Vladimir Krikunov: an open-minded sensations maker
KHL.ru continues on remembering the league’s legend and today it’s Vladimir Krikunov’s turn. He is the elder statesman of the Russian coaching fraternity, and his career has seen it all, including a full set of medals from the national championship and coaching the national team.
The turning point in Vladimir Krikunov’s coaching career occurred in 1999. It was precisely then that it started to ascend and eventually reached its peak – winning the Russian Championship and working with the national team, including at the 2006 Olympics.
Before that, even during the Soviet era, Krikunov worked with Dinamo Minsk. In 1991, he went to Slovenia, where he worked with clubs and even with the national team. In 1996, Krikunov took them to the World Championship in Group C, where the Slovenians ended the tournament in third place and failed to qualify for the higher level.
In 1996, Krikunov returned to Russia, more precisely in Yekaterinburg. At that time, the team was still named Spartak. After a year, it was renamed to Dynamo-Energiya. During those years, the club faced serious financial problems and found itself among the outsiders. In 1998, they Urals side relegated from the top league. Krikunov mentioned in interviews that the main task was to retain talented young players who could form a strong team in the future – Denis Sokolov, Alexei Bulatov, Maxim Krayev, Alexei Simakov, and Pavel Datsyuk.
20.02.2002 Led Team Belarus to the Olympics semifinals after a sensational 4:3 win over Team Sweden.
08.01.2006 European Cup triumph with Dynamo Moscow
06.01.2019 Established an all-time record for the most games as a coach in Russian championships
05.01.2022 Last game in the KHL
The breakthrough for Dynamo-Energiya came in 1999. Although the first stage of the season was mediocre, they finished only sixth in the Higher League, which was the last place allowing participation in the transitional tournament with the six bottom teams from the Super League. Out of the 12 teams, only four would secure a spot in the elite for the next season.
No one had high expectations from Dynamo-Energiya. However, they pulled off a sensation. Not only did they qualify for the Super League, but they did so in style, finishing in first place. The Yekaterinburg’s team surpassed Spartak, Krylya Sovetov, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Khimik, Sibir, Traktor, SKA, and HC CSKA. Datsyuk shined in their lineup, becoming the top scorer of the transition tournament, with 27 points (11+16) in 22 games. As a result of this success, Krikunov was invited to join Ak Bars. In Kazan, after a lackluster season, they parted ways with Yury Moiseyev, who led the team to its first victory in the Russian Championship in 1998.
From Kazan to Moscow
Krikunov led Ak Bars to the finals in his very first season, when everyone was actually expecting the traditional battle between Magnitogorsk and Dynamo. In the fifth and final match of the semifinals, Magnitogorsk was leading 2:0 in Kazan after two minutes. However, the score was tied 3:3 by the end of the opening frame. Then, in the second period, Krikunov’s team scored three unanswered goals in just one minute and four seconds.
In the finals, Ak Bars didn’t stand much of a chance. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov had built an incredibly powerful team over the past three years, and Dynamo won 4-1. Nevertheless, for Krikunov, who had been coaching in the Higher League just the previous season, winning the silver medal was a fantastic result.
In the following season, Ak Bars lost to Lokomotiv in the first round of the playoffs, and in the autumn of 2001, Krikunov was dismissed. However, he soon took charge of Neftekhimik and built a strong team, giving opportunities to players like Mikhail Grabovsky and Maxim Pestushko to shine at the highest level. In 2004, Nizhnekamsk qualified for the playoffs from the eighth seed and faced the regular season winner, Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The series between these teams became the longest in the first round, requiring all five games to be played. It’s unknown how it would have ended if luck had turned in favor of Neftekhimik in the second game when their shots hit the post several times and lost 1:2.
Krikunov’s work did not go unnoticed, and he was invited to coach Dynamo, which in the previous four seasons had only made the playoffs once and suffered three first-round exits. In Moscow, Krikunov inherited a solid team, as the NHL lockout had lasted the entire season. The roster included players like Datsyuk, Andrei Markov, Maxim Afinogenov, and Sergei Samsonov. Later on, Alexander Frolov was invited from CSKA closer to the playoffs. Alexander Ovechkin spent his last season before leaving for overseas. The Blue-and-Whites swiftly navigated both the regular season and the playoffs, losing only once in the elimination stage.
2005 Russian champion
2005 World Championship bronze medal
1253 games in the Russian championship – an all-time record
722 games, 374 games – the second and third result in the KHL history, respectively
Sensation in Salt Lake City
Krikunov’s successful work in clubs helped him to become a part of the national team. He was included in Boris Mikhailov’s coaching staff for the 2001 and 2002 World Championships. In the latter tournament, Russia won its first medal since 1993 – a silver.
The Olympics are a special tournament. For the Salt Lake City Games, it was not Mikhailov and his staff who led the national team, but Vyacheslav Fetisov, who was appointed as the team’s head coach for that one competition. However, Krikunov didn’t miss out on the main event of the quadrennium. As early as 2001, it was known that he would take Belarus to the USA. Together with his team, Krikunov achieved yet another sensation – they knocked Team Sweden out in the quarterfinals.
