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

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 ...

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

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 ...

and

SKA Leningrad The Hockey Club SKA (russian: Спортивный клуб СКА), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg. They are members o ...

. 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 – 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), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, 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 t ...

s in Hamilton,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. During the tournament the U.S.S.R went undefeated, winning 7 games and surrendering only 14 goals. A year later he was also named the outstanding goaltender in the 1987

Calgary Cup The Calgary Cup was a four-team ice hockey tournament held from December 26, 1986, to January 3, 1987, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was a preview event for the 1988 Winter Olympics, and featured the national hockey teams of Canada, Czechoslovak ...

, a pre-olympic tournament that took place just before the

. On New Year's Eve 1986, Belosheikin led the Soviets to a 4-1 win over Canada. Belosheikin would end his international career on February 2, 1988 with a 4-1 win in an exhibition game against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Though he was considered the heir apparent to Vladislav Tretiak as the next great Soviet goaltender, Belosheikin suffered problems with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

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

Alexei Gusarov Alexei Vasilievich Gusarov (russian: Алексей Васильевич Гусаров) (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. ...

, 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 The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

, though Belosheikin reported to camp that year, he was immediately sent to the Oilers Cape Breton affiliate where he played only 3 games. Belosheikin never did play a game in the NHL. Belosheikin committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on November 18, 1999.

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 Suicides by hanging in Russia Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Sportspeople from Sakhalin Oblast