From the Soviet Union, Vladimir Krutov was one of the superstars of the Red Army team that terrorized International Hockey throughout the 1980’s.  The Left Wing was a superstar for the Soviets as he helped his country win two Olympic Golds, a Canada Dup Gold and five World Hockey Championships.  Krutov would later play for the Vancouver Canucks for one season in the NHL.

Without a doubt there was a slew of phenomenal players who came out of the Soviet Union and the machine that was the Red Army.  One such great player is blueliner Alexi Kasatonov, who played for the elite national team throughout the 1980’s where he was a two time Olympic Gold Medal winner (1984 & 1988), a Canada Cup Gold Medalist (1981) and a five time World Hockey Championship winner.  Kasatonov was easily among the elite of Soviet Defenseman and he was also a multi-time champion in the Soviet League with CSKA Moscow.  He would join the NHL at age 30 and while he was not a top player anymore, he was a still an All-Star in 1984.

It might seem a little laughable now, but there was a time that all Russian players were considered soft. Vladimir Konstantinov may have been part of the 1980’s Soviet Red Army team but he was a man who was seemingly bred for the NHL as he was anything but “soft”. Konstantinov had an instant impact on the pros with the Red Wings. He was literally a pest who made it exceptionally difficult for opponents to score. This was reflected by his high plus/minus tallies. Konstantinov’s last season saw him as the Norris Trophy runner up and hoist the Stanley Cup. Less than a week after that triumph, Konstantinov was in a horrible limousine accident that put him in a coma and literally put him in the fight of his life. Needless to say, Vladimir never played again, though if he had it can be argued that he might be a much stronger candidate for induction than he is now.