Birthday of Russian hockey

“Real men play hockey, Cowards don’t play hockey,” - words from a 1968 song by composer A Pakhmutova, performed by Vladimir Mullerman This catchphrase has become a real motto of team play on the ice Ice hockey was one of the most popular sports in the USSR The Soviet team won many times at world competitions and the Olympic Games and never returned home without awards The first hockey championship was held in the USSR on December 22, back in 1946 Competitions were held simultaneously in Moscow, Riga, Kaunas, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk and 3 other cities In honor of this event, a holiday was established - the Birthday of Russian hockey The winter sport was worthily represented on the world stage by Vladislav Tretyak, Vladimir Petrov, Alexander Rogulin, Boris Mikhailov, Valery Kharlamov, Vladimir Lutchenko, Alexander Maltsev, Vyacheslav Starshinov They obtained “gold” and “silver” for the country at European and world championships thanks to the experience and skill of honored coaches - Anatoly Tarasov, the founder of the Russian school of hockey, Arkady Chernyshev, Vsevolod Bobrov, Boris Kulagin and Viktor Tikhonov After they left the profession, the Russian national team did not win championships and the Olympics for a long time Therefore, the names of outstanding athletes and their mentors are forever inscribed in golden letters in the history of Russian hockey In honor of AV Tarasov, who turned the Soviet national team into a dominant force on the world stage, was named the ice arena in Montreal The coach was the first Russian to be inducted into the hockey hall of fame in Toronto This happened in 1974 The professional developments of the Soviet coach and his colleagues were used by famous Canadian mentors Scotty Bowman, Lou Vairo, Herb Brook and others In 2008, Tarasov became the winner of the W Gretzky Award, established by USA Hockey for foreigners who have made a great contribution to development of American hockey Vyacheslav Tretyak is the legendary goalkeeper of the USSR national team, who won 24 international championships As president of the Russian Hockey Federation, he established a holiday in honor of everyone's favorite sport in 2007, which falls on December 1 However, there is one more date in the winter calendar December 22 marks the birthday of Russian hockey, the competition of which with the final in Moscow at the Dynamo stadium was first held in 1946 Both holidays do not contradict each other and serve a common goal - preserving and enhancing the glorious history of the game in Russia Domestic hockey, which gave the world such a galaxy of masters, has the right to have several special days Therefore, on December 22, competitions and meetings with veterans of one of the most popular sports disciplines are held These words from A Pakhmutova’s song perfectly reflect the attitude of contemporaries to the achievements of Soviet masters Therefore, the Birthday of Russian hockey is celebrated on December 22 in all corners of the country, which is proud of its athletes, coaches and their victories