The NHL Arena Welcome Message

[SharksGirl]

BIO:
(IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/larionov4.jpg)

• Name: Igor Nikolayevich Larionov (Russian: Игорь Николаевич Ларионов)
• Born December 3, 1960 in Voskresensk, Soviet Union now Russia
• Number: #8 (although looks like he may have been #7 on the Sharks)
• Position: Center
• Shoots: Left
• Nickname: The Professor
• Height: 5'10", 175 kg
• Weight: 170 lbs, 77 kg
• NHL Draft: 214th overall, 1985 Vancouver Canucks
• Pro Career: 1978 - 2004
• Hall of Fame: November 2008

TRANSACTIONS:


International Career:
USSR -

• 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 & 1989 World Championships
• 1984 & 1988 Olympics
• 1981, 1984 & 1987 Canada Cup

Russia –

• 2002 Olympics
• 1996 World Cup of Hockey

(IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/larionov7.jpg)

Club Career:

• Khimik Voskresensk 1977-81
• CSKA Moscow 1981-89
• Vancouver Canucks 1989-92
• HC Lugano 1992-93
• San Jose Sharks 1993-95
• San Jose Sharks & Detroit Red Wings 1995-96
• Detroit Red Wings 1996-00
• Florida Panthers & Detroit Red Wings 2000-01
• Detroit Red Wings 2001-03
• New Jersey Devils 2003-04

(IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/tx.larionov.jpg)


ACCOLADES:

• Won Canada Cup gold in 1981.
• Won World Championship gold in 1982, 1983, 1986 & 1989
• Won European Championship gold in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 & 1989
• Won the USSR Championship in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987,1988 & 1989
• Won Olympic gold in 1984 & 1988
• Won Canada Cup bronze in 1984
• Won World Championship bronze in 1985
• Won World Championship silver in 1987
• Won Canada Cup silver in 1987
• Won the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 & 2002
• Won Olympic bronze in 2002
• USSR Player of the Year 1988
• NHL World All-Star Roster 1998

STATS:

(IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/Region_Capture.jpg)

CAREER CLIPS:

• Like many Soviet players, Larionov chafed under the draconian coaching style of Viktor Tikhonov, who doubled as coach of CSKA and the Soviet national team. He'd been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 1985, but Tikhonov used his Communist Party connections to keep him from leaving until 1989. Larionov was particularly upset that Tikhonov kept his players confined to barracks for as much as 11 months a year even when they were married (CSKA was a functioning division of the Soviet Army). He told a Russian magazine that with the players being away from home for so long, "it is a wonder our wives manage to give birth."
  
  (IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/larionov3.jpg)
• San Jose, who were a struggling franchise at the time of the deals to acquire the two veteran Russians, enjoyed a major breakthrough season while the two countrymen enjoyed a personal and professional renaissance. The two were immediately able to rekindle their chemistry and Larionov's deft passing skills led Makarov to a 30-goal season while he himself scored 21 goals and 56 points in just 60 games. In the playoffs the Sharks shocked the hockey world by defeating the heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings in the first round, then had a 3-2 series lead versus the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round that they let slip way before losing the series in seven games. Larionov was the key to the Cinderella post-season march with 18 points in 14 games. Larionov lost a few games to injury the following season, which was the lock-out shortened year, though he did produce well when he was healthy with 24 points in 33 games and once again was key in the playoffs with nine points in 11 games. In 1995-96, with Makarov retired and Larionov set to turn 36, the Sharks felt the veteran was at the end of the line and jumped at the opportunity to trade him to Detroit for Ray Sheppard, who was coming off a 30-goal campaign.
  
• In 1997 the veteran returned to Motown for his first full season with the club. The skilled pivot once again piled up assists for the team and played a solid two way game. This time, however, in the playoffs, things panned out for the Red Wings and the defeated the Philadelphia Flyers for their first Stanley Cup in decades. Detroit captain Steve Yzerman made it clear how important Larionov was to that club. The first player he passed the prized trophy too after it was given to him was Igor Larionov. That summer Larionov and his Russian teammates made history by brining the famed Cup home to the Soviet Union for the first time ever.

