Vitaly Proshkin: domestic and international triumphs
KHL.ru continues on telling the stories of those people who became league’s legends. Today, the talk is about Vitaly Proshkin – the defenseman ended his career with a Gagarin Cup and two IIHF WC gold medals.
A turning point in the career of our featured hero occurred in December 1997. At that time, Dynamo invited three players from Kristall Elektrostal: defensemen Vitaly Proshkin and Vladimir Dumnov, as well as forward Dmitry Vershinin. The latter never actually lined up for the Blue-and-Whites due to an injury. Dumnov played until the end of that season and then moved to Spartak. However, Proshkin managed to establish himself at Dynamo and reached a high level.
Towards the end of his career, Proshkin played productively. However, he initially started more as a stay-at-home defenseman, devoting most of his attention to his immediate duties. This was justified. A couple of mistakes could have led the young man to be dismissed from that Dynamo squad, especially considering that demanding Zinetula Bilyaletdinov took over the team in the summer. Discipline was always paramount for him. Proshkin didn’t hide the fact that in their very first conversation, the coach asked him to contribute less to attacks and to act strictly in his own zone.
Proshkin entered the world of hockey a year later than his peers, and initially lagged behind them significantly in skating skills. During his childhood years, he didn’t stand out with any exceptional skill compared to others. His first coach, Oleg Bubnov, mentioned this. He even considered expelling Vitaly from Kristall’s school at one point.
“When he left for Dynamo in 1997, everyone was surprised. They thought he would soon return to Kristall. But I told him, ‘Be patient and work hard. Everything will work out,” the expert shared with Izvestia. “It was hard work, and only hard work, that helped Vitaly,” he added.
Vitaly Proshkin
335 games, 146 (31+115) points.
2011 Gagarin Cup winner.
2000, 2006, 2008, 2011 Russian champion.
2008, 2009 IIHF WC gold medalist.
2005, 2007 IIHF WC bronze medalist.
2009, 2012 KHL All-Star Game.
02.04.2000 First Russian championship title with Dynamo Moscow.
15.05.2005 Bronze medal at the IIHF WC in Austria with Team Russia.
16.04.2006 Second Russian championship title with Ak Bars Kazan.
11.04.2008 Third Russian championship title with Salavat Yulaev.
Bilyaletdinov built his championship-winning Dynamo over three seasons. He revamped the roster, fine-tuned the system, and developed combinations. By 2000, he had created a team without weaknesses, with Proshkin being one of its integral parts – reliable, tough, and sizable on defense. In the 2000 playoffs, Vitaly scored a goal – in the second game of the final against Ak Bars. It was a remarkable sight. The defenseman, who usually stayed back, joined the attack, found himself near the crease, received a pass from Alexei Kudashov, outplayed the goalie Andrei Tsaryov, and sent the puck into the open net. We didn’t recall this moment just randomly. It emphasized how confidently the Dynamo players felt back then. Even a stay-at-home defenseman like Proshkin ventured into the offensive zone.
Dynamo defeated Ak Bars in five games to win the title. However, before experiencing the joy of victory, Proshkin went through the bitterness of defeats. In the previous season, the Blue-and-Whites lost two finals – the Russian Championship and the EuroLeague – to Magnitka. And in the beginning of 1998, they were again defeated in the EuroLeague finals by the Austrian side Feldkirch.
Kazan and Ufa machine
After clinching gold, the championship-winning Dynamo fell apart. The team lost more than half of its roster and practically all of its key players. Proshkin also left as he opted to move to Ak Bars. In Kazan, they aspired to replicate the success of 1998 and once again claim the title of Russian champion.
Ak Bars was considered one of the favorites before each season. However, the team didn’t secure the ultimate victory until 2006, when Bilyaletdinov assembled another powerhouse that would win three gold medals and one silver over the course of five years. But initially, Proshkin and the team had to pass through a defeat in the finals against Lokomotiv in 2002. A bronze medal in 2004. And three quarterfinal eliminations, including the most epic one in 2005. At that time, Kazan assembled a staked team led by numerous NHL stars, which Proshkin referred to as Real – like the Spanish football side from Madrid. Yet, in the very first round, stars like Nikolai Khabibulin, Darius Kasparaitis, Alexei Zhitnik, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Kovalev, Dan Hinote, Vincent Lecavalier, and others fell to the more disciplined Lokomotiv with 1-3 score. By the way, Proshkin didn’t fade into the background within that company. He played all 60 regular season games, and four playoff matches, which highlighted his level of play.
