Mogilny isn't in the hall of fame, and that's a fucking joke. He was one of the game's most dominant players for a a decade plus. The fact he had over 1,000 points in less than 1,000 games played should be enough for the Hall of Fame.
I had to look this up to confirm it, because the thought was so unbelievable. How in the hell is he not in the HoF yet?? Definitely one of the greatest Russian players of all time, and if not for injury would have been the first Russian to get 1000 points in the NHL.
@@cgasucks That's actually a fairly good point because while Bure's stats were fucking phenomenal, he did it in 702 games. Granted over 400 goals in those 702 games is impressive, having over 1,000 points in just a bit below 1,000 games is probably equally as impressive.
I have his hockey card. Its a good card. Probably worth at least 20 bucks. But he was one of the few hockey players I respected growing up. He was great. But not as good as my boy Dalton.
Mogilny : 473 Goals 559 assists 1032 pts in the NHL. Great player. Will never forget the night he broke his leg. Can't watch the video, the break was so bad!
Amazing story.. imagine that defecting from the Soviet army at 20 years old. Incredible. Alex was very underrated as a great hockey player. History should be kind to him.
6 лет назад
This story reminds me the Stastny brothers defecting Czechoslovakia in 1980 to end up with the Québec Nordiques. Another James Bond episode!
As a Buffalo native, I remember the "events" leading up to his arrival. I was and still am, fortunate to have been there in person to witness Alex's 1st NHL goal. His speed (and then the after burners!!), skating ability, stick and puck control..as if not human, from another world. Alex Mogilny #89 Buffalo Sabres FOREVER! THANK YOU for the in depth presentation.
I'm a Toronto fan & i loved it when Mogilny played for the Leafs, he was a very strong on his skates type of player with a wicked wrist & snap shot. The Leafs had a very strong team then when Mogilny played for Toronto.
all the hate in the comments about russians or the music, instead of recognizing mogilny started something that brought some of the best talents to ever grace the NHL.. and opened a door for players like ovechkin to see they too could make the NHL..
I’ve been a Mogilny freak for 20 years, I was excited to hear about this doc but I couldn’t hear half of what was said due to insane drama music full blast.
Some of the greatest NHL players of all time came from the soviet system in the 90's. Without them, the red wings would have never had their dynasty. Mogilny, federov, bure...
Al-Mo was my favorite Maple Leaf in the early 2000's. I used to watch him play for Buff and NJ and despised them for having such a talent. When he and Cujo both became Leafs, I shit my pants. xD They will both have a place in my heart forever. A BIG part of my childhood was spent admiring these guys!!!
Alex was my favorite player from NHL ‘94 and he encompasses my playstyle more than any other player. Fast, played the wrong side wing and tough in the corners. I switched my number from 77 to 89 and a year or so later, Tattooed “Eighty Nine” in the wedding font on my shoulder. Never forget the struggle
The story of how Petr Klima was literally smuggled out of Czechlslovakia in the trunk of a car during the Cold War by the Red Wings should also be told.
That was a crazy time. Lots of athletes were defecting. I was pretty young and don't recall exactly when it was but we went to an exhibition basketball game in Colorado and a few of the Soviet players made a run for it in the middle of the game. The crowd opened up for the guys running and then they blocked the minders that were chasing them.
Bossy, Trotier, and Gillies were better en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trio_Grande each won a total of 4 cups together. The Stanley Cup is 100% the hardest championship to win in all of professional sport: Canadiens, Oilers, Islanders are the TRUE dynasty holders in the annals of Hockey History and the in HHF
Hell no),they played some seasons in Soviets under 20 team and 2 seasons in Red Army 3 or r line,could of been one the greatest line ever,but even to compare them with KLM(Krutov,Larionov,Makarov) is a blasphemy.
@no name The Stanley Cup is 100% the hardest championship to win in all of professional sport: Canadiens, Oilers, Islanders are the TRUE dynasty holders in the annals of Hockey History and the in HHF ----- seems you are moron i will go easy on your w/ analogy!! imagine different countries and there are different mountains w/ different height!! saying that those guys were best cause they won something it is to say Appalachian are MOST TALLEST mountains IN WORLD!! they are not!!! they are just Appalachian !!! AND THERE IS A MOUNT EVEREST!!!!!!!!
@no name TRUE dynasty holders in the annals of Hockey History and the in HHF ----- buddy!!!! hockey is played not only in fricking Canada!! there is a whole world of hoceky outside Canada!!
Run along little troll, go back under your bridge... You are trying WAY too hard to make me "triggered." That moment, when you get knocked the fuck out cold, by a real man... Remember me. ;)
Did I say it was going to be me? Words mean nothing to me... LOL. When you walk around with that attitude, it is going to happen 100%. I bet you act nothing like this in public though, do you internet tough guy? Have a nice night Clay. You sure made mine!
