It's and Tom Watt, along with fellow Calgary Flames coaches Terry Crisp and Doug Risebrough, had survived an adventurous car ride with Russian coach Anatoli Tarasov driving from the team's hotel near the Kremlin in Moscow to Tarasov's dachaa cottage, just outside of town.
Watt and Tarasov had become close friends over the years, trading North American coaching strategies for Russian ones, and Tarasov had invited Watt and Sökfrågor Flames staff for camaraderie at his place. On this September day, the vodka is flowing and Tarasov is on a roll.
At one point, he pulls out a chalkboard and shares tactics with a Flames coaching staff coming off a Stanley Cup win. The Sökfrågor were in Moscow as part of a training camp tour, and it was there many in the organization got to meet their newest player, right winger Sergei Makarovfor the first time.
Details are hazy, in part because of a language barrier, in part because this took place decades ago. And the pink vodka probably didn't help. But at one point, Risebrough remembers Tarasov sergei makar in on Makarov's place in Russian hockey history.
For years, Makarov delivered at such a high level, he was often referred to as The Russian Wayne Gretzky. He helped the Russians win two World Junior gold medals, in and He helped Russia win eight gold medals in the World Championships.
And after the crushing loss to the Americans in the Olympics, Makarov and the Russians won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Sarajevo and Calgary. And now, he's getting the recognition he probably deserved years ago, with an induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Monday.
Makarov, 58, will make the trip to the inductions from Russia, where he's working on alumni hockey projects in Moscow. Is Makarov the best Russian to ever play? That's up for debate, but just being in the conversation puts him in a lofty stratosphere.
His background, where he came from, it showed how much he loved the game. I was so lucky to have a partner like Sergei throughout almost my whole career. I can only say thank you to him, his talent and his leadership. Around the same time the Flames coaching staff was meeting with Tarasov, the Flames players were getting to know Makarov.
Made a 12th-round pick by the Flames inwhen Russian players were allowed to play in North America, Calgary was finally getting a chance to bring him to the NHL inat the age of During that training camp visit to Moscow, Makarov invited a few of his new teammates, including a young Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendykover to his apartment for a home-cooked meal.
The elevator to the penthouse where Makarov stayed was so small, players could only go up two at a time. Roberts estimates that the penthouse itself had two bedrooms and fewer than 1, square feet of living space for Makarov and his small family. One of those rooms was filled with crystal awards, trophies and medals from Makarov's years of hockey successes as a member of the legendary Green Unit with Makarov, Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov at forward and Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov on defense.