1991-92 Dynamo Moscow Mikhail Shtalenkov Jersey

Goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov, born on this date in 1965, with Dynamo Moscow backing up veteran Vladimir Myshkin in 1986-87 and saw action in 17 games with a goals against average of 2.41 on this way to being named the Soviet Rookie of the Year. He played 25 games in 1987-88, but Myshkin reclaimed his number one status, limiting Shtalenkov to 10 games over the next two seasons.

Shtalenkov began his career with Dynamo Moscow

With the departure of Myshkin, Shtalenkov took over as the number one goaltender for the 1990-91 season and guided the club to their second consecutive Soviet League championship. This would earn him his first international opportunity, as he would join the Soviet National Team for the 1991 Canada Cup tournament where he would start all five of the Soviet's games.

Shtalenkov began his international career in the

1991 Canada Cup with the Soviet Union

1991-92 would be a memorable season for Shtalenkov, as he would play 25 games for Dynamo and win another league championship, 8 games for the Unified Team at the 1992 Olympics, where he would play 8 games with a 1.64 goals against and a 92% save percentage to backstop the team to a gold medal just a matter of weeks following he breakup of the Soviet Union and finally 6 games for Russia at the 1992 World Championships.

With two consecutive league titles and a gold medal on his resume, Shtalenkov brought his game to North America and signed with the Milwaukee Admirals, then of the IHL. He led the team in games played with 47 while finishing the season with a 26-14-5 record with a 3.03 GAA to earn the Garry F. Longman Memorial Trophy as the IHL's top rookie.

Shtalenkov was the IHL Rookie of the Year in 1993

This attracted the attention of the NHL, and Shtalenkov was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anahiem in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He would play 28 games for the San Diego Gulls of the IHL, going 15-11-2, and then make his NHL debut for the Mighty Ducks, seeing action in 10 games with a 3-4-1 record. He would also then play 6 games for Russia at the 1994 World Championships.

Shtalenkov while with the San Diego Gulls of the IHL

He was back with Anaheim for the 1994-95 season, seeing action in 18 games before playing in 30 games of the 1995-96 season. He would once again play for Russia at the 1996 World Championships in the spring and later be named to their roster for the 1996 World Cup of Hockey later in the fall.

Shtalenkov made his NHL debut with Anaheim

In 1996-97 Shtalenkov played 24 regular season games for Anaheim and then made his playoff debut with 4 games in goal for the Mighty Ducks.

He would play a career high 40 games in 1997-98 while splitting time with Guy Herbert. Shtalenkov would also return to the Olympics in 1998, the first Games for which the NHL would take a break to allow it's top players a chance to compete. He would play in 5 of Russia's games, winning 4, and come back with a silver medal.

Shtalenkov backstopped Russia to a silver medal in 1998

The NHL would expand for the 1998-99 season, and Shtalenkov would be claimed by the Nashville Predators, who would in turn trade him to the Edmonton Oilers. After 34 games with Edmonton during the 1998-99 season, he would be dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes in March of 1999.

Shtalenkov while with the Coyotes

Shtalenkov would play just 15 games for Phoenix in 1999-00 before being traded yet again, this time to the Florida Panthers, with whom he would play the final 15 games of his NHL career.

The final games of Shtalenkov's career were with the Panthers

For the 2000-01 season, Shtalenkov would return to Dynamo Moscow, where he would play in 25 games, with six shutouts and a 1.95 GAA. Later in the spring, he would play in his fourth and final World Championships for Russia.

Shtalenkov would play one final season for Dynamo in 2001-02, playing in 28 games with a 2.02 goals against average.

His final NHL totals were 190 games played, with a 62-82-19 record with 8 shutouts and a 2.88 goals against average.

Since 2009, Shtalenkov has been a goaltending coach for various teams in the KHL.

Today's featured jersey is a 1991-92 Dynamo Moscow Mikhail Shtalenkov jersey as worn the year Shtalenkov took over as the team's number one goaltender and led Dynamo to the league championship.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1997-98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mikhail Shtalenkov jersey as worn by Shtalenkov during the season he set an NHL career high with 40 games played.

The Mighty Ducks would break new ground in 1993 when they debuted their new jerseys with the first diagonal waist striping in league history in addition to their never before seen colors of jade and eggplant.

This jersey would serve the club well, lasting through thirteen seasons until a change in ownership led to a modified team name and all new colors to mark the team's new era, bringing to an end the groundbreaking color scheme of the Disney owned Mighty Ducks.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1998-99 Phoenix Coyotes Mikhail Shtalenkov jersey. This wild alternate jersey as worn by Shtalenkov during the season he was claimed by Nashville, traded to Edmonton and then sent to Phoenix.

The Coyotes home and road jerseys of the day were thought to be strange enough by traditional hockey fans, but this eerie alternate jersey took things to a whole new level, causing some to refer to it as "Peyote Ugly", after the plant known in the southwest for it's hallucinogenic properties.

This jersey was worn by Phoenix for five seasons until a complete overhaul of the team's identity led to not only an all new logo, but all new team colors and jerseys as well.

Today's video section is the Top Five Saves of the Week - and Shtalenkov makes the number one save of them all.

2004-05 Dynamo Moscow Alexander Ovechkin Jersey

The next entry in "The Lockout Collection" features another jersey from the Russian Superleague.

Alexander Ovechkin, born on this date in 1985, would have most certainly been in the NHL during the 2004-05 season, having been drafted first overall by the Washington Capitals earlier in the year, but with the NHL season cancelled, Ovechkin would return home to Russia to play one final season for Dynamo Moscow.

