The Big Yak, Alexander Yakushev, was the Soviets leading scorer and only trailed Phil Esposito by one point in the overall scoring lead. His 7 goals tied him with Espo and Paul Henderson for the lead. Four times he was named as the Soviet's game MVP. A giant, stone-faced left winger, Yakushev thrived in the slot and was to Team Russia as Phil Esposito was to Team Canada. There is no question that the Big Yak would have been a first line NHLer on any NHL team.

 

"Paul Henderson and I have a similar story," he said. "Neither of us was considered a great star before the series. Now hockey fans in the Soviet Union and Canada know our names. In later years, I became one of the great players on the national team. This series was the turning point in my career."

STATISTICS

                   Pos.   GP   G   A  P  PIM
--------------------------------------------
Alexander Yakushev  LW     8   7  4  11  4
--------------------------------------------

Career Biography

Alexander Yakushev was a rarity in Soviet Hockey, especially back in the 1960's and 1970's when he played. He was a giant. Most Russians were stereotyped as small, speedy and slick stickhandlers.

"Big Yak" was a lanky and elegant scoring machine. He was the equivalent to Team Russia as Phil Esposito was to Team Canada. Each player dominated their respective offensive slots. Yakushev was immovable, but he had goal scorer hands. In fact, he led the Soviet squad in scoring during that famed 1972 Summit Series. He had 7 goals, 4 assists for 11 points in 8 games.

While there has always been arguments that many of the speedy and skilled Soviets couldn't have survived very long in the 1970's NHL, there is little doubt that Alexander Yakushev would have been a top line player on any team. His size intimidated, his offensive instincts amazed, and his stature is truly legendary.

Like so many great Russian and Eastern European hockey stars during the 1960s, 1970s and even parts of the 1980s, we were almost completely robbed of enjoying the immense package of skills many of these players had to offer. Politics and differing societies led to this.

Career Statistics

Born: 1/2/1947 Moscow, USSR
Height: 6'3"  Weight: 200lbs
Position: LW  Shoots: L
Career Notes: 2 Olympic Gold Medals, 7 World Championships Gold Medal, Named best forward at World Championships 1975

Season	Club	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1963-64	Spartak Moscow	-	1	-	1	-
1964-65	Spartak Moscow	-	5	-	5	-
1965-66	Spartak Moscow	-	7	-	7	-
1966-67	Spartak Moscow	44	34	-	34	-
1967-68	Spartak Moscow	44	17	-	17	-
1968-69	Spartak Moscow	42	50	-	50	-
1969-70	Spartak Moscow	43	33	-	33	-
1970-71	Spartak Moscow	40	13	-	13	-
1971-72	Spartak Moscow	32	17	-	17	-
1972-73	Spartak Moscow	29	26	10	36	-
1973-74	Spartak Moscow	32	26	11	37	12
1974-75	Spartak Moscow	35	16	18	34	34
1975-76	Spartak Moscow	36	31	20	51	15
1976-77	Spartak Moscow	31	17	11	28	24
1977-78	Spartak Moscow	32	10	9	19	12
1978-79	Spartak Moscow	44	19	20	39	44
1979-80	Spartak Moscow	43	17	12	29	20
1980-81	SV Kapfenberg	34	46	44	90	61
1981-82	SV Kapfenberg	37	29	43	72	-
1982-83	SV Kapfenberg	38	33	58	91	-
Soviet	League	568	339	-	-	-

 

Hockey Card Notes:

#1 - Alexander Yakushev - Hockey Card #106 from Future Trends 1991 Canada Cup retrospective set.