TRIVIA:

• On December 13, 2004, Larionov hosted his farewell game at Moscow's Luzhniki arena. The match pitted Team Russia (a mix of past and current Russian stars, incl. Larionov, Fetisov, Nabokov, Fedorov, Kovalchuk, etc.) versus Team World (Larionov's former Detroit and New Jersey teammates, incl. Shanahan, Yzerman, Osgood, Gomez, etc.) For the third period, Larionov and Steve Yzerman switched teams and Russia won the entertaining game 6-5.
  (IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/larionov8.jpg)
  
• Along with Viacheslav Fetisov, he was instrumental in breaking the barrier that stopped Soviet players from joining the NHL.
• In 2001, The man known to teammates as "The Professor" became the oldest player in NHL history to score a Stanley Cup Final goal when he notched one versus the Hurricanes.
• 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.
• He is the founder of the Igor Larionov International Youth Hockey Tournaments. http://www.iltournaments.com/index.html
• Larionov won three Stanley Cups with Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002).
  (IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/IGOR.jpg)
  
• The family man Larionov, who is married to former figure skater Elena Botanova, has three kids who were born in three different countries. His oldest daughter Alyonka was born in Moscow, her sister Diana in Vancouver and the youngest Larionov, son Igor in Detroit.
• “The Professor”, as he is called by fans and teammates, is one of the smartest guys in the NHL. He is interested in many things outside hockey. Politics, science, visiting historic places and buildings are only a few of them. He visits Russia nearly every year to show his kids his native country.
• Igor Larionov will have to wait until next year.The highly favored former Sharks forward was one of numerous players eligible for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. If selected, Larionov would have been the first player inducted into the Hall of Fame that played in San Jose. More… http://sharks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=3...mp;service=page
• Currently, he is a professional wine merchant and enthusiast. See articles below: http://www.gangofpour.com/underground/noso...4/larionov.html
  http://info.detnews.com/wine/columns/silfv...ails.cfm?id=320
  (IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/1130larionov.jpg)
  
• He is a chess enthusiast.
• Officially announced retirement, April 20, 2004.

QUOTES:

• This was also Igor Larionov's last Olympic game, in all likelihood. If that proves to be the case, the 41-year-old Detroit center made a nice exit from his third Olympics, picking up three assists in the win. An intelligent, stabilizing force on Team Russia, Larionov could well be standing behind the bench in some capacity at the 2006 Olympics. "I had a great experience here, and I was really delighted by the way Slava [Fetisov] invited me to play for the national team," said Larionov. "He created a great atmosphere for the players and treated the players in the right way. I’m confident for the future of Russian hockey. It's really bright, and guys like Slava and the people around him can make the future even brighter."
  (IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/papaigor89.jpg)
  (Slava Fetisov/Igor Larionov)
  
  
• "He's not a robot," Wings captain Steve Yzerman says. "He's very serious, but he laughs at things. He's not afraid to reprimand the young guys. I don't know what he's saying because he does it in Russian, but you can tell by the tone."
• “Definitely, he saw the ice the same as me, passing the puck, hockey sense, probably as similar to me as any player who has played the game.” - Wayne Gretzky -
• While playing in Switzerland, he said “Europe is pretty close to a paradise for hockey retirees. Comfortable schedule, just two games per week. But after two months I was bored to death, I missed the pressure, fight, and the NHL atmosphere.”
• Sharks Vice President Dean Lombardi: “Igor Larionov was as important to San Jose as Wayne Gretzky was to Los Angeles.”

