Red Line: The Soviets in the NHL

Ian A. Andrews is a high-school social sciences teacher and editor of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association’s Focus.

Political changes in the former Soviet Union have been mirrored in the
field of sports, especially hockey. Stan and Shirley Fischler, veteran
hockey writers, have chosen this period of glasnost to chronicle the
many stages leading to the arrival of Soviet hockey players in the
National Hockey League.

In Red Line the authors have followed the first crop of players from
the ranks of the Soviet elite league as they attempted to adjust to
their first NHL 80-game schedule. The 1989-90 season marked the attempt
by star players Viacheslav Fetisov, Aleksei Kasatonov, Sergei Starikov,
Sergei Makarov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Krutov, Alexander Mogilny, and
Sergei Mylnikov (and a few others) to crack the lineups of NHL teams
that had optimistically drafted them in previous years. The successes
and failures, acceptance and resentment that these players experienced
along the way provide the basis for this book.

To place the 1989-90 season in context, the authors have reviewed the
history of hockey in the Soviet Union. This history started with a
post-World War II trip to Moscow by the Czechoslovak national team
(coached by a Canadian), continued with successful entries in the world
hockey championships and Olympic Games, and drew the unqualified
attention of the Canadian sporting world with the 1972 Canada-Russian
series. The several matchups between North American professionals and
Soviet teams, both club and national, provide a prelude for the eventual
release of star players to the NHL.

The Fischlers provide an open-minded and balanced analysis of the
impact of these Russian players on their various teams and on the
league. Through interviews, radio and television coverage, the print
media, and attendance at various games, they provide a good preliminary
insight into the culture shock and the on-ice turmoil of life
experienced by these athletes in their new North American environment.