Slava Fetisov

Does The Russian Five Score?

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Federov. Kozlov. Konstantinov. Fetisov. Larionov. For some, this is just a group of names that end in “-ov”. But for others, these names changed hockey forever. Joshua Riehl, Keith Gave, and Jason Wehling do an excellent job in their documentary titled “The Russian Five”, explaining how these five names transformed the Detroit Red Wings, and … Read more

ROSTER UPDATE: Red Wings recall defenseman Joe Hicketts

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The Detroit Red Wings have made a roster move today, recalling defenseman Joe Hicketts from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins after Trevor Daley suffered an injury on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. He’ll make his NHL debut on Monday when the Red Wings visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center and will wear … Read more

Russian Five debuted 22 years ago today

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Hockey was forever changed on October 27, 1995, during a tilt between the Detroit Red Wings and Calgary Flames. It was the night that Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman sent five former Soviet Red Army players onto the ice in Calgary, and into history. Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Slava Kozlov … Read more

On This Date: Detroit Red Wings repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 1998

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June 16, 1998: The Detroit Red Wings dominance of the hockey world continues as they raised the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG833HxX-xA No other team was able to repeat as Stanley Cup champions until the Pittsburgh Penguins did so in 2017. The previous season saw the Red Wings end 42 years of … Read more

Throwback Thursday: A brief Russian Five history (w/ videos)

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Back in the mid 1990’s, there was a line formed by coaching great, Scotty Bowman of the Detroit Red Wings that would end up being more of an impact decision than even Bowman imagined. A line consisting of Russian skaters Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav “Slava” Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Viacheslav “Slava” Fetisov. The first time … Read more

Former Red Wing Fetisov interviewed on The Daily Show

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Viacheslav Fetisov will forever live in Detroit Red Wings lore as a defenseman on the back-to-back championship teams of 1997 and 1998. Along with Vyacheslav Koslov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Federov, and Igor Larionov, Fetisov completed a line of Russian-born players known in Detroit and throughout the National Hockey League as The Russian Five. Fetisov is now a central character in a new film, Red Army, that discusses the history of the great national hockey teams of the former Soviet Union.

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Player Profile: Vladislav Namestnikov

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In preparation for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, I have been profiling players who may be available when the Red Wings make their first selection at 24th overall. I’ve hit most of the nationalities that make up the Red Wings roster so far, including a Canadian, a Swede, and a Finn. The other day, I profiled Tomas Jurco, and while there are no current Red Wings from Slovakia, his hometown is just a four hour drive from that of prospect Tomas Tatar.

While there is currently only one Russian on the Red Wings, and none necessarily coming up the pipeline, the past and present of the Wings franchise has been shaped by enormous contributions from players who hail from the former Soviet Union. From Pavel Datsyuk now, to the famous Russian 5 of the mid-ninties, they all have a connection to this next player.

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