Without a doubt there was a slew of phenomenal players who came out of the Soviet Union and the machine that was the Red Army.  One such great player is blueliner Alexi Kasatonov, who played for the elite national team throughout the 1980’s where he was a two time Olympic Gold Medal winner (1984 & 1988), a Canada Cup Gold Medalist (1981) and a five time World Hockey Championship winner.  Kasatonov was easily among the elite of Soviet Defenseman and he was also a multi-time champion in the Soviet League with CSKA Moscow.  He would join the NHL at age 30 and while he was not a top player anymore, he was a still an All-Star in 1984.

Part 2 of 8: Kirk Buchner discusses the Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibles from the AFC South with Vinny Lospinuso.

A Second Team All-Star with the Winnipeg Jets prior to his arrival in Chicago, Alex Zhamnov had a good run for the Chicago Blackhawks albeit while playing for them when they were not particularly that good.  An All-Star in 2012, the Russian Centre would have four 60 Point seasons with 424 in total for the Blackhawks averaging a solid .80 PPG.  Sadly for Zhamnov, he is dead last of this of 50 in terms of Playoff Games for the Blackhawks as he only played in five of them.