Pavel Bure: The Riddle of the Russian Rocket

Ian A. Andrews is editor of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association’s Focus and co-author of Becoming a Teacher.

Pavel Bure is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job. Rather, it is a
revealing portrait of a gifted but troubled young Russian athlete.

Bure’s rise to prominence coincided with the fall of the Soviet Union
and the release of Russian stars to the National Hockey League. Many
people thought his talent would make him the savior of hockey in
Vancouver. But it was not to be. According to Banks, Bure was given too
much credit when the team performed well and assigned too much blame
when the team played poorly. The flamboyant Don Cherry, in particular,
criticized Bure for indifferent play.

Banks uses circumstantial evidence to connect Bure with the Russian
mob. He suggests that Bure’s thorny relations with fans, media, and
journalists stems in party from Bure’s strongly held belief that his
private life should be entirely divorced from his public persona. This
book sheds considerable light on the psyche of a young promising athlete
whose potential has yet to be reached.