Player of the day : Sergei Makarov #player #day #hockey #russia

Sergei Mikhailovich Makarov (Russian: Серге́й Михайлович Макаров; born June 19, 1958 in Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union) is a Russian former ice hockey right wing and two-time Olympic gold medalist. He was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries.^[1]

Makarov was trained entirely in the Soviet Union. He won two World Junior Championships, and was named the best player during his second victory in 1978. Makarov was also on the gold-winning Soviet national ice hockey team in the World Championships in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989 and 1990 and in the Canada Cup in 1981. At the Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in 1984 and 1988 and a silver in 1980 as a member of the USSR team. In the Soviet Union, Makarov played 11 championship seasons with CSKA Moscow (Red Army), winning the Soviet player of the year award eight times, MVP three times, and leading the league in points nine times and goals three times. Together with Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov, they formed the KLM line, one of the most talented and feared lines ever to play hockey. He was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1984).^[2]

In 1989, Makarov was allowed by the Soviet Union to join the National Hockey League and the Calgary Flames.

 He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year at the age of 31 (as a result, the rules were changed and now only players under 26 qualify for the award – the Makarov Rule). At 25.9% his shooting percentage was the highest of all NHL players, including Gretzky.

Makarov also played for the San Jose Sharks from 1993 to 1995. For the 1995–96 season Makarov was dropped from the Sharks’ roster and did not play and became an assistant coach for the Russian national team during the World Cup. In the time Makarov was in the NHL, nobody over the age of 31 scored more goals.

After separating from his first wife Vera in Calgary, he met Mary, who had worked for the San Jose Sharks in the ticket sales. They married and had two children, Nicky and Katya.
In the 1996–97 season, Sergei made two comeback attempts, first with the Dallas Stars, for whom he played four games, followed by playing for HC Fribourg-Gottéron in Switzerland's Nationalliga A with former teammates Viacheslav Bykov and Andrei Khomutov.

Makarov is again divorced, and is living in Russia. His ex-wife and children, son Nicky and daughter Katya, still live in California. Makarov still works as a certified player agent who acts as a liaison for young Russians wanting to play in North America.

In 2001 Sergei was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame during the Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany.

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