I am a HUGE Soviet/Russian hockey fan...aside from my Devils...The CCCP National Team and CSKA Central Red Army IS my TRUE hockey heart. So happy Alex and others won cups with my Devils and so happy we helped get them into the NHL. THANK YOU LOU!!!! Also, SLAVA FETISOV...and the KLM line.
I have an old school Vancouver Mogilny jersey and my buddy has a Bure one. Big respect to Buffalo for doing this and starting the revolution of Russians coming over. Still pissed you guys got Perreault but oh well 😂
Haha, it's nice to see that missing out on Perreault is still on the radar of Canucks fans. I think that episode was ominous and basically foretold our franchise's fortunes.
Mogliny LaFontaine Hawerchuck was the hottest line in the 92-93 season and I don't care Lemieux won the scoring title. Maaaaad respect to Buffalo for bringing him over at such a high risk!!!
Pat Quinn said that Alex Mogilny was the best player he ever coached. Mats Sundin said that Mogilny was the best player he had ever played with. Now those two opinions should tell you all you need to know about him.
There is something disconcerting about Mogilny "could not be reached for comment.' This is a documentary about his remarkable life. Why is he not free to speak?
PRYVTgomerPYLE What communism? It’s almost 30 years that we’re not a communism. He was young and he said that himself “stupid” when he fled and although not many blame him now for defecting he is not proud of that and tries to avoid talking about it. As for the “fear” and the lack of the so called freedom in Russia we are quite content with what we have and girls wear skirts, you know, men marry women and when kids play hokey they score and the team that scores most wins and I for one wouldn’t for the life of me trade my unfreedom for the quote-unquote freedom that you have.
I remember watching TV one night when the announcement came across the screen that he defected and was coming to the sabres. I had no idea who he was but figured it must be big.
There was the Army Line in the 70's, The GREAT KLM Line "Green Unit" of the 80's..the BEST complete line in hockey...the 90's would have been Bure, Federov, Mogilny, Zubov and Konstintinov. THAT would have been...OMG...
For those of you complaining about the music, watch it from its original source here: www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/defector-2/ This youtube version seems to have the audio "compressed". No music was added, but it sounds like it was mixed in at a higher level. This is an amazing story.
Mogilny is easily forgotten for the most part. Over a Point Per Game in his career (900 something games, over 1000 points). Had it not been for his badly broken leg in 1993, it would have been even more impressive.
Another source from Mogilny's side of the story stated that he was beginning to have a tough time playing for coach Tikhonov. Furthermore, he'd gotten into an on-ice fight in Feb 1989 that landed him a 10 game suspension, cost him his title of "Merited Master of Sport for the Soviet Union." After that, he was determined to leave.
This is quite the story. Although I am somewhat surprised at the amount of resistance Mogilny had to overcome to leave, considering that Gorbachev had installed the glasnost policy, essentially reducing the militant Soviet culture. Considering the Soviet Union was about ready to crumble, I'd thought even if they tried to stop Mogilny's escape, they'd be powerless to do so.
When I was a kid I met the CCCP thanks to my dad who was togheter with this russian woman. Gusarov, defence, was her old class mate or something.. they were so cool, smoking in disguise cracking jokes and laughing but you could tell they had something chaperone them them... got autograph and stuff by them, so glad that russians today don´t have to live like they used to! Mogilney is a fucking hero. shame that he isn´t in the hall of fame!
This was thrilling, like a James Bond movie. It's too bad Meehan never managed to land a Cup with Mogilny, seeing how he literally put his life at stake to fetch him from the Soviets. I didn't think, by the way, that using a fifth round pick would be that much of a gamble - few players at that round actually make the NHL. On another note, the Soviet Union was about to collapse, didn't think it would be much of a struggle for defecting players.
Growing up in Czechoslovakia I just hated Soviets, especially their ice hockey team, because they were so fucking good indeed. Their 1st front line Makarov, Larionov and Krutov, backed by Kasatonov and Fetisov in defence, slaughtered anyone and I mean it! As those front three were getting older and older, they were about to be replaced by youngsters named Mogilnyj, Bure and Fedorov. Any bells ringing? :D
If only he could have waited one more year but I guess the story would be different and who knows if Tihonov would be a different coach possibly we would never get the talent we received!
Really good music video. But it was strange I felt like every so often in the back round I could hear men talking about hockey. was that just me? I wounder if its like a black Sabbath record where if you spin it backward you hear satanic messages. Im probably reaching because I didn't hear satanic stuff just hockey stuff. Oooooo shoot I might need to listen again I think i heard talk of a red army. I wounder if thats Satan's red army. O man either way cool music video Satan or not.
I'm surprised that things haven't eased up in Russia - because if I recall right, Gorbachev was trying to open up the Soviet Union. Plus, the nation was on the verge of collapse.
How in the Hell is Alexander Mogilny NOT in the Hall Of Fame?? Him not being in diminishes the Hall Of Fame. Also, by the way, how is Patrik Elias not in the Hall. Is 1000 games, 1000 points, and being the best offensive player on TWO Stanley Cup Winning teams not enough? Come on, hockey people, get it together--these guys SHOULD be in!
