Larionov has a special place in hockey history

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/8760516...-hockey-history

Neat little dealie on The Professor. Happy reading!

[egroen 384]

Love Larionov and am so happy he is going into the Hall of Fame (deservedly so). Could read the ice better than but a select few in the history of the game.

[wingsnut25 10]

great read...

[skippy_kenn 0]

Does anyone know if any channels will be broadcasting the induction cermony besides CBC?

I would not mind recording it er I mean watching it

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Thanks SWF....great article.

It's always so interesting to hear the inside stories on situations such as this:

After that memorable 1984 game, which Canada won in overtime, Gretzky arranged to meet Igor Larionov and one of his teammates. The pair snuck down a back elevator in their hotel and were taken over to Calgary's lively Electric Avenue area by a friend of Gretzky's.

"Igor was standing there talking to me," recalled Gretzky, "and the whole time, I'm thinking, 'This guy is talking to me and the whole time we were playing against him, I was thinking he didn't understand a word I was saying.'

"I would talk to our guys and say, 'Coff [Paul Coffey], you stand there and I'll get the draw to you,' or say to someone else, 'You go over here and I'll throw it to you up the middle.' The whole time, Igor knew exactly what I was saying!

"The first time he spoke English was when we were standing there having a beer. He started telling me, 'We all want to play in the NHL and maybe one day it will happen.'"

[Guest Four]

The Professor deserved this, way to go!

Sad to see all the comments all about Obama though on that site :\

[#19forPresident! 1]

Larionov was his own player. I know everyone always calls him the "Russian Wayne Gretzky" but I think that may do him a disservice. While certainly Wayne Gretzky was the greatest the game has known, Larionov was still his own player and a damned good one deserving of his own identity. You could look at that guy at any given time and see the wheels turning in his head, he really was the professor, that and he played when hockey was still "rough" and wasn't afraid to stick up for his guys. Loved Larri, easily one of my all time favorite Wings.

[WingNut 25 5]

Larionov was an amazing talent and we were very lucky to have him. He just did a signing at Frozen Pond and I pre-ordered an auto'd 8x10. Cannot wait to add it to my collection.

[AtomicPunk 296]

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

Congratulations Igor. Even though you spent half your career in Russia, I'll still always think of you as a Red Wing. Brings tears to my eyes everytime I see a replay of Igor and Fetisov skating around the Joe with the Cup in '07.

[wingfan1991 221]

nice to see stevie and holland show up to the HHOF induction last night!

Edited November 11, 2008 by wingfan1991