Saying farewell to a hockey legend
Danis Zaripov officially ended his playing career with a gala game in Kazan – and a unique honor from the team where he played most of his career.
Up until this week, no player from the 67-year history of Ak Bars had seen his jersey raised to the rafters of the arena. Today, Zaripov’s #25 hangs there in solitary splendor. A special award, for a special player.
Why so great? Well, nobody else has won five Gagarin Cups. Statistically, that suggests that in the 15-year history of the KHL, simply having Zaripov on the roster automatically gives a one-in-three chance of winning the cup (indeed, better than one-in-three, since the pandemic means the trophy has only been awarded 14 times). Only Sergei Mozyakin has more than the 977 points Zaripov compiled in the top division of Russian hockey, and only Mozyakin can beat his 431 goals. Of course, when the two played together for Metallurg, Zaripov made a substantial contribution to Mozyakin’s record-breaking tallies as they won two Gagarin Cups together and formed a line with Jan Kovar that produced 320 goals. Danis is also third for assists in top-flight Russian hockey (546) and leads the way in games played 1324.
Amid all those triumphs, the greatest source of pride for Zaripov is not in medals or trophies.
“The one thing I’m proud of is my will to win, my desire. That’s what led me to success. Our victories came through hard work and I’m thankful that I didn’t blow my chance, didn’t fall short and always worked as hard as I could,” Danis said.
Much of that hard work was in the colors of Ak Bars, the club he joined in 2001.
In a recent interview with KHL.ru, Zaripov recalled his first experience in Kazan. “I found myself in a locker room full of professionals,” he said. “Whenever they went onto the ice, they always battled for victory. It was only in 1998 that the club first became Russian champion, and since then there was only one objective in that room – win gold. That spirit gripped me, and as soon as I stepped onto the ice with my new team there was no other thought – I just wanted to help the team and develop.”
For many observers, Zaripov’s career high came on the famed ZZM trio with Sergei Zinovyev and Alexei Morozov. That troika powered Ak Bars’ surge to dominance in the late 2000s, contributed to Russia ending its World Championship gold medal drought and – for this correspondent – remains an enduring memory of my first years living in Russia and following Russian hockey.
Thus, one of the highlights of Zaripov’s farewell game was the rebirth of that line – older, but still potent. It wasn’t the only special line of the evening: Danis played for both teams during the exhibition game, and in the second period he took to the ice with his son, Artur, and brother Marat. Even at the end of an illustrious career, dreams keep coming true.
The game itself brought together a kind Forbes list of hockey greats. On Team Green, we had a host of Kazan legends including Morozov, Zinovyev, Alexander Stepanov, Alexander Svitov, Artyom Lukoyanov and more. On team white, in addition to Artur and Marat, we saw an enviable array of talent who played with Zaripov for Team Russia and at his other clubs: Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Mozyakin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexander Radulov and Alexander Semin. Team White took the W, while Zaripov potted a hat-trick and scored for both teams in a feast of high-scoring hockey. The fans, who snapped up all available tickets in a matter of hours, remained in the arena long after the hooter to pay tribute to a beloved hero. As farewells go, this was as special as the career that preceded it.
What they said
Sergei Mozyakin
I’d like to congratulate Danis on a wonderful career, he did so much for hockey. He won everything there is to win and you can only envy that. It was always fun playing with him, and against him. But, like all of us, there comes a time when we have to quit. I’m so happy that he got to play with his son today. When I had the chance to play with my son, even though it was just one shift in the KHL, I was so proud of that and I’m happy for Danis that he could experience the same thing.
Alexander Ovechkin
Danis earned this farewell thanks to his performances for all his clubs, and for the national team. He deserves great honor and respect. I have many recollections of conversations and games with him.
Ilya Kovalchuk
He did everything he could for Kazan, and for Russia. This game ends his playing career with an exclamation mark! It was always good to play with him. He was an uncommon, unpredictable player, he could create a goal out of nothing. It was a pleasure to have him as a team-mate, and he was a real threat as an opponent. In three words: winner, friend, unpredictable.
