Clean English translation of
Evgeni Mishakov's profile at the Russian site Championat:
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Little Zhenya was born in the village of Nikitkino in the Egoryevsky area, and became a Muscovite at the age of seven – his father was a migrant worker. Such work requires that the family live in a barracks, but little Zhenya found plenty of entertainment. Like many boys of that era, he learned to play soccer and hockey. Often instead of real equipment, rag balls or cans were used in these games.
The boy stood out from the contemporaries already at a young age, showing remarkable ability in both sports. His older brother Zheni, who guessed that the young one would be a future champion, took him to Himik stadium located nearby. Zhenya began to play for a team on which all children were older than him, and stood out even then. He was able to earn the respect of the older boys even at a young age through a combination of strength, intelligence and kindness.
The migrant workers' barracks were soon torn down, and Zhenya's parents had to move to a new area. The boy received a "civil" education: seven years of vocational school, after which he became a car mechanic, 4th class. But he also developed in sport, playing soccer and hockey in the youth leagues, where he met his lifelong friend - Boris Mikhailov.
Boris Mikhailov said:
"I have known Evgeni since 1955. For many years, we lived around the same yard, and played together on the local teams. Zhenya was older, and always acted as the ringleader. We needed only to follow his advice and guidance. Our friendship grew over the years. He was for me a kind of confidant. I followed his recommendation in moving first to Lokomotiv Moscow, played on the senior team there for two years, and was finally called up to CSKA".
- said Mikhailov.
Evgeny also went to Lokomotiv on a recommendation. There, he bunked with Yuri Volkov, who was by then already a prominent hockey player, though not yet a two-time world champion. For Mishakov, the real dilemma began at "Loko": he wanted to play for both the soccer and ice hockey teams. Finally, he made his choice, and set forth on a brilliant hockey career.
He could not, however, stay at Lokomotiv. He got his call-up papers, and took the long journey to join the Red Army team. He didn't manage to leave the military for twenty years - at the rank of lieutenant colonel. First, he went to Kalinin representing the Moscow military district, and then – CSKA. Anatoli Tarasov took great interest in him during the armed forces championship, and without hesitation ordered: "Bring him to me". And so Mishakov began the first of twelve long seasons at CSKA, where he would win everything a hockey player could dream of.
Evgeni Mishakov said:
"He was like a father to me"
- Evgeni Dmitriyevich said of Tarasov. And this affection was mutual.
Boris Mikhailov said:
"Zhenya was often called Tarasov's favorite, but from such a coach, this praise must be earned. Mishakov saw no barriers on the ice, feared no one. These things concerned him: the honor of club, flag, national team sweater - all of these were terribly important to him. But he never spoke of these anxieties, and his devotion showed on the ice. He was one of the most fearless players. In the 1969 World Championships in Sweden, he played with a broken hand. He broke his nose a countless number of times. His courage was not only on the ice, but of a very basic source - he could not be confused or intimidated by anyone".
- said Boris Mikhailov
Mishakov recalled the time that Boris Alexandrov, young and stubborn and having just come from Ust Kamenogorsk, after practice refused to collect the gear and sharpen the skates. Evgeni gave him a tongue-lashing and then, as it was in those days, a fist. Tarasov witnessed the incident, and asked for what reason Evgeni had beaten the youngster. "For good reason", Mishakov quietly answered. "Then, so be it", Anatoli Vladimirovich answered, and left.
Alexandrov and Mishakov soon became friends, didn't hold a grudge, and remember that episode in good humor.
Evgeni Dmitriyevich's ability to score goals at the most crucial moments became his calling card. Mishakov – Moiseyev – Ionov: the coaches always put this line on the ice in tense situations. Even when the superiority of the Kharlamov line became indisputable, still Mishakov and company took the ice when the game hung in the balance.
We recall a famous final between CSKA and Spartak. The red-and-white won the first of a best of three series thanks to the Mayorov brothers and Starshinov - 3:2. Mishakov and Moiseyev's five-man unit set the tone in a 4:2 victory in the second game. Evgeny scored the third goal, Moiseyev the fifth, and many experts believed that these goals broke the Spartak players. CSKA then won the final game 8:5 and again claimed the European Championship.
Mishakov also scored at crucial moments for the national team. Defeat at the hands of Czechoslovakia at the Grenoble Olympics put the Soviets in a difficult situation. In the final game, they needed a victory over Canada to take home the gold. With the score 1:0 in favor of the "Red Machine", the Canadians started applying pressure in the Soviet zone. They were playing well both ways, and a second goal was necessary. When it seemed that the "maple leaves" would surely score, Mishakov skated out in counterattack and, having outmaneuvered Broderick, calmly beat the goaltender. 2:0 - after that point, it became clear that the Soviets would again win gold.
Much the same thing happened in the following games - in Sapporo. In the last match with the Czechoslovaks, Mishakov scored two goals (in the 34th and 50th minutes), making a huge contribution to the eventual 5:2 victory.
When Tarasov would put Mishakov's unit on the ice in key matches for CSKA, the crowd would chant "System, forward!" This has already been largely forgotten, but at that time "Tarasov's system" was a paragon of coaching tactics. Anatoli Vladimirovich introduced to hockey the "midfield" position similar to that in soccer. Oleg Zaitsev was the only "pure" defender in the five-man unit. Romishevsky and Ionov were the midfielders, and Mishakov with Moiseyev the forwards. "The system" generated a dizzying whirl of combination play, and opponents were often lost on the ice, without a chance to stop them. Of course, opponents deployed their best defensemen, the elite of Soviet hockey, but stopping Mishakov was extremely difficult. In a beginning of his career, he took the ice in an original postwar helmet reminiscent of old tankers' helmets from the 1930s. Appropriately, Mishakov's style became that of a tank – sharp and powerful breakouts, hard shots, winning goals.
An incident in 1967, however, nearly cost him his place on the team. The magazine "Truth" called Mishakov a bully and a thug for a fight he got into at a taxi stand. The journalists didn't understand the situation, and refuting the reports of the party press was forbidden. Evgeni Dmitriyevich claimed innocence.
Evgeni Mishakov said:
"Zaitsev didn't tip the taxi driver, and a fight ensued. Oleg was thrown on the hood of the car, and was being beaten. With Kuzkin, I rushed to his aid. There were eight taxi drivers and three of us. One of them hit his head on the bumper, and the Pravda newspaper wrote that CSKA players had ambushed and beaten the man. They stripped us of our rank, and removed us from the national team. Kuzkin was taken to the World Championships only because even then defenders of his quality were in short supply".
After that, his debut in the World Championships had to be put off, but his talent and determination eventually allowed him to prevail and compete in the Olympics.
Our hero had also a clear talent for fighting. He was called the first sheriff of Soviet hockey.
Evgeni Mishakov said:
"Sometimes Tarasov even asked me to beat up one of our opponents. On the ice and in life, I feared no one. That's just how I am."
- said Mishakov. What should it tell us that Ragulin, the athlete of athletes, admitted that though he and Zhenya were best friends, he was always afraid of him?
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*section on post-playing career omitted.