Yevgeni Belosheikin what could have been?

[Danny46]

Yevgeni Belosheikin was supposed to be the next Tretiak wearing nº20 also (even though their styles were different), but everything went wrong after a night of drinking with his teammate Alexei Gusarov, both were drugged and robbed by 2 girls. Belosheikin suffered from liver and vision problems from that day on and never came close to be the goalie that he was before this incident. His production on CSKA Moscow went down with him playing only 10 and 14 games in the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons, compared to the 30 and 33 games in the 2 previous seasons. He was still drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1991 (232 pick) and went to training camp but never played in the NHL.

He was the starting goalie in the 1986 and 1987 World Championships and also in Rendez-vous 87. On the 1987 Canada Cup he was not on his best shape but he played game 2 of the finals.

He had a drinking problem that became worse after his career went down the toilet and committed suicide in 1999 by hanging, another one of the many sad deaths of russian players...

To the ones who saw Belosheikin, how good he was? Do you think he had what it took to be one of the best goalies ever? Was he better than guys like Nabokov, Khabibulin or Bobrovsky?

Click to read more...

 

[Durnberg]

What a sad story.

Its amazing (and awful) the pressure that young men put on themselves to succeed. The work/dedication involved is overwhelming and for it to disappear in an instant is devastating.

 

[Talisman]

i think the biggest thing was also missing the calgary OG 1988

 

[Danny46]

I found this article about him called "Girls, champagne and cleaned out the apartment. As a goalkeeper Belosheikin drink clonidine"

Here is the link:
Girls, champagne and cleaned out the apartment. As a goalkeeper Belosheikin drink clonidine - Best Sport News

 

[Sentinel]

Wow, I never knew that story. At least Gusarov had a long and fruitful NHL career.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

Was the clonidine related to his vision problems? A sudden loss of vision would be devastating to a goaltender no doubt.

I tried to make sense of the link posted, but I think wed have a better chance of interpreting the original russian unfortunately

 

[Big Phil]

How differently is he viewed if he wins Game 2 of the Canada Cup? He almost did. Fuhr made some spectacular saves in overtime to keep that series alive and while Belosheikin made some decent saves too he didn't have as sharp as a game. It was Mylnikov who played in Games 1 and 3 and in both games he coughed up a 3 goal lead that should have been a lock to hang onto. For whatever reason Belosheikin was in Game 2 only.

 

[buffalowing88]

How differently is he viewed if he wins Game 2 of the Canada Cup? He almost did. Fuhr made some spectacular saves in overtime to keep that series alive and while Belosheikin made some decent saves too he didn't have as sharp as a game. It was Mylnikov who played in Games 1 and 3 and in both games he coughed up a 3 goal lead that should have been a lock to hang onto. For whatever reason Belosheikin was in Game 2 only.

Mylnikov had a pretty high-esteem among Soviet players and management by that point, too, however. I feel awful for Belosheikin but Mylnikov was the safe choice, imo. Either way, both were quite obviously talented. It's a sad era in general for USSR/Russian goaltenders.

 

[Big Phil]

Mylnikov had a pretty high-esteem among Soviet players and management by that point, too, however. I feel awful for Belosheikin but Mylnikov was the safe choice, imo. Either way, both were quite obviously talented. It's a sad era in general for USSR/Russian goaltenders.

Almost to this day, right? You have had some decent, but not great, Russian goalies since. None ever taking the place of Tretiak.

 

[Danny46]

Almost to this day, right? You have had some decent, but not great, Russian goalies since. None ever taking the place of Tretiak.

Do you think that Belosehikin had the talent to fill that void?

 

[buffalowing88]

Almost to this day, right? You have had some decent, but not great, Russian goalies since. None ever taking the place of Tretiak.

Oh, I'm not Russian directly haha. Just had immigrant family from the USSR who moved to Buffalo, NY before I was born. But my family, outside of my father and I, generally rooted for USSR-era teams and when Hasek came to Buffalo, he was a point of pride (I know he was Czech but still).

But in terms of Russian goalies, that is definitely worth a thread of it's own. You just don't see many prospects at all come from that generation born between 1966-1973. Khabibulin and Nabokov brought some semblance of talent back, but yes, nothing takes the place of Tretiak in terms of a Russian goalie.

 

[buffalowing88]

Do you think that Belosehikin had the talent to fill that void?

What is best case with Belosehikin if he winds up in the Edmonton system? That's where I worry he would spend years behind Ranford, not unlike Hasek with Belfour. I don't think he was a good fit for that organization. Had he been drafted earlier, hypothetically, I have a feeling he could have had a very nice career on the right team. Varlamov is where I'd place him around but I'm sure Big Phil and the actual historians have a more accurate projection.

 

[Big Phil]

Do you think that Belosehikin had the talent to fill that void?

I think those are pretty big shoes to fill regardless. There is one Russian goalie in the HHOF, and its Tretiak. As it stands now, I am not sure we'll see one anytime soon in there either. So my guess is that doesn't happen with him either way.

 

[Danny46]

I think those are pretty big shoes to fill regardless. There is one Russian goalie in the HHOF, and its Tretiak. As it stands now, I am not sure we'll see one anytime soon in there either. So my guess is that doesn't happen with him either way.

Did he had the potential to be the best russian goalie since Tretiak retirement? Better than Bobrovsky, Khabibulin, Nabakov etc... ?

 

[Big Phil]

Did he had the potential to be the best russian goalie since Tretiak retirement? Better than Bobrovsky, Khabibulin, Nabakov etc... ?

I don't know to be honest. He was talked about being the "next Tretiak" back then of course. I am not sure if it was just because Tretiak had retired in 1984 and they were hopeful or if he really did show some signs of being the heir apparent. He never played a game in the NHL despite being young enough to have a full career in it. Wasn't even the starter for Russia in the 1988 Olympics either. So he was only a few years older than Khabibulin and I figure if he was good enough he'd have played in the NHL with him at the same time.

 

[Zine]

Do you think that Belosehikin had the talent to fill that void?

I don't know to be honest. He was talked about being the "next Tretiak" back then of course. I am not sure if it was just because Tretiak had retired in 1984 and they were hopeful or if he really did show some signs of being the heir apparent. He never played a game in the NHL despite being young enough to have a full career in it. Wasn't even the starter for Russia in the 1988 Olympics either. So he was only a few years older than Khabibulin and I figure if he was good enough he'd have played in the NHL with him at the same time.

Belosheikin had the talent to be one of the all-time greats. Let's not forget he was only 21 when he played against Gretzky and co. at 1987 Rendezvous and Canada Cup....which is absurdly young for a goaltender at that level.

Unfortunately he didn't have the mentality for a successful career. He already had drinking problems when he joined the national team. The incident where he was drugged by 2 women was just 1 of several of his off-ice occurrences.
He completely fell apart after being injured in 1988 (missing the Olympics and 2nd half of season). He couldn't, for any reason. put the bottle down from that point forward. Tikhonov kicked him off CSKA a year and a half later for drunkenness. He tried to re-start his career with SKA but that didn't work out and then in North America but with the same result. He was a mess.

On a sad note, in his later years Belosheikin reportedly sold all his medals and awards for booze. A few years ago a collection of them found their way onto ebay. Fortunately the buyer turned out to be his nephew and returned the medals to the family.

 

[ContrarianGoaltender]

What is best case with Belosehikin if he winds up in the Edmonton system? That's where I worry he would spend years behind Ranford, not unlike Hasek with Belfour. I don't think he was a good fit for that organization. Had he been drafted earlier, hypothetically, I have a feeling he could have had a very nice career on the right team. Varlamov is where I'd place him around but I'm sure Big Phil and the actual historians have a more accurate projection.

The Edmonton pick was a late-round flyer on a project. Belosheikin 100% goes in the 1989 draft if his career didn't go off the rails. That's the same year Sergei Mylnikov and Arturs Irbe were drafted, and there's no way either gets picked ahead of Belosheikin if his career kept progressing normally. Mylnikov was 8 years older, and Irbe was a year younger but probably 3-4 years behind in terms of development given their respective milestones.

The Tretiak comparisons strike me as reasonable, not a case of wishful thinking or hyperbole. If accomplishments at a young age are a proxy for talent, then Belosheikin might very well be more talented than any European goalie in history other than Hasek and Tretiak. It's seriously impressive to be playing in the top Soviet league at 17, starting for CSKA Moscow at 19, starting for the USSR in back-to-back world championships at age 19 and 20 (.920 combined save % in both tournaments), and starting game 1 of a best-on-best tournament at 21. Talent-wise I'd say Belosheikin was certainly well ahead of guys like Khabibulin or Nabokov, but nothing is ever a guarantee when it comes to goalie development.

 

[Danny46]

On a sad note, in his later years Belosheikin reportedly sold all his medals and awards for booze. A few years ago a collection of them found their way onto ebay. Fortunately the buyer turned out to be his nephew and returned the medals to the family.

Sad story, a lot of russian players had problems with the bottle...

 

[Stephen]

His picture reminded me of Andrei Medvedev for a second. I wonder whatever became of him?

 

[Danny46]

The World Cup of Hockey - The History of the Canada Cup and World Cup of Hockey

Found this about him...

 

[Mike C]

His picture reminded me of Andrei Medvedev for a second. I wonder whatever became of him?

Medvedev fought in Ukraine in 2022. Might still be but can't verify that. He gave an interview in May to an outlet and I'm pretty sure he attended the French Open this year

 

[pandro]

His picture reminded me of Andrei Medvedev for a second. I wonder whatever became of him?

He found employment as a referee at a junoir league.
For more information try running this article trough a translator.

 

[ozzie]

I just remember as a kid watching, he used to kneel down in the net when the puck was over the red line. It was really weird. Since most goalies are pretty much always ready for dump in and long shots. Strange goalie.