VIDEO:

• One of his last goals: http://www.math.toronto.edu/gaidash/Hockey...s/larionov1.mpg
• Goal: http://www.math.toronto.edu/gaidash/Hockey...s/larionov2.avi
• Goal 2: http://www.math.toronto.edu/gaidash/Hockey...s/larionov3.mov
• One of the greatest hockey players of all time, Igor Larionov , bid farewell to the game in December 13, 2004, after an unparalleled 27 year career. Larionov's final game in Moscow was masterfully captured by Ferndale's Chrome Bumper Films and now hockey fans can relive that momentous occasion in sports history when the documentary, “Farewell From Moscow-The Igor Larionov Farewell Game" premiered on Friday, January 13, 2006, at 8:00 p.m., at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
  Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjgxRLNHk-Y
  Purchase: http://www.igorlarionov.com/product_info.php?products_id=28
  (IMG:http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/hjepsen/FFM_icon.jpg)

SOURCES:


http://www.igorlarionov.com/
http://www.pbfc.org/ilas/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Larionov
http://www.geocities.com/e_ouzikov/larionov.html
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=2973
http://www.russianrocket.de/Teammates/Lari...l_larionov.html
http://www.azhockey.com/La.htm


This point has been edited by SharksGirl: Nov 6 2008, 03:14 AM

[CgyFlaminRanger]

SUH WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETT!!!! do another one when ya get a chance, but on SHARKIE (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[VampireT]

very nice sharkie +3

[Butterfly]

Excellent job on the Bio, Sharkie!

Igor was an amazing player, one that I think has been slightly overlooked considering the impact he has had on hockey. I really hope that he gets inducted to the HHOF next year!

[xdarkxlovex]

Awesome job girlie!!

[SharksGirl]

Another site I just found tonight, with more info on Larionov, that I hadn't previously posted: http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/Igor/

[Butterfly]

Getting to know our Alumni Players!

[SharksGirl]

I added his Hall of Fame year to his Bio.

[SharksGirl]

Former Shark Larionov Inducted Into HHOF

In his first season as a San Jose Shark, Larionov's offensive contributions helped his club upset the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 1994 NHL playoffs.

Perhaps more importantly, Larionov helped launch Pavel Bure's career in Vancouver, put his no-nonsense stamp on a young Sharks team in San Jose and then helped the Detroit Red Wings end a 42-year Stanley Cup drought.

In a nutshell, Igor Larionov was an impact player.

"I'm feeling excited," Larionov said about Monday's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. "It's getting to the point where I'm feeling really nervous about the whole weekend. It's a big honor to be included in the Hockey Hall of Fame with the greatest people who played or contributed to this game. I'm looking forward to the experience."

When Igor Larionov becomes the fifth Russian player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, his credentials will include 3 Stanley Cups, 2 Olympic gold medals, 4 World Championships and a World Junior Championship.

"Everyone knows Igor Larionov was a great player. His passing and vision were spectacular. People may not know, however, that he was one of the brightest students of the game I was ever around. He was always learning, always helping, always teaching. I loved that part of his game." - Wayne Gretzky

Long before he joined the NHL in 1989, Igor Larionov was widely recognized as one of the greatest hockey players in the world. He first came to international prominence in the 1979 World Junior Championship when he helped lead the Soviet Union to victory. Larionov had 6 points and linemate Vladimir Krutov led the tourney with 8 goals and 6 assists.

More

And all the details regarding the induction weekend can be found HERE.

[SharksGirl]

He agreed to let me tag along when he and his brother, who was visiting from Russia, went to a Giants game at Candlestick Park. His young daughter, Alyonka, is in the car, too, and asked for music. Igor put in a CD and Elvis’ “Hound Dog” began playing. That was her musical taste at the time.

His, I found out, wasn’t that much different. He talked about growing up in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

“We had no information about the States, but my brother had a radio and we got Voice of America,” Larionov said. “A lot of it was jammed, but we listened to music — Three Dog Night, Credence Clearwater Revival.”

They also listened to Solzhenitsyn read chapters from “Gulag.”

Larionov had been to one baseball game before this one, in Detroit on an off-day during the 1994 playoffs. He hadn’t mastered the intricacies of the game, so it was my job to explain the sacrifice fly and other things.

But I remember he couldn’t just watch the game as a fan. He had to watch it as an athlete.

