Igor Larionov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Nickname	The Professor
Height Weight	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
Pro Clubs	Vancouver Canucks San Jose Sharks Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers New Jersey Devils
Nationality	Russia
Born	December 3, 1960, Voskresensk, USSR
NHL Draft	214th overall, 1985 Vancouver Canucks
Pro Career	1978 – 2004

Olympic medal record
Ice Hockey
Gold	1984 Sarajevo	Ice Hockey
Gold	1988 Calgary	Ice Hockey
Bronze	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice Hockey

Igor Nikolayevich Larionov (Russian: Игорь Николаевич Ларионов; born December 3, 1960 in Voskresensk, Soviet Union, now Russia) is a Russian former ice hockey player. With Viacheslav Fetisov, he was instrumental in breaking the barrier that stopped Soviet players from joining the NHL. He primarily played the center position and is considered one of the best passers of all time.

Larionov played for the following teams:

Khimik Voskresensk (1977-81)
CSKA Moscow (1981-89)
Vancouver Canucks (1989-92)
HC Lugano (1992-93)
San Jose Sharks (1993-95)
Detroit Red Wings (1995-2000, 2000-03)
Florida Panthers (2000)
New Jersey Devils (2003-04).
Brunflo IF (2005-06).

He won three Stanley Cups with Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002) and played two games for the Swedish team Brunflo IK in the 2005-06 season, producing one goal and three assists. Incidentally, Brunflo was the same team that his former linemate in CSKA Moscow and the Soviet Union, Vladimir Krutov ended his career at ten years earlier.

On the international stage, playing for the Soviet Union, Larionov centered Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov on the famed KLM Line. He won two golds (1984, 1988) and one bronze (2002) in the Olympics, and four golds (1982, 1983, 1986, 1989), one silver (1987), and one bronze (1985) in the World Championships. At the forefront of the Soviet players' battle to win their freedom, Larionov was kicked off the national team by head coach Viktor Tikhonov after suspicion of defection. Only the lobbying of Fetisov and other players brought Larionov back to the squad.

Currently, Larionov is married to former figure skater Elena Botanova and has three kids born in three different countries. His oldest daughter Alyonka was born in Moscow, his other daughter Diana was born in Vancouver and his son Igor was born in Detroit. Today, Larionov is a full-time wine merchant.