Soviet best player voting: full voting record

[Theokritos]

1970-1971 (68 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Anatoli Firsov	LW	CSKA	131*	37*	10	0
2.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	70	15	8	9
3.	Alexander Maltsev	C	Dinamo	70	8	15	16
4.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	61	6	16	11
5.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	12	1	3	3
6.	Vladimir Shadrin	C	Spartak	10	0	3	4
7.	Viktor Konovalenko	G	Gorky	7	0	2	3
8.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	6	0	2	2
9.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	5	0	2	1
9.	Vyacheslav Starshinov	C	Spartak	5	0	2	1
9.	Gennadi Tsygankov	D	CSKA	5	0	0	5
12.	Yevgeni Mishakov	C/RW	CSKA	4	0	1	2
13.	Viktor Yakushev	C	Lokomotiv	3	1	0	0
13.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	3	0	1	1
13.	Alexander Martynyuk	RW	Spartak	3	0	0	3
13.	Vladimir Shepovalov	G	Leningrad	3	0	0	3
17.	Viktor Kuzkin	D	CSKA	2	0	1	0
17.	Alexander Syrtsov	LW	Voskresensk	2	0	1	0
17.	Yevgeni Zimin	RW	Spartak	2	0	1	0
20.	Yuri Chichurin	RW	Dinamo	1	0	0	1
20.	Vitali Davydov	D	Dinamo	1	0	0	1
20.	Yuri Lyapkin	D	Spartak	1	0	0	1
20.	Viktor Zinger	G	Spartak	1	0	0	1

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​

Plenty of names on the ballots and a lot of fringe votes, but this time we have a clear winner again and a group of four forwards who stand out.

Early in the season, CSKA Moscow had struggled under their new coach Boris Kulagin and Firsov had even announced he would retire. But when Tarasov returned (November 1970), the plan was scrapped and the season turned around. The icing on the cake was Firsov's World Championship performance (Best Forward award, All-star). Kharlamov and Vikulov also did very well domestically and internationally, so it's no surprise to find them ranked 3rd and 4th. But it appears a bit surprising Vikulov edged out Kharlamov, given that Kharlamov outscored Vikulov both in the league and at the World Championship. Whatever caused the voters to put Vikulov higher: they weren't merely stat-watching.

Dinamo Moscow had a good season and Maltsev topped the league in scoring (goals+assists, the latter were now officially counted). He also put up great numbers at the World Championship and made the All-star team, his defensive shortcomings notwithstanding.

And that lone first place ballot for Viktor Yakushev? His club Lokomotiv Moscow had been relegated and Yakushev, the decorated veteran, went down to the second league with his club. No doubt he could have left the sinking ship, but he stayed. Clearly, it was his dedication that impressed one voter (Gennadi Larchikov) so much, not the actual performance in 1970-1971.​

 

[Theokritos]

1971-1972 (60 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	130	27	22	5
1.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	130	25	25	5
3.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	35	3	8	10
4.	Alexander Yakushev	LW	Spartak	19	0	0	19
5.	Anatoli Firsov	C	CSKA	17	4	1	3
6.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	17	1	2	10
7.	Alexander Ragulin	D	CSKA	7	0	1	5
8.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	3	0	0	3
9.	Gennadi Tsygankov	D	CSKA	2	0	1	0

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​

Not much to discuss here. Maltsev (All-star and best forward at the World Championship) and Kharlamov (great Olympics, World Champinship All-star) were the two outstanding players by far. Kharlamov's linemate Vikulov was the next in line. Firsov who had switched to center and played on the same line was hurt by the fact that he dropped out of the national team after the Olympics and missed the World Championship.