“I am interested in how much skill is necessary,” he said of baseball. “It seems like an easy game in the back yard, but sitting here and seeing the speed by the pitcher, it looks very hard to hit the ball.”

More

[SoCalSharksGirl]

David Pollak shares his own memories of Laionov:

But I do want to share some personal memories. And, hey, it’s my blog.

In the summer of 1995, I spent hours with Larionov in his Sunnyvale home over the course of a month for a story I wrote for West, the newspaper’s Sunday magazine at the time. He was his usual outspoken self and for a while I was worried he might be traded before the story appeared. That didn’t happen, but three weeks after it was published, Larionov was traded to Detroit.

The memories remain vivid, but I may go back to that original article and steal a few sentences every now and then.

You won’t find too many Sharks then or now living in Sunnyvale. Most favor areas of San Jose near the rink (Willow Glen, Rose Garden) or life in the hills (Los Gatos, Saratoga). Larionov lived there because his wife was seriously worried about earthquakes, checked out the fault lines and picked Sunnyvale.

He agreed to let me tag along when he and his brother, who was visiting from Russia, went to a Giants game at Candlestick Park. His young daughter, Alyonka, is in the car, too, and asked for music. Igor put in a CD and Elvis’ “Hound Dog” began playing. That was her musical taste at the time.

His, I found out, wasn’t that much different. He talked about growing up in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

“We had no information about the States, but my brother had a radio and we got Voice of America,” Larionov said. “A lot of it was jammed, but we listened to music — Three Dog Night, Credence Clearwater Revival.”

They also listened to Solzhenitsyn read chapters from “Gulag.”

Larionov had been to one baseball game before this one, in Detroit on an off-day during the 1994 playoffs. He hadn’t mastered the intricacies of the game, so it was my job to explain the sacrifice fly and other things.

But I remember he couldn’t just watch the game as a fan. He had to watch it as an athlete.

“I am interested in how much skill is necessary,” he said of baseball. “It seems like an easy game in the back yard, but sitting here and seeing the speed by the pitcher, it looks very hard to hit the ball.”

Finally, the moment that sticks with me the most came after toward the end of the interviews. Igor had been constructing a wooden platform, 33 inches high, in his garage. When it was finished, I asked him what it was for. He immediately showed me. We were standing side by side next to it and in an instant, barely bending his legs at the knee, the wiry Larionov was standing on it. It was an amazing display of stationary vertical leap and part of his conditioning program.

He may have looked more like a professor than an athlete, but don’t be fooled.

Working the Corners

[SharksGirl]

David Pollak shares his own memories of Laionov:

LOL... that's where I pulled my quote from above (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[SoCalSharksGirl]

LOL... that's where I pulled my quote from above (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif)

I didn't read through it all before posting it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pinch.gif)

My bad (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[SharksGirl]

My bad (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

LOL... it's all good. "Great Minds..." and all that (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[SoCalSharksGirl]

It was Russian Appreciation night at the Caps @ Kings game, and look who dropped the puck (IMG:style_emoticons/default/woot.gif)

(IMG:http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn175/DeseraeAron/Caps%20at%20Kings/Igor.jpg)

(IMG:http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn175/DeseraeAron/Caps%20at%20Kings/Puckdrop.jpg)

(IMG:http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn175/DeseraeAron/Caps%20at%20Kings/Puckdrop2.jpg)

(IMG:http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn175/DeseraeAron/Caps%20at%20Kings/Shake.jpg)

(IMG:http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn175/DeseraeAron/Caps%20at%20Kings/Playersshake.jpg)

It was a huge, but awesome surprise that he was there and I'm glad I got to be there!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy.gif)

And he received a huge ovation from the crowd becasue the Russians came out in numbers. We were surrounded by the jerseys and the language everywhere. It was quite interesting to see how many live in the LA area.

[SharksGirl]

It was Russian Appreciation night at the Caps @ Kings game, and look who dropped the puck (IMG:style_emoticons/default/woot.gif)

That is really awesome you got to see that. And thanks for the pics, they are really good (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)