Valeri Vasiliev

Valeri Vasiliev was a Soviet ice hockey defenceman who played for Dynamo Moscow from 1967 to 1984, appearing in more games than any other player in Soviet Championship League history. Born in Gorky on 3 August 1949, he spent 13 years with the Soviet national team, serving as captain. Vasiliev won gold at the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympics and on nine Soviet World Championship teams, earning best defenceman honors at the tournament in 1973, 1977, and 1979. He captained the Soviet squad to victory at the 1981 Canada Cup. An eight-time Soviet all-star, he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1998.