Evgeni Nabokov wears No. 20, in part, to honor the Russian hockey icon, Vladislav Tretiak.

Numbers game for Nabokov
By Doug Ward | NHL.com correspondent
Feb. 2, 2006

Every time Evgeni Nabokov skates into a goal crease, he carries a large part of Russian hockey history on his back. Nabokov wears the No. 20, which, on a goaltender, inevitably conjures memories of legendary goaltender Vladislav Tretiak. Nabokov says he chose the number, in part, to honor the Russian hockey icon.

"My number comes from two reasons," Nabokov explains. "Tretiak is one reason, and the other reason is that when my dad played, it was his number."

At 30, Nabokov has only vague memories of Tretiak's glory days. The legendary goaltender retired in 1984 at the age of 32. Still, Nabokov says Tretiak always has been an influence.

The number most commonly associated with Tretiak is 20, but there are a few others that help to flesh out his extraordinary career: three Olympic gold medals; one Olympic silver medal; 10 World Championships; a place on the Central Red Army team at the age of 15. Tretiak backstopped the Soviet Union to Olympic gold medals at Sapporo in 1972, Innsbruck in 1976, and, finally, at Sarajevo in 1984, making his exploits legendary in Russia. Nabokov was only 8-years-old when Tretiak retired, but he still remembers.

"I was too little when he was playing and I was living far away from Moscow," Nabokov says. "The TV wasn't that great and I couldn't watch him play. But I do remember him. And I know that he was the best. I can't tell you about the details, but I know that he was good. The style that he played was very good."

Actually, Nabokov knows much more than that.

"I know Vladislav personally," Nabokov goes on to say, "and I actually know him pretty well."

Today, Tretiak, 53, serves as a goaltending consultant for the Chicago Blackhawks. He is regarded as one of the foremost authorities on goaltending and runs hockey camps in Minnesota and Toronto. Among his pupils are NHL goaltenders Jose Theodore, Dominik Hasek, and Martin Brodeur.

In 1989, Tretiak became the first Russian inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"He is awesome," Nabokov says. "He is funny and likes to have a good time. I met him in Toronto in the summertime. I used to go to his camp. He is a really good guy."

Tretiak has been an inspiration and a teacher to Nabokov, but when the two goaltenders get together, they're just as apt to avoid the subject of hockey altogether.

"We'll just hang out," Nabokov says. "We might have dinner together or go to the movies."

Presumably, they skipped Miracle.

Tretiak played a small, but significant, part in the historic 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game featured in the movie Miracle. He started the game before coach Viktor Tikhonov benched him in favor of Vladimir Myshkin after one period. Had Tretiak not been replaced by Myshkin with the score tied, 2-2, the Soviets might very well have claimed gold in 1980, too.

For all of Tretiak's greatness, good timing was not always one of his best attributes. Shortly after his retirement, the NHL finally opened its doors to Soviet players.

"I was hoping to play in the NHL," Tretiak has said. "I regret not having the chance."

Nabokov will compete with Anaheim's Ilya Bryzgalov for playing time in Team Russia's goal.

He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1983, but was unable to receive a release from the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation. While no one will ever know for sure how Tretiak's brilliance would have translated to the NHL, Nabokov has a pretty good idea.

"All this we can speculate," Nabokov says, "but definitely he would be the top goalie if had a chance to play in the NHL or if he were playing today. The hockey's different, and its tough to judge for the guys who have never played in this league, but my opinion is that he would be awesome in this league."

Through players like Nabokov, who won the Calder Trophy (NHL Rookie of the Year) in 200-01, Tretiak's influence remains. Nabokov has won more than 30 games in three of his four full seasons with San Jose. Nabokov hopes to carry a small piece of Tretiak's goaltending mastery with him when he tends the goal for Team Russia at the Torino Games.

Because Nabokov had competed for Kazakhstan as a junior, the International Ice Hockey Federation had previously denied his request to play for Russia. In 2005, however, he was granted permission after he took advantage of an IIHF rule change allowing a nationality change under specific conditions, and became eligible to the play for Russia.

With Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin sidelined by a knee injury, Nabokov will compete with Anaheim's Ilya Bryzgalov for playing time in Team Russia's goal.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Nabokov says. "I haven't played for the Soviet Union since 1992 when we played in Canada and then Lake Placid, so it's been awhile. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it will be a lot of fun."

Nabokov is among those who believe this year's Olympic field is wide open.

"There are so many great teams," he says, "that it comes down to who works the hardest and wants it more. We have the character and the leadership."

They also have the history. Lest anyone forget how dominant Russian hockey teams have been in the Olympics, the mere sight of Nabokov and his link to Tretiak is reminder enough.