 

[Theokritos]

1972-1973 (59 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	107	27	9	8
2.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	104	22	15	8
3.	Alexander Yakushev	LW	Spartak	46	3	10	17
4.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	40	4	12	4
5.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	34	3	8	9
6.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	10	0	2	6
7.	Alexander Gusev	D	CSKA	6	0	1	4
8.	Vladimir Shadrin	D	Spartak	3	0	1	1
9.	Alexander Maltsev	C	Dinamo	2	0	1	0
10.	Igor Dmitriev	C	Krylya Sovietov	1	0	0	1
10.	Alexander Ragulin	D	CSKA	1	0	0	1

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​

A close race between Kharlamov and Petrov who had become linemates again in December 1972. Petrov was the most productive scorer in the league and Kharlamov was outstanding in the Summit Series against Team Canada. Completed by Boris Mikhailov, the reunited trio dominated the 1973 World Championship. For Spartak Moscow, the line Yakushev – Shadrin – Martynyuk was great domestically and Yakushev was another standout in the Summit. Maltsev on the other hand had an underwhelming season and Vikulov even more.

 

[Theokritos]

1973-1974 (56 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	113	26	16	3
2.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	67	13	12	4
3.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	39	2	8	17
4.	Alexander Maltsev	F	Dinamo	38	5	7	9
5.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	26	5	3	5
6.	Alexander Yakushev	LW	Spartak	12	1	2	5
7.	Vyacheslav Anisin	C	Krylya Sovietov	11	1	2	4
8.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Krylya Sovietov	7	1	0	4
9.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	6	1	1	1
9.	Alexander Sidelnikov	G	Krylya Sovietov	6	1	1	1
11.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	4	0	2	0
12.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	Riga	2	0	1	0
12.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	2	0	1	0
14.	Alexander Golikov	LW	Voskresensk	1	0	0	1
14.	Vladimir Korshakevich	G	Chelyabinsk	1	0	0	1
14.	Valeri Kuzmin	D	Krylya Sovietov	1	0	0	1

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​

A remarkable league season: Krylya Sovietov under Boris Kulagin upset CSKA to win the domestic championship. The poll results however suggest this was more viewed as a team achievement than anything, very few voters thought of any player from the domestic champion as individually outstanding.
Tretyak was now apparently reaching his prime. The CSKA skaters (including Kharlamov) had an underwhelming season with the sole exception of Boris Mikhailov. And Valeri Vasilyev, who had emerged as the leading Soviet defenseman in 1972-1973, reached the top 3 in the poll (a feat never to be repeated by any defenseman but Fetisov). He edged out teammate Maltsev by a single point.

 

[Theokritos]

1974-1975 (65 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	107	26	11	7
2.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	81	14	14	11
3.	Alexander Yakushev	LW	Spartak	58	7	12	13
4.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	49	9	9	4
5.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	44	6	8	10
6.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	23	0	8	7
7.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	11	2	1	3
8.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	5	1	0	2
9.	Viktor Shalimov	RW	Spartak	3	0	1	1
10.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Krylya Sovietov	2	0	0	2
10.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	2	0	1	0
12.	Vladimir Astafyev	D	Gorky	1	0	0	1
12.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	Riga	1	0	0	1
12.	Vladimir Myshkin	G	Krylya Sovietov	1	0	0	1
12.	Alexander Pashkov	G	Voskresensk	1	0	0	1
12.	Vladimir Shadrin	C	Spartak	1	0	0	1

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​

Prime Tretyak is the winner again and it's probably hard to argue with that. Kharlamov is the #2, ahead of his higher scoring linemates Petrov and Mikhailov – was international performance deemed more important than domestic performance here? But Mikhailov Petrov was a World Championship all-star and Kharlamov wasn't. Yakushev's third place must certainly have owed a lot to his international exploits (1974 Summit Series and he was named all-star and best forward at the 1975 World Championship), but he too ended up behind Kharlamov.

 

[Black Gold Extractor]

Prime Tretyak is the winner again and it's probably hard to argue with that. Kharlamov is the #2, ahead of his higher scoring linemates Petrov and Mikhailov – was international performance deemed more important than domestic performance here? But Mikhailov was a World Championship all-star and Kharlamov wasn't. Yakushev's third place must certainly have owed a lot to his international exploits (1974 Summit Series and he was named all-star and best forward at the 1975 World Championship), but he too ended up behind Kharlamov.

