Alexei Viktorovich Kasatonov (; born 14 October 1959) is a Russian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, who was a long-time member of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2009.

Career

On the international stage, Kasatonov won two Olympic gold medals, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and 1988, and silver in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. He won an additional five gold medals at the World Championships in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986 and 1989. On the club level, Kasatonov played for SKA Leningrad, CSKA Moscow,

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

, St. Louis Blues, and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

. He was Anaheim's lone representative in the 1994 National Hockey League All-Star Game. Following a shoulder injury in an

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(AHL) game for the

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in 1996, Kasatonov retired from the NHL and returned to play one last season for his former club CSKA Moscow. The severity of the injury led Kasatonov to end his playing career, and he returned to New Jersey to settle down with his wife and son. In 1998, Kasatonov was the general manager of the Russian Olympic Team that captured the silver medal in Nagano. After the Olympics he began training his son, and soon began coaching youth hockey in the

Tri-State area Tri-state area is an informal term in the United States which can refer to any of multiple areas that lie across three states. When referring to populated areas, the term implies a shared economy or culture among the area's residents, typically c ...

, running his own weekly clinics in

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for seven years. In 2003, Kasatonov founded the Admirals Hockey Club, which at its peak had five teams ranging from Squirts to Juniors. In 2004, Kasatonov accepted the head coaching position at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. In 2008, Kasatonov returned to Russia for a head coaching position at PHC Krylya Sovetov. In 2010, Kasatonov was the vice president of CSKA Moscow. In 2011–12, Kasatonov became the vice president and general manager of SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League, the first club that he played for in the Soviet Union.

Honours and awards

* IIHF Hall of Fame (inducted 2009) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 4th class * Order of Honour *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

* Order of the Badge of Honour * Medal "For Distinguished Labour" *NHL All-Star game (1994)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasatonov, Alexei 1959 births Living people Ice hockey people from Saint Petersburg Boston Bruins players HC CSKA Moscow players Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players National Hockey League All-Stars New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Olympic ice hockey players for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Providence Bruins players Russian ice hockey coaches Russian ice hockey defencemen St. Louis Blues players SKA Saint Petersburg players Soviet expatriate ice hockey players Soviet expatriate sportspeople in the United States Soviet ice hockey defencemen Utica Devils players Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour