Nikolai Georgiyevich Puchkov (Russian: Николай Георгиевич Пучков, 30 January 1930 – 8 August 2005) was a Russian ice hockey goaltender. He was part of the Soviet teams that won two Olympic and seven world championship medals between 1954 and 1960, including three gold medals. He was named the best goaltender of the 1959 World Championships and won the European title in 1954–56 and 1958–60. In 1954 he was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame.[3]

Nikolai Puchkov
Puchkov at the 1956 Olympics
Personal information
Born(1930-01-30)30 January 1930
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died8 August 2005(2005-08-08) (aged 75)
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
SportIce hockey
ClubDynamo Moscow (1947–49)
VVS Moscow (1949–53) HC CSKA Moscow (1953–62)
SKA St. Petersburg (1962–63)[1][2]
Medal record
Representing the  Soviet Union
Winter Olympics
Gold medal – first place 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Team
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Squaw Valley Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1954 Stockholm Team
Silver medal – second place 1955 Germany Team
Gold medal – first place 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Team
Silver medal – second place 1957 Moscow Team
Silver medal – second place 1958 Oslo Team
Silver medal – second place 1959 Prague Team
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Squaw Valley Team

Domestically, Puchkov won nine Soviet titles with VVS Moscow and CSKA Moscow. In 1962, he moved to Saint Petersburg, and after retiring the next year, he coached SKA Leningrad until 1980. In the 1970s, he also assisted Vsevolod Bobrov with the Soviet national team. In 1980–1990, he trained Izhorets Leningrad, and from 1990 to 2002 coached Swedish and Finnish clubs. He worked with the junior team of SKA St Petersburg for three years until his sudden death on the way to a training session.[1][4] In 2007, a goaltending school named after Puchkov was opened in Saint Petersburg.[5]

References

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