My only guess is that Kharlamov left everyone else in the dust during the Izvestia tournament (24 points to runner-up Petrov with 17 and third-place Mikhailov with 13) that season.

 

[Theokritos]

My only guess is that Kharlamov left everyone else in the dust during the Izvestia tournament (24 points to runner-up Petrov with 17 and third-place Mikhailov with 13) that season.

That would be part of the puzzle, though I think there must be more to it. The Izvestia tournament wasn't a joke, but it was not viewed as important as the World Championship or even a series against Canadian professionals.

 

[Theokritos]

1975-1976 (64 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	139	35	15	4
2.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	107	20	17	13
3.	Viktor Shalimov	RW	Spartak	38	1	11	13
4.	Alexander Maltsev	C	Dinamo	28	4	6	4
5.	Alexander Yakushev	LW	Spartak	17	1	3	8
6.	Vladimir Shadrin	C	Spartak	13	2	2	3
7.	Viktor Zinger	G	Spartak	10	0	4	2
8.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	Riga	10	0	3	4
9.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	6	1	1	1
10.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	4	0	1	2
10.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	4	0	1	2
12.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	2	0	0	2
12.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	2	0	0	2
14.	Boris Alexandrov	LW	CSKA	1	0	0	1
14.	Valeri Belousov	LW	Chelyabinsk	1	0	0	1
14.	Alexander Gusev	D	CSKA	1	0	0	1
14.	Gennadi Tsygankov	LDW	CSKA	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
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​

An eventful year: the first Super Series, the 1976 Olympics, the 1976 World Championship and Spartak Moscow won the domestic championship over CSKA. The top 2 in the poll are a repetition of the year before, Tretyak and Kharlamov (outstanding at the World Championship) were considered the outstanding players again and this time with a bigger gap to the rest of the field. It was the last season of Kharlamov's prime: mere weeks before "Football-Hockey" announced the poll results, he was seriously injured in a car accident.
With CSKA upset in the Soviet league, their other players did worse in the poll than in other years. Spartak players captured the ranks #3, #5, #6 and #7 in the poll with Viktor Shalimov leading the way, he had one of the best seasons of his career.

 

[DN28]

Prime Tretyak is the winner again and it's probably hard to argue with that. Kharlamov is the #2, ahead of his higher scoring linemates Petrov and Mikhailov – was international performance deemed more important than domestic performance here? But Mikhailov was a World Championship all-star and Kharlamov wasn't. Yakushev's third place must certainly have owed a lot to his international exploits (1974 Summit Series and he was named all-star and best forward at the 1975 World Championship), but he too ended up behind Kharlamov.

Mikhailov wasn´t WHC all-star in 1975, but Petrov was.

WHC all-star forwards were Yakushev-Petrov-Martinec. Yakushev won the Directoriate Best F award, as you´ve said. No data beyond the 1st AST available from this tournament unfortunately.

 

[Theokritos]

Mikhailov wasn´t WHC all-star in 1975, but Petrov was.

Right. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Theokritos]

1976-1977 (76 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	Riga	166	34	26	12
2.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	90	18	12	12
3.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	73	11	16	8
3.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	73	10	12	19
5.	Vasili Pervukhin	D	Dinamo	14	0	1	12
6.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	9	2	1	1
6.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	9	0	3	3
8.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	5	1	1	0
9.	Vladimir Vikulov	C	CSKA	4	0	1	2
10.	Vladimir Kovin	C	Gorky	3	0	1	1
11.	Nikolai Makarov	D	Chelyabinsk	3	0	0	3
12.	Valeri Belousov	LW	Gorky	2	0	1	0
12.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Krylya Sovietov	2	0	0	2
12.	Vladimir Shadrin	C	Spartak	2	0	1	0
15.	Vyacheslav Nazarov	D	Riga	1	0	0	1

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​

The career year of Helmuts Balderis who led the league in scoring (while playing on a modest Riga team where he outscored everyone by a wide margin) and was named all-star and best forward at the 1977 World Championship. His win is as uncontroversial as it gets. Petrov at #2 looks uncontroversial as well, he led domestic champion CSKA in scoring and made the World Championship all-star team as the top scorer of the tournament. Then there's Mikhailov and Tretyak and then a big gap to the rest.

