you could tell a few good stories!

I find this very interesting indeed, but makes sense. I have heard of clothing and record albums making their way across the curtain so to speak so having some friendly trades would make sense amongst a community like hockey.

Any insight on gloves, goalie and skater, skates themselves Alko? Did the Russians have a few domestic choices and possibly if special enough the chance to wear something from the so called West?

Sorry, no caviar to trade for the info and I am currently working on the only vodka I have so all I can trade you is my attention, and it's value is falling as we slide closer to the deadline.

Unfortunately, i cant give you any detailed info. When the Communist Wall breached down, i was in 6th grade. Ice hockey wasn't a story for me then. But i know some old guy, active on our web sites, that could have some infos. I will ask him.

 

[alko]

A nice cryptic intro like that has me wondering if you could tell a few good stories!

I find this very interesting indeed, but makes sense. I have heard of clothing and record albums making their way across the curtain so to speak so having some friendly trades would make sense amongst a community like hockey.

Any insight on gloves, goalie and skater, skates themselves Alko? Did the Russians have a few domestic choices and possibly if special enough the chance to wear something from the so called West?

Sorry, no caviar to trade for the info and I am currently working on the only vodka I have so all I can trade you is my attention, and it's value is falling as we slide closer to the deadline.

Here im again. Now with some infos (from mentioned online friend), but mostly for CSSR.

There was some Organisation, ruled by Ministry of sport, that were responsible for equipment for ice-hockey players (combined with others sports). But i think, only for national teams, dont know much about league teams. But i think, they also made it.

And almost all equipment came from West: helms, gloves, skates.... Exceptions were only sticks (but that also changed in 80s) and pucks. In Czechoslovakia was a factory, that sell pucks also to NHL. They had very high quality for that time standards (if im correct, that was also not so long ago).

World Championship in 60s in Sweden and Finlad was completely sponsored by JOFA. All teams became equipment from this factory.

Adidas and Puma were strongly interested to sponsor USSR and also CSSR. They both were top teams, that means top advertising. Dont know, if it was in 70s, but in 80s for sure. CSSR teams were sponsored by Adidas.

Here is a picture from 1981 Canada Cup. You can see there JOFA, Cooper and dont know what has the Russian player as Glove. Dress is unknown. That was maybe some domestic stuff.

Then some CSSSR national teams. Clear Adidas Logo to see. But now we are already in 80s.

 

[Theokritos]

Domestic production of hockey sticks in the USSR

Existing production sites in Lviv (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia) and Tallinn (Estonia) were ordered to reduce their output of bandy sticks in favour of sticks suited for "puck hockey". As of 1957, eleven years after the introduction of Canadian ice hockey in the USSR, the annual production of hockey sticks in the Soviet Union added up to 194,000 (bandy sticks: 256,000). In 1963 a sports factory was set up in Moscow, producing 500,000 hockey sticks per year and ensuring mass participatory hockey in the capital.

Further development of annual production in the USSR: 1970: 3,709,000 hockey sticks. 1980: 10,576,000 hockey sticks.

Source: Paul Harder (PDF)​

"The soviet furniture factories produced hockey sticks from wood that was left-over by-product from the production of their main manufactures, or from wood that was unusable for any other purpose."

"For instance Irkutsk, situated in Southern Siberia, had a chronic shortage of ice hockey sticks even though its geography and climate might have enabled it to become a major ice hockey haven. It was dependent on factories in Saratov, some 5000 km's away, even though factories in Irkutsk were very much capable of starting stick production and raw materials were abundant. But because the national quota plans on Irkutsk manufacturing plants did not include sporting equipment the factory bosses could not include hockey sticks in their repertoire in spite of numerous calls to do so by the local ice hockey figures."

Source: Markku Jokisipilä​

A Canadian observation on the Soviet equipment in 1957, when the national team first toured Canada. From a link provided by Canadiens1958:

"Red Burnett, a Toronto confrere, reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs spent considerable time examining the [Soviet] Selects' playing gear after they'd worked out in Maple Leaf Gardens. They were amazed at the lightness of the shinguards, skates and sticks. Brian Cullen drooled when he hefted a Russian club. 'I don't know how long they'd stand up in the NHL' he said, 'but you'd sure get the feel of the puck and be able to shoot better with these sticks.'"

Source: Dink Carroll/Montreal Gazette (Link)​

 

[Theokritos]

And almost all equipment came from West: helms, gloves, skates.... Exceptions were only sticks (but that also changed in 80s) and pucks.

A comment on the scarcity of hockey stick in Czechoslovakia (in contrast to pucks, apparently):

Here is the qoute of Peter Stastny:
I had a contract with Victoriaville. They couldnt understand how is possible, that I use such a small amount of sticks per season. I used about 80 sticks during NHL season compared to Guy Lafleur who spend about one thousand of sticks and I've even a donate few of them. In Czechoslovakia I had 20 sticks for season and I had to spare few to sell them later.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Domestic production of hockey sticks in the USSR

Source: Paul Harder (PDF)​

Source: Markku Jokisipilä​

A Canadian observation on the Soviet equipment in 1957, when the national team first toured Canada. From a link provided by Canadiens1958:

"Red Burnett, a Toronto confrere, reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs spent considerable time examining the [Soviet] Selects' playing gear after they'd worked out in Maple Leaf Gardens. They were amazed at the lightness of the shinguards, skates and sticks. Brian Cullen drooled when he hefted a Russian club. 'I don't know how long they'd stand up in the NHL' he said, 'but you'd sure get the feel of the puck and be able to shoot better with these sticks.'"

Source: Dink Carroll/Montreal Gazette (Link)​

1970 production of sticks reflects participation?

 

[Albatros]

1970 production of sticks reflects participation?

