USSR ice hockey

1954–91

They became a symbol of the Soviet Union — supposedly emotionless, socialist robots programmed to crush the West with ruthless efficiency — but, like most Cold War rhetoric, this representation was short on truth. Yes, they were tough and, yes, they were efficient but they were also immensely skilled and creative. Many remember the Soviet side for being beaten by an American team made up mainly of college players at the 1980 Winter Olympics — it was later dubbed the Miracle on Ice — but between 1954 and 1991, the Soviets won 19 world championships and failed to win a medal on only one occasion, in 1962, because they didn’t enter.

At the Olympics, they won seven of nine golds between 1956 and 1988 (at the 1976 Innsbruck Games, they won all five games by a combined score of 40-11) and fashioned a record of 467 goals for and 127 against. Some players struggled to adjust to the NHL after moving to the US following the collapse of the Soviet Union but

Olympic champs 1956, 1964-76, 1984-88

World champs 19/27

they contained some of the world’s best, and goalkeeper Vladislav Tretiak, defender Vyacheslav Fetisov and forwards Valeri Kharlamov and Sergei Makarov, who were features of the team in the 1970s and ’80s, were voted on to the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team.