Viktor Sergeyevich Konovalenko (March 11, 1938, Gorky — February 20, 1996, Nizhny Novgorod) was a Soviet ice hockey goaltender, Honored Master of Sport of the USSR (1963), two-time Olympic champion, and multiple world and European champion. He spent his entire playing career at Torpedo (nnov.ec), repeatedly turning down offers to join Moscow clubs. He is considered one of the finest goaltenders in Soviet hockey of his era; in his honor, a hockey stadium in Avtozavodsky District of Nizhny Novgorod bears his name.[2]
Road to Hockey
Konovalenko grew up in Gorky and from an early age played hockey and football for the Torpedo youth team. At 14 he took a job at the Gorky Automobile Plant to help support his large family, but he never gave up training. He started out as a forward, and those years of playing out on the ice gave him an excellent skating ability — a quality that would later define his style in goal: he was quick and mobile in his own zone.[2]
Konovalenko broke into Torpedo's first team in 1956. In his debut league match he stopped every shot and firmly established himself as the club's starting goaltender. Over his career in the Soviet championship he played a total of 450 games. In 1961, Torpedo finished as runners-up in the national championship.[2]
International Career
Konovalenko first played for the Soviet national team in 1961 at the World Championship, where the Soviet side won only the European silver and the world bronze, finishing behind Canada and Czechoslovakia. After that tournament he vowed to win only gold at the international level — and he kept his word: over a long international career he claimed two Olympic titles and eight world championships. A ninth title might have been possible, but incautious public remarks about the national team's problems led to a temporary ban from playing for the national side.[2]
Those who played alongside Konovalenko spoke of his remarkable goaltending instincts, composure, and ability to inspire confidence in his teammates. The skaters who played with him admitted they felt their backs were protected like armor. He is credited with inventing a special technique: at the moment of a shot he would rotate his pad 45 degrees so that the puck deflected into the corner of the rink toward the defensemen. Defenseman Aleksandr Ragulin considered Konovalenko more reliable than his famous successor Vladislav Tretiak, though the two goaltenders always maintained a warm relationship: Viktor Sergeyevich welcomed the young Tretiak like a father and even gave him his lucky number-20 jersey.[2]
Personal Life
On April 22, 1961, Viktor Konovalenko married Valentina. They were neighbors: Valentina lived on Ilyich Avenue, and Viktor lived in prefabricated temporary housing on Oktyabrya Avenue. According to Valentina Konovalenko, in an interview given to journalist Igor Rabiner in 2013, Viktor had first noticed her during his school years, when he walked through her courtyard every day. His wife described him as a calm and composed man.[1]
Legacy
Viktor Konovalenko was born in Gorky and died in Nizhny Novgorod — the city that remained his home throughout his life, despite the pressure and temptation to play for clubs in the capital. The hockey stadium in Avtozavodsky District bears his name; before that stadium was rebuilt, Torpedo's main arena was the KRK Nagorny in Sovetsky District.[2]
Sources
- hctorpedo2004.ru — Viktor Konovalenko — the legendary goaltender of Gorky's Torpedo — HC Torpedo 2004 Nizhny Novgorod
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — The love of hockey's father figure: the family life of the renowned Nizhny Novgorod hockey player Viktor Konovalenko