Anatoly Tarasov: Google pays tribute to Russian ice hockey player with sporty doodle

Happy Birthday Anatoly Tarasov!!!

Google celebrates the 101^st birthday of the great Russian ice hockey player and coach, Anatoly Tarasov with a sporty doodle. He is considered as the father of Russian ice hockey and he was even one of the first Russians to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1974 in the builders category. He was born on December 10, 1918.

Under Anatoly Tarasov’s leadership, the Russian (then USSR) national team won every Ice Hockey World Championship for 9 consecutive years, won 11 European championships, and took home 3 Olympic gold medals. His visionary tactics and will to win put his opponents on the ice.

Anatoly Vladimirovich Tarasov established the Soviet Union national team as ‘the dominant force in international competition’. He served either as coach or co-coach of CSKA Moscow from 1946 to 1975, except for three short breaks in 1960, 1964 and 1972.

He devised many new training techniques. Most of them centered on passing, for he felt passing was the key to their success, "after all, the ultimate aim of a pass was to get a free player. So if our opponents make 150 passes in a game against our 270, this means we had 120 more playing opportunities." His practices included the use of pylons and simple drills that would have looked silly to Canadians, but to the Russians they had great meaning as they looked to perfect each skill. While performing these he had his players in constant motion. He called this the assembly method.

Rival nations often attempted to mimic Anatoly Tarasov’s approach. A coach from the U.S. asked Tarasov to reveal his secrets and was met with: “There is no secret in hockey. There is imagination, hard work, discipline, and dedication to achieving whatever the goal is.” His ingenious methods influenced the game worldwide and left a mark on hockey that is still felt globally to this day. In 1974, Tarasov became the first European coach to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, as well as the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.

The great Russian ice hockey player died on June 23, 1995 at the age of 76.

Google pays tribute to the legendary hockey player Anatoly Tarasov on his 101^st birthday with a beautiful doodle.