Catching Up With The Past: Yaking It Up With Yak

Many of the Team Canada '72 players will tell you the big and elegant Alexander Yakushev was the Soviet's best player. Because of his size and skill, he - not Kharlamov or Mikhailov - was the one many thought could have stepped in and thrived in the NHL in the 1970s

Matthew Fisher recently caught up with Yakushev in Russia and conducted this excellent interview. Here's a snippet:

As the Soviet team had won two of the four games in Canada by the time the series resumed in Moscow on Sept. 22, the Canadian team’s prospects seemed doomed.

“We were absolutely sure at this point that we would be victorious because all we had to do was win one of the last three games,” Yakushev said. “But I must pay tribute to the Canadians. They were one step from the abyss. If they had fallen in, it would have been a shame and tragedy for them and their fans. This was their most difficult moment, but they found a moral and psychological purpose. They displayed what is the best feature of Canadian hockey. They fought every game until the last second. It was not by chance that they won that last game only 34 seconds from the end. It says a lot about the Canadian character.”

Here's the full interview. It is a real treat as Yakushev has traditionally been very quiet at least towards North American audiences.

Summit Series Heroes: Alexander Yakushev

The Big Yak, Alexander Yakushev, was the Soviets leading scorer and only trailed Phil Esposito by one point in the overall scoring lead. His 7 goals tied him with Espo and Paul Henderson for the lead. Four times he was named as the Soviet's game MVP. A giant, stone-faced left winger, Yakushev thrived in the slot and was to Team Russia as Phil Esposito was to Team Canada. There is no question that the Big Yak would have been a first line NHLer on any NHL team.

"Paul Henderson and I have a similar story," he said. "Neither of us was considered a great star before the series. Now hockey fans in the Soviet Union and Canada know our names. In later years, I became one of the great players on the national team. This series was the turning point in my career."

Alexander Yakushev was a rarity in Soviet Hockey, especially back in the 1960's and 1970's when he played. He was a giant. Most Russians were stereotyped as small, speedy and slick stickhandlers.

"Big Yak" was a lanky and elegant scoring machine. He was the equivalent to Team Russia as Phil Esposito was to Team Canada. Each player dominated their respective offensive slots. Yakushev was immovable, but he had goal scorer hands. In fact, he led the Soviet squad in scoring during that famed 1972 Summit Series. He had 7 goals, 4 assists for 11 points in 8 games.

While there has always been arguments that many of the speedy and skilled Soviets couldn't have survived very long in the 1970's NHL, there is little doubt that Alexander Yakushev would have been a top line player on any team. His size intimidated, his offensive instincts amazed, and his stature is truly legendary.

Phil Esposito said, "The best player on that team without a doubt was Yakushev, not Kharmalov, not (goalie Vladislav) Tretiak. Yakushev was 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, could skate like the wind. He scared us. He reminded me of Bobby Hull, only he was bigger than Bobby."

Serge Savard agreed, and compared him to Jean Beliveau. "Yakushev was a great player. For me, he was like Jean Beliveau. Big, tall guy, skilled player, not a dirty player."

Like so many great Russian and Eastern European hockey stars during the 1960s, 1970s and even parts of the 1980s, we were almost completely robbed of enjoying the immense package of skills many of these players had to offer.