Sweden had defeated all their opponents in the group stage, including the reigning Olympic champions, the Czechs, and the future Olympic champions, the Canadians, as well as Germany. But in the quarterfinals, the Scandinavians acted complacently. Vladimir Kopat’s goal from the neutral zone, scored two and a half minutes before the end of the closing frame, proved to be a high price for their overconfidence.
The Belarusian team was indeed lucky. Canada and Russia didn’t give them any chances in the semifinals and the bronze medal match – 1:7 and 2:7. However, it was Krikunov’s team that provided the main sensation of those Games, and perhaps even all Olympic hockey tournaments in general. Both that game between the Tre Kronor and Belarus, and Kopat’s goal will remain in history forever.
Bronze in Vienna, no medals in Turin and Riga
Krikunov was appointed as Team Russia’s head coach in April 2005, less than a month before the start of the IIHF World Championship. However, he managed to prepare the team properly for the tournament, which had one of the highest levels in history, as many of the best hockey players participated due to the NHL lockout. Russia was no exception, boasting players like Datsyuk, Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Kovalev, Alexei Yashin, and others.
On one hand, Russia could have aimed for more than just a bronze medal. In the semifinals, Canada led 4:0, but then the ice saw a remarkable comeback, and the game ended with a 4-3 scoreline. On the other hand, it could have been Finland in the semifinals, as Russia narrowly defeated them 1:0 in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, the bronze medal in Vienna was considered a success after finishing in 10th place just the previous year.
Krikunov also led the team to the 2006 Olympics in Turin. Debates about the squad selection continue to this day. Was the coach right in choosing his Dynamo players Maxim Sushinsky and Alexander Khavanov and not inviting the super trio from Ak Bars of Alexei Morozov, Sergei Zinovyev, and Danis Zaripov?
The answers to such questions lie in the results. Russia defeated Canada in the quarters. However, in the semifinals and the match for the third place, they lost to the Finns and the Czechs with an overall score of 0:7 and remained without medals. Krikunov himself described the team’s performance as unsatisfactory.
The last tournament for the Russian national team under Krikunov’s leadership became perhaps the most lackluster. At the World Championship in Riga, where Krikunov had spent the longest period of his playing career, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing to Team Czechia in OT.
The secrets of his success
Vladimir Krikunov kept on working for a long time, until 2022. He coached Neftekhimik, Ak Bars, Barys, the Kazakhstan national team, Avtomobilist, Moscow, and Dinamo Riga. In April, Krikunov turned 73, but he says he is ready to continue coaching if given the opportunity.
Krikunov’s strong suit is his famous preseason preparation. It was largely due to this that his teams achieved success. Ask any hockey player who played under Krikunov about the training load, and you will hear countless stories. For example, about the legendary “balloons.”
Another ace up his sleeve is openness and cheerfulness. Krikunov is always ready to communicate at any moment. In the past, when newspapers still prevailed over the internet, it was considered quite prestigious among journalists to talk to someone from the teams before the start of the game. Media representatives would arrive at the stadium two hours or even earlier before the match to catch coaches, players, and club executives. Why? Because the matches ended late, and they needed to send their reports to the editorial office before the newspaper went to print. Part of the material was sent to the editorial office even before the face-off to speed up the layout process.
So, not everyone was willing to communicate before the game – some didn’t want distractions and loss of focus, while others were superstitious. But Krikunov didn’t mind at all. A memory dates back to Sep 6, 2007, when Dynamo faced Spartak at the Sokolniki arena. It was a very warm day. Krikunov, coming out of the dressing room and chatting with the media representatives, almost missed the warm-up. “Oh, you really got me carried away,” he said with a smile.
Even now, any journalist can easily call Krikunov and ask him a question on any hockey-related topic. Perhaps that’s why, in his 73, he wants to continue working instead of sitting by the TV?
Dossier
Vladimir Krikunov
Born on Apr 23, 1950 in Kirovo-Chepetsk
Playing career: 1970-1972, Olimpiya Kirovo-Chepetsk; 1972-1976, Kristall Saratov; 1975-1976, Krylia Sovetov; 1976-1982, Dinamo Riga; 1982-1984, Dinamo Minsk.
Coaching career: 1985-1991, Dinamo Minsk; 1991-1993, Jesenice (Slovenia); 1993-1995, Celje (Slovenia); 1995-1996, Team Slovenia; 1996-1999, Spartak/Dynamo-Energiya Yekaterinburg; 1999-2001, 2011-2012, Ak Bars; 2001-2004, 2008-2011, 2013-2016, Neftekhimik; 2004-2008, 2018-2021, Dynamo Moscow; 2012-2013 Barys and Team Kazakhstan; 2016-2018, Avtomobilist; 2021, Dinamo Riga.
Achievements: Slovenian championship (1992, 1993), Russian championship (2005), Russian championship silver medal (2000), Russian championship bronze medal (2020), European Champions Cup (2006), IIHF World Championship bronze medal (2005).
