Viktor Tikhonov Jr. was destined to become a hockey player. The boy was born in the family of a famous hockey coach Vasily Tikhonov, his grandfather was a living legend of this sport. With Viktor Tikhonov Sr., the Soviet hockey team was eight times the world champion and won the Olympic gold three times. Tikhonov Victor Jr. not only inherited a love for this sport, but also became the full namesake of his grandfather. According to established custom in the Tikhonov family, the son was given a name in honor of his grandfather, so the names Victor and Vasily alternated on the male line.
Childhood
Vitya was born in Riga in May 1988, where his father coached the Dynamo team. When he was one year old, his father was offered to lead the hockey club "Esat" in Finland, so the family moved there from Riga. In 1992, Vasily Tikhonov with his family travels to the United States, where he trains the San Jose Club.
The boy showed interest in hockey when he was 3 years old after his grandfather gave him ice skates. The child with pleasure walked around the room in them, learned to ride on ice. A serious passion for the game began precisely in America. Here he played in the Santa Clara children's hockey league and showed good results.
In 2000, the Tikhonovs returned to Finland. Father was offered the position of head coach of the club "Lucco", and Tikhonov Victor Jr. began to speak for the team of juniors of this club. A year later, the family moved to Switzerland. Vasily Tikhonov received an invitation to become the head coach of the Landau team, his son began to play in the youth club team. In the national youth hockey championship, the team with his participation becomes the winner.
Return to Russia
In 2002, the trainer's family returned to Russia. Viktor Tikhonov Jr. (photo can be seen below) first saw the country of which he was a citizen. His father was given the position of senior coach of the CSKA Moscow team, where his grandfather, Viktor Tikhonov, was the main mentor. His grandson began attending CSKA hockey school. Three years later, the successor of the hockey dynasty became a player of the Dmitrov club, and a year later he joined the Severstal team in Cherepovets. Victor played for this team until 2011. In 2008, he entered the Russian national team at the World Youth Championships, received a bronze medal. He was recognized as the best forward of the tournament.
In 2011, Viktor Tikhonov, Jr. received an offer to move to St. Petersburg and play for the SKA team. At first he was an extreme striker, later the coach tried it in the center, so he played in both positions. According to the hockey player, this did not cause him discomfort. Until 2015, Victor played for the SKA team - one of the best teams in the Continental Hockey League. In 2013, Tikhonov became the KHL top scorer, and in the 2014/15 season, the SKA team won the Gagarin Cup, beating Dynamo M, Torpedo, CSKA and Ak Bars.
In the summer of 2013, the hockey player hard survived the tragic death of his father, and in November 2014 his famous grandfather passed away. On the day of his death, a match took place between the SKA and CSKA teams, which was coached by Viktor Tikhonov Sr. for many years. The grandson decided to go out on the ice. On this day, he scored 2 goals against CSKA Moscow, which he dedicated to his beloved grandfather.
NHL Games
Tikhonov Victor Jr. (hockey player) grew up in America, constantly watched the NHL games not only on TV, but also live, so he did not abandon his dreams of getting into the most famous professional hockey league. His idol was Pavel Bure. Victor later began performing at number 10 in his honor.
In 2008, a representative of the hockey dynasty played in the NHL as part of the Phoenix Coyotes club. Unfortunately, he did not manage to prove himself completely, because the coach did not use him much in the game. Despite the good results, he was sent to the farm club. Having played the beginning of the season, Tikhonov took advantage of the contract and returned to Cherepovets Severstal, but did not leave his dream of playing in the NHL.
In the period from 2009 to 2011, young Tikhonov again played overseas in the team of the San Antonio Rampage, belonging to the AHL, and gained enormous experience there.
The 2015/16 season, the hockey player played in the Chicago Blackhawks NHL club, but he did not start very well, so the player was put up for the rejection draft. There he was bought by Arizona Coyotes, in which Victor played in 2008. But here, he was haunted by failure. In the summer of 2016, upon completion of the contract with the NHL, Tikhonov returned to SKA. He said that he missed the St. Petersburg club very much and hoped that this season would be interesting.
Games in the Russian team
Despite the good game of Viktor Tikhonov together with Ilya Kovalchuk, the head coach of the national team Zinetula Bilyaletdinov did not take him to the world championship in 2013. The player was very worried whether he would get into the Russian national hockey team at the Olympic Games in Sochi, so he was very happy when he saw himself on the list of players in the national team. At the Olympics, the Russian team performed unsuccessfully. Victor went on the ice in the quarter finals with the Finns, but it was already impossible to turn the tide of the game. The team lost with a score of 1: 3 and ended up in fifth place.
In 2014, the World Hockey Championship was held in Minsk. Tikhonov Victor Jr. was part of the Russian team. The team won the tournament by winning the final match against Finland with a score of 5: 2. During the championship, the hockey player scored 8 goals and made 8 successful passes.
According to the results of the games, Viktor was again recognized as the best striker. In 2015, Tikhonov was also in the national team, but she won only a silver medal.
Sport family
Viktor Tikhonov married early. He met his wife Eugenia in San Jose. The girl worked as a designer in a company that was engaged in the manufacture of equipment for athletes. She was very interested in hockey and dreamed of winning the Stanley Cup, until she was told that women did not participate in the draw.
The young people celebrated the wedding without much scope, and close relatives and friends were invited. Now Viktor Tikhonov Jr. and his wife are raising a son who was born in 2012. They decided to break the tradition and gave him the name Leo, so that in the future the hockey past of the Tikhonov dynasty would not put pressure on the boy, and he could choose his profession on his own.
In February 2016, a daughter was born in the family, who received the name Sofia-Victoria. The sports family does not like the attention of journalists and tries to appear less under the sights of cameras, so their photos are difficult to find in the media.