Nikolai Mikhailovich Sologubov (russian: Николай Михайлович Сологубов; 8 August 1924 – 30 December 1988Ice Hockey Fame Museum of Russia
mhsr.ru) was a Russian

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 hock ...

defenceman who won a gold and a bronze medal with Soviet teams at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, respectively.

World War II

Sologubov took part in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Serving in the

naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

he was wounded in the foot in a battle near

Shlisselburg Shlisselburg ( rus, Шлиссельбу́рг, p=ʂlʲɪsʲɪlʲˈburk; german: Schlüsselburg; fi, Pähkinälinna; sv, Nöteborg), formerly Oreshek (Орешек) (1323–1611) and Petrokrepost (Петрокрепость) (1944–1992), is ...

in 1943 when he stepped on a German booby trap.The Champion Came from the Front
. tribuna.ruA Soldier Came from the War into Ice Hockey
''

Soviet Sport , logo = SovSport.png , image = Sovetskiy Sport nameplate May 19 1988.png , caption = ''Soviet Sports'' nameplate on the May 19, 1988 issue , type = , format = , own ...

'', 4 May 2000 After a month and a half rehabilitation at a hospital he returned to

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

into the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

and served as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. Six months later he was wounded into his arm, but returned to the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

front once again. He was wounded for the third time during the

Krasnoye Selo Krasnoye Selo (russian: Кра́сное Село́, lit. ''Red village''). Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-Пресс", 2002 is a munic ...

offensive, when a "jumping mine" exploded very close to him. The wound was so serious, that doctors were going to

amputate Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...

his leg, suspecting

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

. Fortunately, this diagnosis had not been confirmed, but he was operated four times on the right leg and four times on the left one.

Sports career

Sologubov took up skating to heal his foot injury and played ice hockey for several Moscow-based teams from 1949 to 1964, finishing with SKA Kalinin in 1964–65. He played for the national team in all major tournaments from 1955 to 1963 (except for the boycotted

1962 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 29th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Colorado Springs and Denver, United States from March 8 to March 18, 1962. This was the first World Championship hosted ...

), including Winter Olympics, world and European championships. He was the team captain in 1957–61 and served as the Soviet Olympic flag bearer at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1956 and the European title in 1955–56, 1958–60 and 1963. At the world championships he won a gold medal in 1956 and 1963, a silver in 1955 and 1957–1959, and a bronze in 1960 and 1961, and was named world's best defenceman in 1956, 1957 and 1960. He was inducted into the

IIHF Hall of Fame The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the Interna ...

in 2004. Sologubov is known for trying to help the U.S. team at the 1960 Winter Olympics. When the U.S. was losing to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Sologubov went to their dressing room and informed them (using gestures, because he did not speak English) that they should use oxygen cans for better recovery during the breaks. The Americans came back to win the game and the gold medal. The Soviets needed the United States to defeat Czechoslovakia to have an opportunity to win the silver medal. However, the Soviets would lose their last game of the tournament, ending in a third place.

Retirement, awards and honours

In 1957, Sologubov was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

. He was also awarded the

Medal for Battle Merit A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

and the

Medal "For Labour Valour" The Medal "For Labour Valour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовую доблесть») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or ...

. After retiring from competitions he coached ice hockey teams in

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

(1966–67) and

Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...

(1967–68). In 1967 he published a book ''My Friend Hockey'' (russian: Мой друг хоккей).

References

External links

A to Z Encyclopedia of Ice Hockey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sologubov, Nikolai 1924 births 1988 deaths Ice hockey players at the 1956 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic ice hockey players of the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in ice hockey Russian ice hockey players Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet Navy personnel Ice hockey people from Moscow Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees