Viacheslav Fetisov

Viacheslav Fetisov

Viacheslav "Slava" Alexandrovich Fetisov (Russian: Вячеслав (Слава) Александрович Фетисов, Vjačeslav (Slava) Aleksandrovič Fetisov; born April 20, 1958) is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman. He played for HC CSKA Moscow for 11 seasons before joining the National Hockey League (NHL), where he played with the New Jersey Devils and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings. Fetisov was instrumental in breaking the barrier that stopped Soviet players from joining the NHL. Internationally, he was a long-time captain for the Soviet Union national team and won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics. Considered one of the best defensemen of all time, he was voted as one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team.

After retiring as a player, Fetisov embarked on a political and executive career. He is currently a member of the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, president of professional Russian hockey club HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), chairman of the Board of Directors of the KHL and chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athletes Committee. He was also the Minister of Sport in Russia from 2002 to 2008.