In memory of Viktor Kuzkin

06.07.2016

Federation

76 years ago on the 6th of July, legendary Soviet ice hockey player, three time Olympic champion and multi world and European champion Viktor Kuzkin was born.

Viktor's professional career began with HC CSKA Moscow, and he was given a chance by two brilliant coaches - Boris Afanasyev and Alexander Vinogradov. When starting out, Viktor played as forward, however he then moved back to a more defensive position. Nevertheless, then head coach Anatoly Tarasov, who went on to be considered one of the best figures in Soviet ice hockey history, was quoted to having not believed in Viktor's potential. Litte did he know, that he would go onto be a mutiple Olympic gold medalist

Viktor's first major triumph came in 1960, when his youth team became USSR champions. Indeed, that was just the start, and he helped CSKA's senior squad win a number of national titles - a record thirteen in total.

After starring for the USSR national team on the international stage, winning Olympic Games and World Championships, Viktor ended his playing career at the mature age of 36. Immediately after his retirement, he became CSKA senior coach Konstantin Loktev's assistant. He held that role for twelve years, and after that, he decided to move to Japan to help the sport progress in that country. His work enabled his new Japanese team to win a bronze medal in the domestic tournament.

Sadly, on the 24th of June 2008, Viktor's life came to a tragic end. After diving into the water in Sochi, he suffered a heart attack, and despite the medical team's efforts, he couldn't be saved.