“His story of being one of the first great Russian athletes to defect to the United States/one of the first big name defectors from the Soviet Union, is worthy of consideration (on the list of the top individual players for hockey card investments), if we put aside the USA-Russian tensions for a moment.” Obviously, he mended the fences,” added Ross. Today, he is a Colonel in the Russian Army as well as the current head coach and General Manager of CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). And at one point, running away until he was successfully defected.”Īt the time of his defecting, Red Army coach and commander, Viktor Tikhonov wanted to promote Fedorov from private to lieutenant, but it also meant that Sergei would have to sign a 25-year contract. I think it involves either trench coats or leading him through various backdoors. “And I think that the historical importance of that is worthy of investment consideration. Ross, a former reporter for WBBM CBS 2 Chicago, Detroit metropolitan area native and Red Wings fan continued: “This was a star player in his prime/approaching his prime, a young elite talent that the Redwings snatched from Russia and brought him into the United States.” I will also say that there were a handful of Russian players who came before him, but this was different. “I feel like it’s (collecting Fedorov’s cards) worthy of (investment) consideration for historical purposes. “I remember that there was a wonderful story of how the Redwings like smuggled him out,” said Jeremy Ross, a former television newsman, long time sports card collector/seller (30 years) and industry advocate. In August 1989, Gave, who spent five years in the US Army as a Russian Linguist, somehow managed to meet with Fedorov and Konstantinov, whom the Wings had also drafted, and slipped them each a Red Wings media guide with a letter hidden inside that made it clear the Red Wings wanted both of them in Detroit and were willing to do what was needed to get them there. Gave was asked by Red Wings executive vice-president Jim Lites to pass a secret message to Fedorov at an exhibition game in Helsinki where his Soviet national team was playing an elite Finnish club. Here is the link to the first, but I suggest you read the whole series. The Detroit Free Press published an excerpt of his book, in five parts, in spring of 2008. Their destination was decaying, extreme urban blight Detroit in the early ’90s, where they helped build a dynasty. In “The Russian Five: A story of espionage, defection, bribery and courage,” Keith Gave, a former spy who would later become a journalist, revealed his clandestine mission to Helsinki, Finland, which covers how Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov and Igor Larionov were all able to somehow slip out of the Communist USSR. With that in mind, the thrilling story of how the Detroit Red Wings smuggled in eventual club legend Sergei Fedorov, a tantalizing tale that many of us haven’t heard before, is more relevant than ever. And given the current state of relations between the United States and Russia, the Cold War era zeitgeist of the late 1980s/early 1990s is the status quo once again. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will commence shortly, and that means there is no time like the present to talk some hockey.
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