Yevgeni Vladimirovich Belosheikin (; April 17, 1966 – November 18, 1999) was a professional

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 ...

player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for the

HC CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow (, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a professional ice hockey club based in Moscow, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It is referred to in the West as "Central R ...

and SKA Leningrad. He also played on the Soviet Union's

1987 Canada Cup The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team ...

and

Rendez-vous '87 Rendez-vous '87 was a two-game international ice hockey series of games between the Soviet Union national ice hockey team and a team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League, held in Quebec City. It replaced the NHL's All-Star festivities ...

teams. He was nicknamed "Evgeny the Great" and was touted as the next

Vladislav Tretiak Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak State Duma, MP ( rus, links=no, Владислав Александрович Третьяк, p=trʲɪˈtʲjak; born 25 April 1952) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. ...

– and had even been tutored by Tretiak and wore his number 20, though their styles bore little resemblance. In 1986 Belosheikin was named the outstanding goaltender of the 1986

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

s in Hamilton,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. During the tournament the U.S.S.R went undefeated, winning 7 games and Belosheikin allowed only 8 goals in 5 games (He shared goal tending with Oleg Bratash in 1985 and 1986.). He was the starting goalie for the U.S.S.R. during the 1986 and 1987

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

, when he won a gold and silver medal. On New Year's Eve 1986, Belosheikin led the Soviets to a 4-1 win over Canada and was also named the outstanding goaltender in the 1987 Calgary Cup, a pre-Olympic tournament. He played 3 games, including the classic double-overtime second final game, in the

. During the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

he was the U.S.S.R.'s third, or back up, goalie and did not dress for any games (but, like

Nikolai Khabibulin Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin (; rus, Николай Александрович Хабибулин, p=xəbʲɪˈbulʲɪn, born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", h ...

at the next Winter Olympics, who also did not play, Belosheikin was a member of the gold medal winning team.) Belosheikin's final game of his international career was on February 2, 1988 with a 4-1 win in an exhibition game against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Though he was considered the heir apparent to

as the next great Soviet goaltender, Belosheikin suffered problems with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. After being drugged and robbed after a night of drinking with teammate

Alexei Gusarov Alexei Vasilievich Gusarov (; born July 8, 1964) is a Russian former ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues. Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky were the first Russian-born play ...

, he suffered liver and vision problems, which hastened the end of his career. In 1991 the Edmonton Oilers selected him in the 11th round, 232nd overall in the NHL Entry Draft, though Belosheikin reported to camp that year, he was immediately sent to the Oilers Cape Breton

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

where he played only 3 games. Belosheikin never played in the NHL. Belosheikin died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on November 18, 1999.

Career Statistics

International

References

External links

* * http://www.peoples.ru/sport/hockey/evgeniy_belosheikin/
Information about his place of birth in Russian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belosheikin, Yevgeni 1966 births 1999 suicides 1999 deaths Cape Breton Oilers players Edmonton Oilers draft picks HC CSKA Moscow players Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic ice hockey players for the Soviet Union Russian ice hockey goaltenders SKA Saint Petersburg players Soviet ice hockey goaltenders Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Sportspeople from Sakhalin Oblast