Branko Radivojevic: the idol of Sokolniki
We’re off to Spartak via Slovakia in the latest KHL.ru article about a legend of the league. Which means we’re talking aboug Branko Radivojevic, who blazed a trail in Red-and-White in the first years of the KHL.
In supporting roles
In the mid to late 90s, European hockey was turning into a conveyor belt for the NHL. There was no league of comparable renown on this side of the Atlantic. And so, from countries like Slovakia and the Czech Republic, many players left at a young age. Branko Radivojevic was no exception, heading to Canada aged 17. Like most of his compatriots, he was looking to rise through the minor leagues, a process that took almost four seasons.
In the NHL, Radivojevic never became a star. Sure, he was a regular for Phoenix, Philadelphia and Minnesota, never finding himself reassigned to the taxi squad. But he was always in the bottom six, putting in the ugly, unheralded shits. He never got a chance to show himself as a leader. Radivojevic wasn’t alone in this: the likes of Kevin Dallman, Nigel Dawes, Brandon Bochenski and many more spent many years on the bubble before coming to the KHL to blossom into next-level players. And that was exactly the story for the hero of this article.
Branko Radivojevic
328 games
207 points
World Championship silver (2012) and bronze (2003)
KHL All-Star (2009, 2010)
Czech champion (2016)
Slovak playoff MVP (2018)
June 7, 2008 Signed for Spartak
Sep. 2, 2008 Made his debut with 3 (1+2) points in Spartak’s first KHL game
Jan. 10, 2009 Played in the first KHL All-Star Game on Moscow’s Red Square
Aug. 8, 2011 Moved to Atlant and played one season with the Moscow Region club
At the same time, Radivojevic regularly played for his national team. And at the start of the 21st century, Slovakia was on a high. With a stellar offense that was the envy of many, the Slovaks won three World Championship medals between 2000 and 2003, one of each color. Radivojevic played his part, featuring on the bronze-medal roster from 2003. A year later, he was at the World Cup, a best-on-best tournament. In 2007 he again played at the World Championship, this time here in Russia.
In 2008, Radivojevic had offers to stay in the NHL. However, he was more interested in returning to Europe and finding a team where he could be a leader. He moved to Spartak, where Andrei Yakovenko was recently appointed GM. Yakovenko worked for many years in the Czech Republic and knew the Czech and Slovak markets well. Indeed, he was the leading expert on hockey in these countries. Yakovenko almost completely flipped the roster that had been assembled by Valery Bragin. And, when he chose his imports, he looked to Slovakia and brought defenseman Ivan Baranka and forward Stefan Ruzicka back from North America. Like Radivojevic, both had played supporting roles in the NHL. But in the KHL they showed their strongest qualities and, for several seasons, were among the best in their positions.
A leader at Spartak
When he first arrived in the KHL, Radivojevic spoke little Russian. However, understanding the importance of studying the language, he was giving his first interviews in Russian halfway through his first season. And he predicted that in future, many players from North America would want to play in the KHL, pointing to the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Alexander Radulov. “The arrivals of these players is a great advert for a new league,” he said.
At the same time, Radivojevic quickly won the hearts of the Spartak fans. The Red-and-Whites began the first KHL season with two gala home games against Atlant and CSKA. Both games finished 6-5, the first in OT and the second after a shoot-out. In both games, Radivojevic had 3 (1+2) points, and against CSKA he converted his attempt in the shoot-out. That also snapped a losing streak for Spartak against its Moscow rival which dated back to Oct. 2002.
Thus Radivojevic became an idol at Sokolniki. He was the personification of that Spartak team and its thrilling, offensive hockey. He was a leader on and off the ice, a welcoming, friendly guy who always had time to talk.
In the first season in Russia, Radivojevic played in what he later described as his most memorable game in the KHL. In the first round of the playoffs, Spartak faced SKA. After two games in St. Petersburg, the Red-and-Whites were up 2-0, with Radivojevic potting the winner in the opening game. But in Moscow, the visitor reclaimed the initiative and led 2-0 after the first period of game three. Spartak responded by turning the game on its head in the second. Radivojevic had a goal and an assist as the home team scored three times to take the lead. That 3-2 scoreline lasted until the final hooter, securing Spartak’s place in the next round. Radivojevic finished the season as his team’s scoring leader. And his team finished in the top eight for the first time since 1994.
