Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
I was a big fan of Makarov. The KLM line was one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen as a hockey fan. I was stoked when the Soviet hockey federation released him to play in the NHL.
In 1989, right after the Stanley Cup win, Flames' tickets were almost impossible to get, but I had the tremendous luck to score a ticket to their home opener and see Makarov's first NHL game in person. The Flames beat the Red Wings 10-7, and Makarov looked pretty sharp considering that he had to cope with a new team, new rules, new system, and do it all in a foreign language.
What an amazing talent that man had. He could not only stickhandle in a phone booth, if you blocked the doorway he could leak out along the telephone wire — with the puck.
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Good there was time! Calgary won the Stanley Cup '89, CSKA the champion of the USSR 1989. Pryakhin –the first official Soviet hockey player in NHL. Makarov became the first Russian star of NHL and won the Calder Cup! Nostalgia!