Former Detroit Red Wings legend Sergei Fedorov will be taking his talents behind the bench for his native country. He’s officially been named as an assistant coach for Team Russia for the upcoming Beijing Olympics, along with fellow former Russian players Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Nabokov and Alexei Kudashov.
The Red Wings seemingly adopted Fedorov when they helped him secretly defect from the Soviet Union in 1990. For the better part of a decade, Fedorov went on to become among the most dynamic, explosive, and exciting players not only to don the Winged Wheel but in the entire National Hockey League.
He won the 1994 Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player as well as the Selke Trophy in 1994 and 1996 as the NHL’s best defensive forward. During his entire Red Wings career, he scored 400 goals – many of which will forever remain on NHL highlight reels. Fedorov also received praise from figures such as Wayne Gretzky, who stated: “I have never seen a player dominate the game the way Sergei did.”
After his retirement from the NHL, he finished his playing career in his native Russia before taking over in 2012 as general manager of CSKA Moscow.