The next season was even better for Radivojevic. Spartak added to its Slovak contingent, signing defenseman Jaroslav Obsut and forward Martin Cibak. After knocking out Dynamo Moscow in the first round, the Red-and-Whites tripped up against Lokomotiv for a second season in round two.
Radivojevic had 12 more points, taking him to 55. At the time, there were only four occasions when a player enjoyed a more productive season for the club – Vyacheslav Starshinov (56), Sergei Kapustin (61) and Alexander Kozhevnikov (71 and 57). Branko was the most productive import in the team’s history.
In 2010, he was Spartak’s captain. However, for various reasons, the team struggled from the start and lost game after game. By the start of October head coach Milos Riha was on his way out. In the latter half of the season the Red-and-Whites improved, making it to the playoffs but no further.
Career highlights
At this time there was something of a tradition at Spartak. Each off-season saw the club captain leave. In 2009, Maxim Rybin departed. A year later, it was Dmitry Upper’s turn. And in 2011, Radivojevic followed suit. The Slovak forward joined his old team-mates Upper, Eduard Levandovsky, Igor Musatov and Ilya Kablukov at Atlant. In the same summer, three more ex-Spartak men made the same move: Dmitry Kochnev, Denis Bayev and Alexander Rybakov.
In the previous season Riha arrived at Atlant and led the team to the Gagarin Cup final. However, the ex-Spartak head coach joined St. Petersburg in spring. And it was his SKA team that dumped Atlant out of the 2012 playoffs in the second round. Radivojevic did not lick his wounds for long: soon he was enjoying one of the best tournaments of his career.
By this time, Slovakia was no longer expected to impress in international play. Many renowned stars had retired or fallen by the wayside. Their replacements tended to be fairly average. Ahead of the 2012 World Championship, few expected more than a place in the knock-out stage. When the Slovaks were drawn against Canada in the quarter-final, those predictions seemed safe. The Canadians brought a stacked roster and breezed through the group stage. At the second intermission, they led Slovakia 3-2. However, in the last seven minutes, Slovakia scored twice for a sensational win.
In the semifinals, it seemed that once again everything was against Slovakia. The Czechs defeated host nation Sweden in the quarterfinal with a powerful roster led by Ales Hemsky, David Krejci, Martin Erat, Milan Mikhalek and Tomas Plekanec. However, Slovakia responded with discipline and organization, plus solid goaltending from Jan Laco, who was playing for Lev Poprad in the KHL at the time. The result was another shock – 3-1 for Slovakia.
May 3, 2012 returned to Spartak on a two-year deal
May 20, 2012 played in the World Championship final as Slovakia lost to Russia
March 4, 2014 played his final KHL game for Slovan
March 21, 2019 retired from playing and moved into coaching
In the final, Slovakia ran out of steam. Russia had a stacked roster of its own and eased to a 6-2 victory. Nonetheless, silver for Slovakia was a huge success. Radivojevic completed the greatest achievement of his career, and his 8 (4+4) points placed him second in team scoring.
A year later, Radivojevic played his last World Championship. He was third in team scoring with 5 (3+2) points. This time, though, Slovakia could not exceed expectations and fell in the QF to Finland. Radivojevic made his final international appearances in Sochi. He went to the games as a reserve but ended up on the roster after Marian Gaborik failed to recover from injury.
After that Olympic season, Radivojevic left the KHL. He played a further six seasons in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. With Liberec he won gold and silver in the Czech championship, leading the team in playoff scoring in the title-winning season.
Radivojevic ended his career where it all began at Dukla Trencin. After hanging up his skates he took on a new rule at the club, where he remains the sporting director.
Fact file
Branko Radivojevic
Born Nov. 24, 1980 in Piestany (Czechoslovakia)
Playing career: 1997-1998, 2014-2015, 2017-2020 – Dukla Trencin (SVK), 1998-2001 – Belleville Bulls (Канада), 2001-2004 – Phoenix (NHL), 2001-2002 – Springfield Falcons (AHL), 2004, 2005-2006 – Philadelphia (NHL), 2004-2005 – Vsetin (CZE), Lulea (SWE), 2006-2008 – Minnesota (NHL), 2008-2011, 2012-2013 – Spartak (KHL), 2011-2012 – Atlant (KHL), 2013-2014 – Neftekhimik, Slovan (KHL), 2014-2017 – Liberec (CZE).
Honors: World Championship silver (2012) and bronze (2003), Czech Championship gold (2016) and silver (2017).
