Boris Pavlovich Kulagin (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Борис Павлович Кулагин; December 31, 1924 – January 25, 1988) was a

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. Kulagin was one of the first players in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

to play organized

in the 1940s. Prior to this time Kulagin played bandy or "Russian hockey". Kulagin would later coach teams in the Soviet Union, eventually becoming national team coach in the 1970s. Kulagin was born in

Barnaul Barnaul ( rus, Барнау́л, p=bərnɐˈul) is the largest city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob Rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As of the 2021 Census, its population was ...

in the

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

district of the Soviet Union. In 1930, along with his family, Kulagin moved to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, where his father was stationed in the military. In 1936, Kulagin was enrolled in hockey lessons, joining the hockey (bandy) division of the Moscow Dynamo sports society. Kulagin continued to play ball hockey until the 1940s, when the Soviet Union Central Committee ordered the conversion of organized play into ice hockey, then considered "Canadian hockey". Kulagin disliked the transition from bandy but was bound to the change to remain in the profession. After a few seasons of Soviet ice hockey playing Canadian rules, Kulagin suffered a career-ending leg injury and transitioned into coaching. During the 1950s, Kulagin ran sports programs in Orenburg. Kulagin was transferred to Moscow in the 1960s and Kulagin became assistant coach to

Anatoli Tarasov Anatoly Vladimirovich Tarasov (russian: Анато́лий Влади́мирович Тара́сов; 10 December 1918 – 23 June 1995) was a Russian ice hockey player and coach. Tarasov is considered "the father of Russian ice hockey" and es ...

HC CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow (1946–present, russian: ЦСКА Москва, Центральный Спортивный Клуб Армии, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. The club i ...

, the Central Red Army team. Tarasov was also the national team coach, and Kulagin became assistant on the national team. After Tarasov was removed from the national team head coach position, Kulagin was retained as assistant coach to head coach

Vsevolod Bobrov Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov ( rus, Все́волод Миха́йлович Бобро́в, p=ˈfsʲevələd bɐˈbrof; 1 December 1922 – 1 July 1979) was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in football, bandy and ice hockey. He is consider ...

. Kulagin was assistant coach on the first "super series" between the Soviet national team and the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

-based Team Canada in 1972, the " Summit Series". During the season, Kulagin was head coach of the Soviet Wings. After his team won the Soviet league championship in 1974, Kulagin was promoted to national team coach to replace Bobrov. Kulagin would be Soviet head coach in the second super series, the " 1974 Summit Series" against a WHA-based Team Canada. Unlike 1972, the Soviets won the series and it would be the start of a decade of supremacy of ice hockey by the Soviet national team. Kulagin remained national team coach until the final period of the

1977 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1977 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Vienna, Austria from 21 April to 8 May. Eight teams took part, first playing each other once, then the four best teams advancing to a new round. The tournament was also the 55th ice hockey ...

. With Sweden in the lead 2–1 after two periods of play, and the Soviet Union needing a win to take the championship, Kulagin was replaced as head coach by assistant coach

Konstantin Loktev Konstantin Borisovich Loktev (April 16, 1933 – November 4, 1996) was a Soviet ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC CSKA Moscow. He was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964. ...

by the head of the Soviet delegation. Kulagin went on to coach

Rødovre Mighty Bulls The Rødovre Mighty Bulls is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Rødovre, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 1961 and play their home games in the Rødovre Skøjte Arena ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

for 2 seasons, winning the Danish Championship in his first season. Kulagin returned to the Soviet Union in 1980 and coached Moscow Spartak until his death in 1988.

Awards and honours

* 1969 — Merited Coach of the USSR * Order of Red Banner of Labor (1975) and "Badge of Honor" (1981) * 2004 — Elected to the Hall of Fame of Russian hockey

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulagin, Boris 1924 births 1988 deaths Soviet ice hockey players Soviet ice hockey coaches Merited Coaches of the Soviet Union Traktor Chelyabinsk players HC CSKA Moscow players Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery Soviet Union national ice hockey team coaches