The guest of honor for the celebration of the 90th anniversary of Hungarian hockey was legendary netminder and current IIHF council member Vladislav Tretiak.
“The Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation has done great work” these were the words of Mr Tretiak, he continued on saying “ the fans are great and we are all familiar with the work that Dr. Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer has done.” Tretiak and Kolbenheyer know each other very well since Dr. Kolbenheyer is the only Hungarian and one of two women who are IIHF council members with Mr. Tretiak.
We were lucky enough to chat with the three time Olympic, ten time World and Canada Cup champion during his short stay in Budapest. “90 years is a long period of time, for Russians they are only celebrating 70 years of hockey. Hungary has achieved much during this time. As a goalie I am very familiar with the name István Hírcsák who was the best goalie in the world in the 1930s.”
Tretiak also seems to be familiar with the current situation of Hungarian hockey and as a true sports diplomat who knows what Hungary is trying to do in an effort to make the sport even more popular in this country. “I know that for the sport to develop in Hungary more and more ice rinks need to be constructed. We have noticed that the Hungarian Federation is trying to host more and more World Championships in an effort to make the sport more popular.”
As all Hungarian fans the 2015 World Championships in Russia was a memorable event that included a terrific win of Belarus, but also a moment that went beyond the game of hockey as the Hungarian fans sang the National Anthem after every game regardless of the outcome. This left a deep impact on everyone including Mr. Tretiak. “The first thing that the Russians know about Hungarian hockey are the great Hungarian fans, which we all saw in St. Petersburg, this was a great experience for everyone. I was at the game against Canada and I had goosebumps when I heard the fans singing the Hungarian national anthem.”
On a more personal note Vladislav Tretiak was also kind enough to mention a couple words about what he considers one of the hardest moments of his playing career, which the 1980 Olympics loss to the United States. “I was pulled after the first period and this was a big mistake by the coach. I always joke with Americans that they can thank the coach for his mistake because without it they would not have such a memorable moment in hockey history.”
After Hungary defeated Poland by the score of 5-1 Vladislav Tretiak had the opportunity to hand out the Player of the Game awards. Netminder Dávid Duschek was voted as the best player for team Hungary and thus having a chance to receive the award from arguably the greatest goalie of all time.