 

[Theokritos]

1977-1978 (73 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	128	33	11	7
2.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	110	21	19	9
3.	Vyacheslav Fetisov	D	CSKA	61	5	17	12
4.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	33	5	6	6
5.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	CSKA	29	2	8	7
6.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Krylya Sovietov	26	1	5	13
7.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	15	4	1	1
8.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	14	0	5	4
9.	Sergei Makarov	RW	Chelyabinsk	5	0	0	5
10.	Zinetula Bilyaletdinov	D	Dinamo	4	0	0	4
11.	Yuri Lebedev	RW	Krylya Sovietov	3	1	0	0
11.	Vasili Pervukhin	D	Dinamo	3	1	0	0
11.	Alexander Pashkov	G	Voskresensk	3	0	1	1
14.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	2	0	0	2
15.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	1	0	0	1
15.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	1	0	0	1

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​

Fetisov (#3) was named best defenseman at the 1978 World Championship and he was an all-star there together with Maltsev (#4) and Kapustin (#6). But Mikhailov and Tretyak were the two standouts in the Football-Hockey poll. Not exactly ammunition for the idea that international play was all that mattered to the Soviets.

 

[Theokritos]

1979-1980 (69 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Sergei Makarov	RW	CSKA	156	43	10	7
2.	Vladimir Krutov	LW	CSKA	68	6	15	20
3.	Boris Mikhailov	D	CSKA	49	11	5	6
4.	Alexander Maltsev	C	Dinamo	38	4	11	4
5.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	27	1	9	6
6.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	19	2	6	1
7.	Vladimir Myshkin	G	Krylya Sovietov	9	0	2	5
8.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	7	1	1	2
9.	Yuri Lebedev	RW	Krylya Sovietov	6	0	2	2
10.	Alexander Yakushev	LW	Spartak	5	0	2	1
10.	Nikolai Drozdetsky	LW	CSKA	5	0	1	3
12.	Mikhail Varnakov	LW	Gorky	4	1	0	1
12.	Vasili Pervukhin	D	Dinamo	4	0	2	0
12.	Alexander Skvortsov	RW	Gorky	4	0	1	2
12.	Viktor Shalimov	RW	Spartak	4	0	0	4
16.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	CSKA	2	0	1	0
16.	Alexei Kasatonov	D	CSKA	2	0	1	0
16.	Arkadi Rudakov	C	Spartak	2	0	0	2
19.	Zinetula Bilyaletdinov	D	Dinamo	1	0	0	1
19.	Viktor Doroshchenko	G	Spartak	1	0	0	1
19.	Vladimir Golikov	C	Dinamo	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
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​

The new generation was taking over with Makarov (born 1958) and Krutov (born 1960) topping the poll ahead of Mikhailov (1944) and Maltsev (1949). Makarov, the top scorer in the domestic league, was the landslide winner. Not much international glory in that season with the disappointing 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. After that failure, the change of generations was viewed as urgent.

 

[DN28]

1969-1970 (68 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Viktor Konovalenko	G	Gorky	124	26	17	12
2.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	104	17	15	23
3.	Vyacheslav Starshinov	C	Spartak	83	12	19	9
4.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	48	8	9	6
5.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	20	3	4	3
6.	Vitali Davydov	D	Dinamo	11	0	4	3
7.	Anatoli Firsov	LW	CSKA	10	2	0	4
8.	Yevgeni Paladyev	D	Spartak	2	0	0	2
8.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	2	0	0	2
10.	Yuri Lyapkin	D	Spartak	1	0	0	1
10.	Valeri Nikitin	D/LW	Voskresensk	1	0	0	1
10.	Vladimir Shadrin	C	Spartak	1	0	0	1
10.	Yevgeni Zimin	RW	Spartak	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
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​

An interesting voting result. CSKA won back the domestic championship and the trio Kharlamov – Petrov – Mikhailov had another great season, but they disappointed at the 1970 World Championship. Petrov was even benched. The similarity to Alexander Yakushev's 1968-1969 is evident: great domestic scoring exploits (Petrov topped the league with 51 goals – the next best was Mikhailov with 40) and team success, then a weak World Championship. But while Yakushev earned at least some votes in 1969, Petrov ended up almost empty handed in 1970. He must have been very visibly overshadowed by his linemate Kharlamov, I guess. The results of the other CSKA stars are a bit curious. Firsov didn't have his best World Championship (he wasn't fully healthy), but still made the All-star team. There's nothing indicating he sucked in the league either. And yet, he received very few votes. His linemate Vikulov (no international honours, but played a good World Championship nevertheless) is actually the highest ranking CSKA player. A little puzzling. I think it was @Batis who once suggested that Firsov was possibly measured against the lofty standards he had set before rather than strictly against his peers in 1969-1970?

Not that it´s anything conclusive, but I speculated about Firsov´s 1970 SPOTY result this way:

7th in SPOTY voting, 5th among forwards and not named into Soviet all-star team as 1 of 3 best forwards of the season. This season is a head-scratcher, why suddenly only voted as 7th best Soviet player despite Firsov´s yet another strong WHC performance (4th all-star LW in a row by now)? I can only offer a speculation that weak SPOTY result was caused by a combination of:

a) little bit weaker WHC performance compared to his previous showings. I´ve read the ´70 WHC game reports (and for transparency, I´ve only read, photographed and stored on my dropbox the 1966 and 1970 game reports from those championships that Firsov participated in..) and it is mentioned that Firsov missed 2 games, one of which was the 1st game vs. CSSR, due to leg inflammation and very high fever. It´s understandable that his athleticism and subsequently his performance may have been slowed down by this. The reports themselves make it quite clear that the player who was watched and talked about the most by everybody was Jan Suchy. Otherwise this WHC was also the big "coming out party" for Alexander Maltsev who won the scoring. Lennart Svedberg had terrific tournament as well. The AST voting suggests similar thing: 87 voters and Maltsev got 80 votes, Suchy got 78, while Firsov 59 votes and Svedberg 58 votes as the fourth best voting result.
b) perhaps a bit weaker league play as well? 6th in league (goal)scoring while being 4th in his own CSKA team and full 18 goals behind Petrov doesn´t scream like a huge domestic season. Firsov also missed 6 league games by playing in 38 out of 44 games.
c) voter fatigue and unequal evaluating standards for Firsov compared to others (???)

1977-1978 (73 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Boris Mikhailov	RW	CSKA	128	33	11	7
2.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	110	21	19	9
3.	Vyacheslav Fetisov	D	CSKA	61	5	17	12
4.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	33	5	6	6
5.	Helmuts Balderis	RW	CSKA	29	2	8	7
6.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Krylya Sovietov	26	1	5	13
7.	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	CSKA	15	4	1	1
8.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	14	0	5	4
9.	Sergei Makarov	RW	Chelyabinsk	5	0	0	5
10.	Zinetula Bilyaletdinov	D	Dinamo	4	0	0	4
11.	Yuri Lebedev	RW	Krylya Sovietov	3	1	0	0
11.	Vasili Pervukhin	D	Dinamo	3	1	0	0
11.	Alexander Pashkov	G	Voskresensk	3	0	1	1
14.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	2	0	0	2
15.	Vladimir Lutchenko	D	CSKA	1	0	0	1
15.	Vladimir Vikulov	RW	CSKA	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
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​

Fetisov (#3) was named best defenseman at the 1978 World Championship and he was an all-star there together with Maltsev (#4) and Kapustin (#6). But Mikhailov and Tretyak were the two standouts in the Football-Hockey poll. Not exactly ammunition for the idea that international play was all that mattered to the Soviets.

