Former Red Wings Hall of Famer Blasting Away at Russia

A former Detroit Red Wings Hall of Famer from Czechia is railing against Russia and surprise, surprise, it isn’t Dominik Hasek.

Vaclav Nedomansky is the Czech hockey legend who is taking Russia to task this time. Then again, Big Ned has a history of blasting away at Russians.

“In my opinion, Russians, with the exception of some outstanding writers and composers, are a primitive nation,” Nedomansky is reported as saying by Russian website Gazeta.ru. “It has always been like that, and it became especially noticeable after 1918. There was no respect for human life.”

To be fair, Nedomansky, 80, is clearly harboring old-school grudges against Russia. He remembers 1968, when Russia was invading his homeland.

He’s also not fond of the old Soviet-era hockey players he encountered over the years.

“Few Soviet hockey players were morally at the proper level,” Nedomansky said.

Nedomansky Was Red Wings Star

Playing in Europe, Nedomansky was a participant in 10 world championships, winning a gold medal in 1972. He also skated in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.

It was at those 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan when 16-year-old Mark Howe would witness first-hand exactly how much disdain Nedomansky held for his Soviet opponents. When the two countries clashed on the ice at that Olympiad, Howe, a member of the US Olympic team, was in attendance.

It was the first Olympic hockey game between the two countries since Russia’s invasion of what was then Czechoslovakia.

Václav Nedomanský of Czechoslovakia scored 9 goals in 10 games at the 1969 World Championships helping CSSR to a silver medal but more importantly by helping CSSR stick to the USSR in both their head-to-head match-ups. pic.twitter.com/xRu9PJ85ar

— The Hockey Samurai 侍 (@hockey_samurai) November 4, 2024

“It was the most vicious hockey game I’ve ever witnessed,” former Red Wings Hall of Famer Howe recalled.

In the third period, with the Russians leading by two goals, the Czechs would be afforded a power. Nedomansky was manning the point for a faceoff in the Soviet zone. The draw was won cleanly back to him.

He turned and wired a slapshot into the Russian bench.

First Major Star To Defect

In 1973, Nedomansky and fellow Czech player Richard Farda defected to Canada, signing with the WHA’s Toronto Toros. He’d be moving to the Red Wings in a November 1977 trade.

Vaclav Nedomansky received his Honoured Members plaque from Frank Mahovlich, before addressing the crowd during the 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.#HHOF2019 | #HHOF pic.twitter.com/7re7V6cC8Z

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) November 19, 2019

In his first game for Detroit, Nedomansky would dish out three assists, figuring in all of the Red Wings during a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta. The following season with 38-35-73 totals, Big Ned would become the first European born and trained player to ever lead an NHL team in scoring.

He was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. Nedomansky and Hasek are the only Czech players in the Hall of Fame.