Following on from our earlier recap of the Red Wings triumph in 1997 (in the lead up to our Countdown to Christmas) It is worth reflecting on both sets of the Russian Five, the latter of whom who were an integral part of the team’s success.

The Red Wing’s Russian Five was a quintet of three forwards and two defensemen comprising Igor Larinov, Sergei Federov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Viacheslav Fetisov. Of the group, it is perhaps the latter who is the most crucial to the story. Fetisov was the first ever Soviet to leave the country on a working visa and thus laid the platform for not only other Russian hockey players to do the same, but all other Russian expats working overseas.

Fetisov was originally part of an equally famous Russian Five, an integral part of the Soviet national hockey team who dominated the international scene in the 1970s and 80s. Also known as the Green Unit, Fetisov, Larinov, Sergei Makarov, and Vladimir Krutov were the driving force in a team which won five consecutive World Championship gold medals from 1978-1983.

They then took home the gold medal on home soil in Moscow during 1986 after winning bronze in Prague the previous year. The team also won gold medals in 1976, 1984 and 1988 as well as silver in 1980.

Two films have recently been made about the team and it’s exploits, Red Army (directed by Gabe Polsky) and Of Miracles and Men (a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series), both casting Fetisov as the central role in the narrative of the team’s rise to fame both before and after their shock “Cold War” loss to the USA’s amateur college team in the Miracle on Ice during the 1980 Olympics Final in Lake Placid.

The team excelled on the ice by making use of the most crucial socialist values in the Soviet Union of the time- discipline, organisation and structure, fooling their opponents by making the player with the puck a servant of the team at large in a sport which had so long seen the opposite. Their shift away from the individual and to a collectivist approach was ultimately the key to their success.

Makarov holds the Soviet Union record for the most points with an incredible tally of 248 career points, while Larinov was known as the Professor, for his deceptively short height that bellied a burly frame and the ability to win the puck. But it was Fetisov, legendary for his creativity and long-time captain of the team, who had the most impact.

Despite all his successes for the national team, Fetisov had a burning desire to play with North America’s best in the NHL. He was duly drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 1987, but was only promised the opportunity to play if the Soviet Union won the Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympics.

Although victory was delivered and captain Fetisov was subsequently granted the Order of Lenin Medal, this was not enough for Victor Tichonov, the team’s strict disciplinarian coach, to grant Fetisov the opportunity to leave the country.

Finally, the following year, during a Super Series where the Soviet Union team was pitted against the New Jersey Devils, Fetisov was promised the chance to stay in the US to finish the season with the Devils. But again when the time came to deliver, the promise fell on deaf ears and he was not allowed to leave.

Fetisov eventually worked his way up the pecking order until he had arranged a meeting with Dimitry Yasnov, the Soviet Minister of Defence, the most powerful bureaucrat in the country after President Gorbachev.

Despite furious protestations from Yaznov in the initial stages, after a few weeks of consideration, Slava Fetisov became the first ever citizen of the Soviet Union to be granted a working visa. Others followed Fetisov’s footsteps to the NHL and whilst many of them struggled at the start, including Fetisov himself, things changed permanently when the Russian Five were drafted to the Red Wings in 1995.

That year, during the 1995/96 season, the Red Wings fell just one point short of the Montreal Canadiens record total of 132 points in a season but set the record for the most wins, with 62 victories. Although they lost in the playoffs to eventual Stanley Cup winners Colorado, the Russian Five stunned the NHL with their rise, but they need not have been surprised- it was simply making use of the same style that had seen them dominate the hockey world with the Soviet team.

That is, rapid, end to end hockey, making use of superb puck control and passes. The Russian Five made use of their wings in unorthodox positions to create spectacular goal-producing plays. This confused the hell out of opposition in an era where dumping the puck in the centre and forechecking while the wingers stuck to their zones was the norm.

“When those five guys were on the ice, opponents didn’t know how to play against them….. They came from the same school of hockey and shared a similar mentality. They understood each other perfectly,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said in a recent interview on NHL.com

It was with this fluency and pace that the Red Wings captured the Stanley Cup a mere year after their arrival in the NHL and that record-breaking 1995/96 season.

The Wings took 2nd position in the Western Conference and beat the St Louis Blues 4-2 before storming the Anaheim Ducks in a 4-0 series sweep. A 4-2 victory over Colorado ensured they won the Western Conference without a repeat of the previous year, before the season was capped off with a sweet 4-0 sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers in an incredible victory.

It was the first time in 42 years that the Red Wings had won the Stanley Cup. Federov was named the first star in games one and three and led the playoff tally with a total of 20 points, thrilling the home fans.

“Together again on the same team, it was like a fish being back in the water. You become younger right away and you enjoy the game.” Fetisov remarked in Red Army, recalling those two marvellous seasons with the Wings.

The first Russian Five brought the world of hockey to it’s knees, and the second Russian Five brought the city of Detroit to its feet. However history chooses to remember them, Slava Fetisov can be certain of his integral role in both units.

Kristopher Hinz