At least Mikhailov was all-star RW from the Izvestia tournament and he became an unofficial 2nd all-star team RW at the WHC 1978 after Maltsev.

Tretiak´s 2nd place finish is a bit suspicious though. Holecek was Izvestia and WHC all-star goalie. Second AST goalie from the ´78 WHC was Dan Bouchard. Tretiak could have been only 3rd at best in the media voting...

 

[Theokritos]

1969-1970
– 16 points in 8 games at WHC 70, 3rd in scoring, WHC all-star LW (2nd in AST voting of forwards)
- 33 goals in 38 games, 6th in league scoring, 4th in his own team, 18 goals behind league-leading Petrov who played 5 more games though
- 7th in SPOTY voting, 5th among forwards and not named into Soviet all-star team as 1 of 3 best forwards of the season. This season is a head-scratcher, why suddenly only voted as 7th best Soviet player despite Firsov´s yet another strong WHC performance (4th all-star LW in a row by now)? I can only offer a speculation that weak SPOTY result was caused by a combination of:
a) little bit weaker WHC performance compared to his previous showings. I´ve read the ´70 WHC game reports (and for transparency, I´ve only read, photographed and stored on my dropbox the 1966 and 1970 game reports from those championships that Firsov participated in..) and it is mentioned that Firsov missed 2 games, one of which was the 1st game vs. CSSR, due to leg inflammation and very high fever. It´s understandable that his athleticism and subsequently his performance may have been slowed down by this. The reports themselves make it quite clear that the player who was watched and talked about the most by everybody was Jan Suchy. Otherwise this WHC was also the big "coming out party" for Alexander Maltsev who won the scoring. Lennart Svedberg had terrific tournament as well. The AST voting suggests similar thing: 87 voters and Maltsev got 80 votes, Suchy got 78, while Firsov 59 votes and Svedberg 58 votes as the fourth best voting result.
b) perhaps a bit weaker league play as well? 6th in league (goal)scoring while being 4th in his own CSKA team and full 18 goals behind Petrov doesn´t scream like a huge domestic season. Firsov also missed 6 league games by playing in 38 out of 44 games.
c) voter fatigue and unequal evaluating standards for Firsov compared to others (???)

That's the post I was looking for, I just couldn't find it.

A weaker domestic campaign in combination with harsher standards/lofty expectations for Firsov does indeed seem like the only reasonable explanation for that 1970 voting result.

 

[Theokritos]

1980-1981 (74 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	158	42	13	6
2.	Alexander Maltsev	C/RW	Dinamo	121	18	28	11
3.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Spartak	53	4	15	11
4.	Sergei Makarov	RW	CSKA	35	5	6	8
5.	Vladimir Petrov	C	CSKA	28	3	5	9
6.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	20	2	3	8
7.	Viktor Shalimov	RW	Spartak	7	0	2	3
7.	Alexei Kasatonov	D	CSKA	7	0	1	5
9.	Nikolai Drozdetsky	LW	CSKA	6	0	1	4
10.	Alexander Skvortsov	LW	Gorky	3	0	0	3
11.	Vladimir Krutov	LW	CSKA	2	0	0	2
11.	Yuri Shundrov	G	Kiev	2	1	0	2
13.	Nikolai Makarov	D	Chelyabinsk	1	0	0	1
13.	Sergei Shepelev	C	Spartak	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

Tretyak wins again. Maltsev who is #2 doesn't appear in the top 10 of the domestic scoring but had a strong 1981 World Championship – looks like his role in restoring the international pride of the USSR was considered crucial that season. Conversely Makarov, clearly the top scorer in the Soviet league, is only 4th which appears a bit in need of explanation. As opposed to Kapustin at #3: he had a good domestic and a good international campaign, so his #3 looks reasonable.