In real existing socialism rather not.

 

[blood gin]

It was sort of strange seeing them all skate around in helmets. An entire team in helmets? Looked odd. Just so used to seeing a helmet here or there, guy with long hair, short hair, old combover guy, balding veteran etc.

 

[iamjs]

Here is a picture from 1981 Canada Cup. You can see there JOFA, Cooper and dont know what has the Russian player as Glove. Dress is unknown. That was maybe some domestic stuff.

Russian gloves are also Koho, which is the same as the stick.

I know it wasn't mentioned, but the goalie's stick was a Titan. With the small block font, I thought for a minute that maybe it was a Chimo.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Russian gloves are also Koho, which is the same as the stick.

I know it wasn't mentioned, but the goalie's stick was a Titan. With the small block font, I thought for a minute that maybe it was a Chimo.

Chimo came later, a Sherwood brand for the low end mass market, mainly youngsters.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

If we reverse the situation. Were there any players in the NHL using Eastern European equipment? (Czechoslovakian pucks were used). As far as I know, the only instance are the Czech Artis sticks that some guys used in the 1980s and early 90s. Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey in Edmonton used these for a while in the 80s.

In Montreal Guy Carbonneau and Claude Lemieux played with the Artis stick.
I believe Carbonneau even played with one for a couple of seasons. Lemieux used it for a while during the Canadiens Stanley Cup winning season in 92/93.

As a youngster back home in Czechoslovakia, Jaromir Jágr used it too.

At the height of their popularity the Artis factory produced more than one million hockey sticks annually, but I just find it a bit odd that Canadians were using these sticks. I wonder how it came about.

 

[Canadiens1958]

If we reverse the situation. Were there any players in the NHL using Eastern European equipment? (Czechoslovakian pucks were used). As far as I know, the only instance are the Czech Artis sticks that some guys used in the 1980s and early 90s. Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey in Edmonton used these for a while in the 80s.

In Montreal Guy Carbonneau and Claude Lemieux played with the Artis stick.
I believe Carbonneau even played with one for a couple of seasons. Lemieux used it for a while during the Canadiens Stanley Cup winning season in 92/93.

As a youngster back home in Czechoslovakia, Jaromir Jágr used it too.

At the height of their popularity the Artis factory produced more than one million hockey sticks annually, but I just find it a bit odd that Canadians were using these sticks. I wonder how it came about.

Claude Lemieux(summer 1990) was long gone from Montreal in 1992-93.

Czech pucks. Originally had density issues - puck did not have uniform density resulting in a bullet like projectile when slapped by elite juniors. After a few broken panes of plexiglass the OHL/OHA and CAHA dropped the Czech pucks.

This lead to In Glas Co developing uniform density game pucks.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Claude Lemieux(summer 1990) was long gone from Montreal in 1992-93.

Yes, my bad, I ment to say that Carbonneau used it for some games in 92/93, not Lemieux.
Lemieux used it earlier in Montreal, around 88-89.

Czech pucks. Originally had density issues - puck did not have uniform density resulting in a bullet like projectile when slapped by elite juniors. After a few broken panes of plexiglass the OHL/OHA and CAHA dropped the Czech pucks.

This lead to In Glas Co developing uniform density game pucks.

I know that they dropped the Czechoslovakian pucks, but I didn't know why, interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Housley had a Jofa helmet I thought...but they're Swedish, right? That probably doesn't qualify...

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Housley had a Jofa helmet I thought...but they're Swedish, right? That probably doesn't qualify...

Well, not only Housley, but actually a lot of players back in the 1980s and 90s used Jofa helmets. Gretzky, Kurri, Jagr, Lemieux, Savard, Selanne, Sundin and Fleury to name a few.

The Jofa brand was established somewhere around the 1920s, and they also did manufacture sticks, skates and other protective equipment. I can not recall anyone using Jofa sticks in the NHL though.

Other Swedish hockey brands included SPAPS (Butch Goring wore that helmet), Sandstroms (sticks) and Sirius (sticks).

Finland of course had numerous brands that was widely used, Koho (Kurri, Lafleur and Trottier) and Titan (Gretzky, Bossy, Lemieux and Yzerman). Other Finnish brands that comes to mind are the Toronto and Montreal sticks, used mainly outside of North America. Then we have Torspo, their sticks was used by Mats Naslund. I seem to recall that after the Toronto brand went bankrupt that Torspo manufactured their sticks in their (Toronto’s) old factory.

Other European brands that never reached North America as far as I know were the Polish Smolen sticks.
I think the Warwick brothers used them for a few games when Penticton toured Europe in the 1950s (probably used out of courtesy). The Soviets had their own brand of hockey sticks, “Москва / Moskva”, only used domestically. The more recent one are the Russian made (Tatarstan more precisely) Zaryad sticks founded by Danis Zaripov, by many considered to be the best player outside of North America a few years ago.

Apparently there’s a new super stick on it’s way. It comes from PAMA. The man behind it is the guy behind the Titan sticks. This Finnish guy is in his 80s, but still going strong.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I understand I'm reviving an old thread here, but wouldn't it have made for some sense for the Soviets to understand the newer 'technology' of the 70's and rival it with their own versions? I'm trying to think as if I was in the Cold War Era.

From what I gather from seeing different documentaries over the years (especially during the Stalin era), it seemed like Soviets were discouraged from using Western items.

 

[hacksaw7]

It was sort of strange seeing them all skate around in helmets. An entire team in helmets? Looked odd. Just so used to seeing a helmet here or there, guy with long hair, short hair, old combover guy, balding veteran etc.

And they thought it strange that these Canadiens still weren't all wearing helmets. On top of that some were chewing gum on the ice