In the 2005 offseason, all the NHL players left Kazan. Bilyaletdinov managed to build a team according to his own standards. The coach formed the first unit of Proshkin, Raymond Giroux, Alexei Morozov, Sergei Zinovyev, and Danis Zaripov, which led the team to victory. In the playoffs, the Kazan team lost only once – in the first round against HC MVD. Then they triumphed with a 3-0 score against Salavat Yulaev, Lokomotiv, and Avangard. Proshkin set his own record for points – 8 goals and 10 assists in the regular season, with 3 goals and 11 assists in the playoffs. Ak Bars could have become the champion the following year as well. The team started the tournament as a favorite and reached the final. However, in the deciding series, they lost to Magnitka with a 2-3 score in the series.
18.05.2008 Gold medal at the IIHF WC with Team Russia, defeating Team Canada in Quebec City.
02.09.2008 First KHL game.
10.01.2009 Participant in the first-ever KHL All-Star Game.
16.04.2011 Gagarin Cup win with Salavat Yulaev.
14.08.2015 Announces his retirement.
In 2007, Proshkin moved to Salavat Yulaev, which aimed to follow in the footsteps of their neighbors and win the championship. Then, not only Proshkin relocated from Kazan to Ufa – along with him, goalkeeper Alexander Yeryomenko, defenseman Igor Shchadilov, forwards Alexei Tereshchenko and Vladimir Vorobyov made their way to Bashkortostan. In addition, Salavat signed Kirill Koltsov (Avangard), Oleg Tverdovsky (Los Angeles), Alexander Perezhogin (Montreal). During the season, Igor Grigorenko joined from Detroit. In 2008, the Ufa franchise defeated Kazan in the semifinals, and soon Proshkin became a three-time national champion, winning all three gold medals with different teams.
For the fourth time, Proshkin won the national championship during the KHL era. In 2009, Vyacheslav Bykov became the head coach of Salavat Yulaev. Many well-known players joined the team, including Dmitry Kalinin (Phoenix), Viktor Kozlov (Washington), Patrick Thoresen (HC Lugano), Sergei Zinovyev (Dynamo). In 2011, the Ufa side claimed their first and, so far, only Gagarin Cup. In that season, Salavat looked no worse than Bilyaletdinov’s Kazan machine.
Showcasing the Cup in Elektrostal
The national team, naturally, couldn’t overlook a player of Proshkin’s caliber. He participated in six IIHF World Championships. And the results of the national team with Proshkin on the roster showed a steady improvement. In 2003 and 2004, Russia remained without medals. In 2005 and 2007, they won bronze. In 2008 and 2009, they had two back-to-back triumphs.
In 2008, in the epic final against Team Canada, Ilya Kovalchuk tied the score 4-4 in the closing moments of the third period, with Proshkin being credited with an assist. The following year, he scored an important tally in the quarterfinals against Belarus, who put up a strong fight in that match and narrowly lost 3:4.
Proshkin became the third product of Elektrostal hockey to win a world championship. The first to win gold was Yury Paramoshkin in 1963. The next success was achieved by Anatoly Ionov (1965, 1966, 1968).
After winning the World Championships, Proshkin would bring the Cup to his hometown of Elektrostal. The trophy would be displayed in the Kristall sports palace. It seemed that during those days, the entire city was present at the arena and its surroundings. Proshkin recalled that he had never given out so many autographs in his life.
Proshkin doesn’t forget his hometown of Elektrostal. On December 7, 2017, a match was held in the city to celebrate the opening of the renovated Kristall sports palace, which had been under reconstruction for three years. Proshkin took to the ice as part of the Moscow Region team, playing against veterans of domestic hockey. Vitaly was wearing the jersey of his hometown’s Kristall.
“In Elektrostal, where I was born, not engaging in hockey was simply impossible. There were two paths: either go the factory or play hockey,” Proshkin told in an interview. “After the gold medal at the World Championship in Bern, I was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Elektrostal – I even have a certificate. It’s pleasant because I was born and raised there, and I’m very proud to represent this city,” he added.
Dossier
Vitaly Vasilievich Proshkin
Born: May 8, 1976, in Elektrostal (Moscow Region)
Playing career: 1994-1997 – Kristall (Elektrostal), 1997-2000 Dynamo Moscow, 2000-2007 – Ak Bars, 2007-2014 – Salavat Yulaev.
Honors: gold (2008, 2009) and bronze (2005, 2007) medal at the IIHF WC, Gagarin Cup champion (2011), gold (2000, 2006, 2008, 2011), silver (2002, 2007) and bronze (2004, 2010, 2014) medal at the Russian championship, European Champions Cup champion (2007).