 

[Theokritos]

1981-1982 (74 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Vyacheslav Fetisov	D	CSKA	116	22	17	16
2.	Sergei Makarov	RW	CSKA	102	25	9	9
3.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	63	10	11	11
4.	Viktor Shalimov	RW	Spartak	49	7	10	8
5.	Alexander Kozhevnikov	RW	Spartak	34	3	7	11
6.	Igor Larionov	C	CSKA	20	0	8	4
7.	Alexander Maltsev	RW	Dinamo	17	3	1	6
7.	Valeri Vasilyev	D	Dinamo	17	2	4	3
9.	Alexei Kasatonov	D	CSKA	8	0	2	4
10.	Vladimir Krutov	LW	CSKA	7	1	2	0
11.	Vasili Pervukhin	D	Dinamo	4	0	2	0
12.	Vladimir Myshkin	G	Dinamo	3	1	0	0
13.	Sergei Kapustin	LW	Spartak	2	0	1	0
14.	Valeri Belousov	RW	Chelyabinsk	1	0	0	1
14.	Dmitri Saprykin	G	Spartak	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

Fetisov enters his prime and – a first for a defenseman – wins the poll, despite missing the 1981 Canada Cup. I guess he was that strong domestically and at the 1982 World Championship (named all-star & best defenseman). Makarov is right behind him, he a had a good year on all fronts. Tretyak is 3rd. Shalimov too had a good season both domestically and internationally, it was one of the two best seasons of his career. Next in line is his teammate Alexander Kozhevnikov. He's one of those 1980s players from the Soviet Union who would fade fast once the iron curtain came down, but here he is still an upper echelon player.

 

[Theokritos]

1982-1983 (81 voters)

#	Player:	Pos:	Team:	Pts:	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1.	Vladislav Tretyak	G	CSKA	222	63	15	3
2.	Vladimir Krutov	LW	CSKA	111	15	22	22
3.	Sergei Makarov	RW	CSKA	50	1	19	9
4.	Vyacheslav Fetisov	D	CSKA	44	1	13	15
5.	Alexei Kasatonov	D	CSKA	29	1	4	18
6.	Igor Larionov	C	CSKA	15	0	5	5
7.	Alexander Maltsev	RW	Dinamo	7	0	2	3
8.	Alexander Kozhevnikov	C/LW/RW	Spartak	3	0	0	3
9.	Mikhail Vasilyev	LW	CSKA	2	0	1	0
9.	Viktor Tyumenev	LW	Spartak	2	0	0	2
11.	Vasili Pervukhin	D	Dinamo	1	0	0	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

Tretyak with another great year and then we have the entire "green unit" on ranks #2-6. Krutov looks like a plausible choice at #2 (he was the CSKA topscorer in the league and the most decorated at the 1983 World Championship). What is a bit curious is that Balderis (who was back in Riga and topped the league in scoring) didn't get any votes. He sure would have received a few if voters from Riga participated in the poll that year, but zero mentions in the rest of the USSR is surprising.

 

[VMBM]

1972-1973 (59 voters)
A close race between Kharlamov and Petrov who had become linemates again in December 1972. Petrov was the most productive scorer in the league and Kharlamov was outstanding in the Summit Series against Team Canada. Completed by Boris Mikhailov, the reunited trio dominated the 1973 World Championship. For Spartak Moscow, the line Yakushev – Shadrin – Martynyuk was great domestically and Yakushev was another standout in the Summit. Maltsev on the other hand had an underwhelming season and Vikulov even more.​

Vikulov was dropped from the national team right after - or soon after - the 1972 Summit Series and played very sporadically on it after that (even though he was only about 26 at the time), right? He was never a top contender again, although strong domestic performances would earn him some votes later on too.​

That would be part of the puzzle, though I think there must be more to it. The Izvestia tournament wasn't a joke, but it was not viewed as important as the World Championship or even a series against Canadian professionals.

