Vladimir Konstantinov is a living legend of the Detroit Reg Wings. All his life he was distinguished by a strong-willed character and a desire for victory, which even the most serious injuries received during the accident could not break.
The beginning of the way
The homeland of Vladimir Konstantinov, the living legend of Detroit, is the city of Murmansk. It is here that the future Stanley Cup winner was born and raised. And it was in Murmansk that Volodya was the first to be able to put on his skates and go out onto the big ice of city ice rinks, where Peter Anikiev noticed him. The latter became the first coach and mentor of the future NHL star. Under the leadership of Anikiev, Konstantinov advocated for the Shipyard.
At one of the games against the youth team of the capital's CSKA, he was singled out among all the other participants by Gennady Tsygankov. Thanks to his recommendation, Vladimir, at the age of seventeen, leaves his native land and goes to conquer Moscow. Two years later, Konstantinov, who has proven himself both as a center forward and as a defender, is included in the youth team of the Soviet Union. Together with other team members, Vladimir wins gold medals in Canada. Upon returning home, Konstantinov, at the insistence of the Head Coaching Council, transferred to the adult team of CSKA. Thanks to a successful season, the hockey player is included in the national team of the Soviet Union, where he becomes the youngest of the players.
Game for the USSR national team
At the 1986 World Championships , held in Moscow, Vladimir Konstantinov played as a striker. In ten games, he was able to win two points for one goal scored and one assists. As a result, the young striker and his team became the winners of the world hockey championship.
The world championships of 1989 and 1990 also brought gold medals to the player's piggy bank. As spectators and team members note, Konstantinov always differed on the ice with a tenacious grip and ability to fight for every goal to the bitter end.
Participation in the National Hockey League
In the early nineties, the young star of the Soviet national team is overseas and begins to play on the ice rinks of the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings. As part of the "red wings" Konstantinov spends several seasons in a row. At the end of the first season, the hockey player shows phenomenal results and falls into the symbolic team of “all stars” for beginners.
Also, Vladimir Konstantinov was remembered by overseas hockey fans as a member of the famous “Russian five”. The latter was formed at the beginning of the 1995-1996 season through the efforts of Scottish Bowman, the head coach of the “wings”. In early 1995, his club acquired Igor Larionov, who moved to Detroit from San Jose Sharks. Bowman decides to go on a risky experiment. He launches the Russian-speaking five on the ice arena, consisting only of Russian players - Fetisov, Larionov, Kozlov, Fedorov. Hockey players were very able to “play” with each other and already in the first matches began to show brilliant results.
Following the results of the next season, Detroit becomes the owner of the Stanley Cup. However, five days after the victorious finale of one of the main culprits of the success of the “red wings” a great misfortune overtakes.
Tragedy on the road
On June 13, 1997, after a gala dinner in honor of the Stanley Cup victory, two players, Konstantinov and Fetisov, and a Detroit massage therapist rode in a rented limousine. The driver of the car, which, as it turned out later, was under the influence of narcotic substances, could not cope with the control, as a result of which the car crashed into a tree. Fetisov escaped with light bruises of the thigh and chest. Vladimir Konstantinov received serious injuries, thanks to which he had to quit his hockey career. For several years, the former Detroit star spent on the restoration of speech and memory. But the doctors could not raise Konstantinov to his feet. The Stanley Cup winner was forever confined to a wheelchair.
Vladimir Konstantinov - hockey player in the chair
For the fans of Detroit, no player has become as expensive and memorable as Vladimir Konstantinov. The hockey player’s biography is divided into life before and after the terrible tragedy. A year after the crash, the former Red Wing player, along with his teammates, was honored with a reception at the US White House. In the same year, Konstantinov’s favorite team won the Stanley Cup again. However, according to the decision of all the players and the leadership of the team, Vladimir Konstantinov was the first to pick up the golden cup. Photos from this memorable event can be found in the article. The appearance on the ice of a former team player in a wheelchair caused a storm of emotions from the fans. The latter could not restrain their tears.
Vladimir Konstantinov is a hockey player with a capital letter. He is still honored and remembered in Detroit. A vivid confirmation of this is the plate with the name of the hockey player, which after so many years continues to hang in the team’s locker room. All the seasons spent for Detroit, Konstantinov played under sixteenth number. However, none of the “wings” players, as a sign of respect for Vladimir, hesitates to put on a T-shirt with a figure so expensive for him.
US citizen
In 2005, the Detroit legend was finally able to obtain the citizenship of the country in which it had lived for more than twenty years. A ceremony was held to present the official document confirming the status of American citizen to Konstantinov, the presenter of which was Judge George Matish, who, when presenting citizenship, noted that his country could not have received a more worthy citizen than Vladimir Konstantinov. The hockey player’s family and the former Red Wing player himself currently live in one of the suburbs of Detroit.