First Soviet Hockey Player Is Admitted to the NHL
In March 1989, Sergei Priakin made history as the first Soviet hockey player to be admitted to the National Hockey League (NHL), an organization renowned for featuring the top professional hockey teams in the United States and Canada. Born in Moscow in 1963, Priakin was a right wing player who had previously competed with the Soviet national team. The NHL, established in 1917, has a long-standing tradition of excellence, drawing many of the world’s best players, but for decades, Cold War tensions and the Soviet Union's strict emigration policies prevented Russian athletes from joining its ranks, despite their significant talent and international success, particularly in events like the Olympics.
As the geopolitical climate began to shift in the late 1980s, the Soviet regime became more open to engagement with the West, leading to a historic moment when Priakin was allowed to sign with the Calgary Flames. This development marked a significant milestone in the integration of Soviet players into the NHL, reflecting the changing dynamics of sport and politics during this era. Priakin's entry into the league not only paved the way for future generations of Russian and Soviet players to compete in North America but also highlighted the evolving landscape of international hockey during a period of transformation.
First Soviet Hockey Player Is Admitted to the NHL
First Soviet Hockey Player Is Admitted to the NHL
On March 29, 1989, for the first time, a Soviet hockey player was permitted to play with the National Hockey League, the world's premier hockey league comprising the best professional teams in the United States and Canada. The player was Sergei Priakin, who was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1963 and had played right wing with the Soviet national team.
The earliest form of modern ice hockey was first played in Canada in the 1850s by British soldiers. Student players at Montreal's prestigious McGill University wrote the first set of rules in 1879, and by 1890 several amateur hockey leagues had been formed throughout Canada. The game spread to the United States, Great Britain, and Europe. However, only Canadian and American teams were included in the National Hockey Association (formed in 1909) and its successor, the National Hockey League (formed in 1917). Today the teams that make up the NHL are professional, and they draw many of the best players in the world. The annual schedule of games culminates in playoffs for the Stanley Cup, and other trophies are given for individual achievements, such as being the highest scorer of the season.
Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, well supplied with snow and ice, was developing an impressive ice hockey tradition of its own. However, Cold War tensions, plus the Soviet Union's tight emigration policies, prevented Russian players from joining NHL teams, no matter how skilled they were. Russian players could go abroad in specially supervised Soviet teams for international competitions, notably the Olympics (where they excelled), but playing for the NHL, where the teams are profitmaking enterprises and the player salary structure is both lucrative and competitive, was long forbidden by the orthodox communist Soviet regime. By the late 1980s, however, the Cold War had eased and the Soviet regime began to allow increased contact with the West. Thus, the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation permitted Priakin to play in the NHL, and he signed a contract with the Calgary Flames, the professional team of Calgary, Canada, in 1989.