IIRC, in the 1974-75 season there wasn't a single Izvestia tournament held in Moscow like usually, but it was replaced by a series of games (home and away) played between USSR, CSSR, Sweden and Finland. The Soviet players must have been quite burnt out or something, since they managed to beat Czechoslovakia only once in 6 games and suffered some truly bad losses, including a 9-3 shellacking. Maybe Kharlamov was only the best of a pretty bad bunch.

 

[Theokritos]

Vikulov was dropped from the national team right after - or soon after - the 1972 Summit Series and played very sporadically on it after that (even though he was only about 26 at the time), right? He was never a top contender again, although strong domestic performances would earn him some votes later on too.

Basically.

1972-1973: After the NHL Summier Series a few more exhibiton games and the Izvestia Cup. Dropped before the World Championship.
1973-1974: Nothing, not on the national team.
1974-1975: Back on the national team. His last full season for the USSR.
1975-1976: Almost nothing.
1976-1977: Back for the Canada Cup and the Izvestia Cup. Then dropped.
1977-1978: Almost nothing.

Seems like the 1972 Summit Series really derailed his career. Perhaps his confidence was shattered?

IIRC, in the 1974-75 season there wasn't a single Izvestia tournament held in Moscow like usually, but it was replaced by a series of games (home and away) played between USSR, CSSR, Sweden and Finland. The Soviet players must have been quite burnt out or something, since they managed to beat Czechoslovakia only once in 6 games and suffered some truly bad losses, including a 9-3 shellacking. Maybe Kharlamov was only the best of a pretty bad bunch.

Thanks for the hint. I hope we get to look into individual international seasons again & more in depth in the future. (In threads like e.g. this one.)

 

[VMBM]

1981-1982 (74 voters)

​

Fetisov enters his prime and – a first for a defenseman – wins the poll, despite missing the 1981 Canada Cup. I guess he was that strong domestically and at the 1982 World Championship (named all-star & best defenseman). Makarov is right behind him, he a had a good year on all fronts. Tretyak is 3rd. Shalimov too had a good season both domestically and internationally, it was one of the two best seasons of his career. Next in line is his teammate Alexander Kozhevnikov. He's one of those 1980s players from the Soviet Union who would fade fast once the iron curtain came down, but here he is still an upper echelon player.​

You'd think that Sergei Shepelev's performances internationally in the 1981-82 season would have gotten him at least some votes, but no. Among the skaters, he - if anyone - was the hero of the 1981 Canada Cup (2 goals in the semi-final and a hat-trick in the final), and he & his line (with Kapustin and Shalimov) had a very good performance at the 1982 WHC too. Apparently, his domestic season was just not good enough. As it is, he received only single vote in his career (1980-81).​

 

[MaxV]

1976-1977: Back for the Canada Cup and the Izvestia Cup. Then dropped.

Seems like the 1972 Summit Series really derailed his career. Perhaps his confidence was shattered?

Vikulov actully had a very strong 1976 CC, but he turned 30 two months prior and well, we all know how that song goes with Soviet players.

 

[Theokritos]

Vikulov actully had a very strong 1976 CC, but he turned 30 two months prior and well, we all know how that song goes with Soviet players.

That's fair, but his career from October 1972 to 1976 is really not what you would expect following the trajectory up until the Summit Series. Either his confidence was shaken or his image and perception permanently damaged. Or a mix of both.

 

[VMBM]

Vikulov actully had a very strong 1976 CC, but he turned 30 two months prior and well, we all know how that song goes with Soviet players.

On the other hand, maybe he played on the CC team only because Kharlamov was injured and Mikhailov, Petrov, Yakushev and Shadrin were left home?

 

[MaxV]

That's fair, but his career from October 1972 to 1976 is really not what you would expect following the trajectory up until the Summit Series. Either his confidence was shaken or his image and perception severaly damaged. Or a mix of both.

It’s a very strange situation for sure considering how he was viewed before the 1972 SS. As a young player, his name was on par with Kharlamov. Before teenage Kharlamov started making waves with CSKA and NT, Vikulov was the young star.