Before wearing number 27 in bleu-blanc-rouge, a young Russian forward dawned number 14 while helping his country secure a gold medal in 1992.
The 1992 Winter Olympic Games held in Albertville, France are rich in historical significance in the sporting world. Not only was this the last time the Winter and Summer Games were held within the same calendar year, but it also marked the first time Eastern Europe competed without the title of the Soviet Union.
Competing without the giant CCCP letters etched on the front of the jerseys, saluting the Olympic rings instead of the hammer and sickle, and singing along to the Olympic hymn in place of the national anthem, the Unified Team team won gold.
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In an Olympic tournament without NHL players, Russia had a team stacked with veterans who had to be convinced to play, and a few youngsters brimming with potential. Namely, a forward familiar with soviet league play and who would take the NHL by storm one day. His name: Alexei Kovalev.
Kovalev was no stranger to international competition. He had competed for the then-Soviet Union team at the U17 and U18 levels. Following Olympic play in 1992, he would go on to help the U20 team—which had gone by the title of the Commonwealth of Independent States or CIS—achieve their first gold medal finish at the World Junior Hockey Championships. He led the team in scoring, with five goals and five assists in seven games,
In Albertville, the Unified Team played Soviet-style hockey, and apart from a preliminary round loss to Czechoslovakia 4-3, the team beat Switzerland 8-1, Norway 8-1, France 8-0 and disposed of the Eric Lindros-led Canadians 5-4. From there, Kovalev and co. trounced Finland in the quarterfinals 6-1, sent the United States to settle for bronze with a 5-2 win and once again did away with Canada, securing the gold with a 3-1 victory. For his part, Kovalev mustered three points in eight games but also accumulated 14 penalty minutes.
The same year as Albertville, he began his NHL career with the New York Rangers, eventually helping them win the Stanley Cup in 1994. He was among the first three Russian-born players to have his name engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup alongside Sergei Zubov and Sergei Nemchinov.
Canadiens fans know the rest. After a stint in Pittsburgh before returning to New York, Kovalev was traded to Montreal in 2004. He played 314 games as a Canadiens, scoring 103 goals and tallying 264 points. There were even two occasions when he captained the team in the absence of Saku Koivu. He also treated supporters with spectacular plays, such as his famous no-helmet goal in game five of the playoffs against Boston.
When all was said and done in his career, Kovalev had played in 1316 games and totalled 1029 points. He had a Stanley Cup to his name, as well as the honour of being the first Russian to captain an NHL All-Star team in 2009. He was additionally named Most Valuable Player of that same All-Star game. As memorable a hockey tenure as any, it’s funny to see how it all started with a team with no name.
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