During our break from covering hundreds of hockey games this Winter, we took in an ESPN 30 for 30 film titled "Of Miracles and Men." The film depicts the Miracle on Ice from a Soviet perspective. Much of the film is shot through the eyes of former Soviet star Slava Fetisov. But what caught our eye more than his story, was how the Soviets took the game of hockey by storm and ruled the world in from 1960 to 1990. The film did a great job of chronicling the founder of Soviet hockey Anatoli Tarasov. ESPN Director Jonathan Hock orchestrates the story of Tarasov, who has long been credited with revolutionizing the game of hockey. 

Much like Herb Brooks in the US, Tarasov was a once in a lifetime coach that broke the mold on common coaching techniques. Unlike Brooks, Tarasov was beloved by all of his former players. Vladimir Tretiak said of him, "I think that there was nobody like him and there will never be another like him."

"Of Miracles and Men" taught us five things that we did not know about the Soviet game of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Here they are:

Love and Trust - above all things we learned from this story was the bond Tarasov built with his team. Each player spoke of how important this bond was to treat their teammates like "the love of their lives." In turn, the players would defend their team like it was their greatest possession. Boris Mikhailov, former Soviet great said, "when a player on our team fell on hard times, the team would pick him up. The whole team."

TS: Not a bad concept...I've played on a lot of teams...I've never treated my teammate like the love of my life.

Shut up and Dance with Me - Until the 1950's, the Russians had played Bandy, not Ice Hockey as their Winter Sport. Needless to say, they had a long way to go to catch up with other European countries and the Canadiens. "If you try to catch up to Canadiens playing Canadien hockey, you will never catch up." Narasov said.  So he decided to build a better wheel. A wheel that would eventually surpass the North Americans. First, he trained his athletes to be unique. Much like a Russian ballet, each player had their own role in a synchronized dance, but each player had their own trick (i.e. role). They mastered their role and developed a much more free pattern of play, versus the more rigid Canadien style. 

TS: Watching them play was special.

Don't Worry, be Happy - A firm tenant of Tarasov was to be happy while playing. He often said, "why aren't you smiling, you should be happy, you're playing hockey!" 

TS: Watching a player, who plays happy at any level is fun to watch (we see both sides of the happy equation at YHH).

I'm Open - the Soviets won every International Ice Hockey Championship from 1963 to 1972, including 3 Olympic Gold. Tarasov was the mastermind behind such dominance. Besides the clear difference in year round training and conditioning, the Soviets played a completely different style of hockey. They played to where the puck "was going" not where the "puck was". As a result opening up huge passing lanes and incredible open ice odd man rushes and pretty tic tac toe goals. Like a well run dance, most nights the Soviets were a treat to watch.

Slava, Slava, Slava - Slava Fetisov was the first Soviet player to play in the NHL.  Much of the film is written from his point of view. We see how he was raised, how he trained and what he went through to get to the NHL. After a long battle with his coach and the Soviet government, he ultimately paved the way for several other Soviet and Russian players to play in the NHL. As he said at the end of the film, "that is an even bigger miracle in my eyes." In 1997, Fetisov skated with four other Russian players called the Russian Five for the Detroit Red Wings and won the Stanley Cup. A cup, he eventually brought back to Moscow to share with his family and friends.

TS: one of the single most important players in the history of hockey.

Parting shot: The line of Sergei Petrov, Boris Mikhailov, and Valerei Kharlamov is about as good of a line as there will ever be in the history of the game. These three names are as important to the sport as Hull, Gretzky and Lemieux. Without great minds like Nasarov to push the Canadiens and the mind of Herb Brooks to crack their code on a snowy afternoon in Lake Placid, one only wonders where the game would be today.