Ovechkin began playing for Dynamo at the age of just 16 in the 2001-02 season and in 21 games, he scored just 2 goals and 2 assists. The next season would see him play in 40 games, with 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points, while in 2003-04, Ovechkin would finish third in scoring for Dynamo, with 23 points in 53 games.

He would make his North American debut in the 2003 World Juniors in Canada, as Russia would defeat Canada on their home soil. He would return for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and then again to compete in the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota, but would suffer a shoulder injury in the gold medal game that would force him to miss nearly two months of the Russian Superleague season. Despite the missed time, he would finish 5th in team scoring with 27 points from 37 games and would return in time for the playoffs, despite the shorter 60 game RSL schedule.

Dynamo had their share of NHL talent that season due to the lockout, and would finish first overall during the regular season with 126 points from 60 games, eight clear of second place Lada Togliatti. Notable NHL players for Dynamo that season included Pavel Datsyuk, Maxim Afinogenov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Frolov and ten games from Martin Havlat at one point in the regular season.

With eight of 16 teams qualifying for the playoffs, first seeded Dynamo would draw Nizhnekamsk Neftkhimik, who would fall in three quick games by scores of 2-0, 4-2 and 2-1.

Next up for Dynamo was Avangard Omsk, who upset 3rd ranked Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the opening round, and were led by RSL leading scorer Maxim Shushinsky and Jaromir Jagr. Dynamo would drop the first game by a 3-2 score, but would heed the wake up call and punish Omsk 11-0 in Game 2. Game 3 would be a tight 1-0 victory for Dynamo and they would advance to the finals with a 3-1 win in Game 4.

Waiting for Dynamo was second seeded Lada Togliatti. Dynamo would take Game 1 by a 3-1 score, go up 2 games to none with a 2-0 shutout and capture the title with a 2-1 win in Game 3 for a sweep of the best-of-five series.

Today's featured jersey is a Lutch 2004-05 Dynamo Moscow Alexander Ovechkin jersey as worn in his final season in Russia before coming over to play in the NHL. The front features the logo of team sponsor Rosgosstrakh, the Russian National Insurance Company with Ochakovo Lager in red below, with the iconic Dynamo "D" logo on the upper left chest.

The back features Ovechkin's name in Cyrillic and the #32 he wore for Dynamo over a simplified Rosgosstrakh wordmark in red. The jersey is all dye-sublimated, as evidenced by the fading of the blue areas of the sleeves and the subtle radial fading of the numbers, as they are lighter in the center and get darker toward the outer edges.

Lutch jerseys such as today's featured jerseys are easily obtained from ProRussianJerseys.com in a variety of teams and players. Quality-wise, they are very nice jerseys, equal to the Tackla jerseys worn by international teams in the early 90's. The printing quality is first rate and the jerseys are quite durable and make a fine, and unique, addition to any jersey collection sure to elicit comments whenever you wear one.

Here is a profile of Ovechkin, made before he was even drafted by the NHL.

Excuse the "Tom Waits of Russia" soundtrack on this collection of Ovechkin highlights from 2003 while playing for Dynamo.

1991-92 Dynamo Moscow Sergei Klimovich Jersey

Born on this date in 1974, Sergei Klimovich first played for Dynamo Moscow in 1991-92 as well as participating in the European Junior Championships for Russia.

Klimovich started his professional career with Dynamo Moscow

In the summer of 1992, Klimovich was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 41st overall in the NHL Entry Draft. The following season he became a full time member of Dynamo and also played in the 1993 World Junior Championships, scoring four points in seven games.

Klimovich wearing the rare "Onion Dome" jersey style from the early days of the post-Soviet Russian National Team

After another season with Dynamo, Klimovich came to the United States, joining many Russians at the time seeking fame and fortune in the NHL. He played three full seasons with the Indianapolis Ice of the International Hockey League (IHL), scoring a high of 57 points in 1997-98. In addition, during the 1996-97 season Klimovich would play his one and only NHL game with two penalty minutes served but no points for the Blackhawks.

Klimovich played three seasons for Indianapolis in the IHL

He would play for both the Las Vegas Thunder and Quebec Rafales, both of the IHL, and the Idaho Steelheads of the West Coast Hockey League in 1997-98 as his time in North America came to an end.

1998-99 Klimovich split time between first EC Graz in Austria and the Augsburg Panthers in Germany and remained with Augsburg for the 1999-00 season as well.

A return to Russia followed for 2000-01 when Kilmovich rejoined Dynamo Moscow. 2001-02 was split between Sibir Novosibirsk, then in the Russian second division, where he excelled with 63 points in 47 games. The remainder of the season saw him join Metallurg Magnitogorsk for 13 games in the top division.

Klimovich returned to Dyanmo for the 2001-02 season

For the first time since his three seasons in Indianapolis, Klimovich found some stability, as he rejoined Sibir Novosibirsk, now in the top division of the Russian league, for three seasons from 2002-03 to 2004-05.

His career would wind down with a season spent with Spartak Moscow and a move to Metallurg Novokuznetsk, 3,000 kilometers east of Moscow in south central Russia for the 2006-07 season. After three seasons off the ice, Klimovich returned to action with HK Belgorod in the Russian third division and then 4 games with Donbass Donetsk in Ukraine, ending a 21 year hockey journey that took him from Idaho around the globe to central Asia.

While Klimovich only played in a single NHL contest, there are many other leagues in the world where one can make a living being a hockey player, and his long career proves that the NHL, while the elite league on the planet, is not the only one.

Today's featured jersey is a 1991-92 Dynamo Moscow Sergei Klimovich jersey and it's white color shows off the many battle scars this jersey accumulated on the ice. It also features the bold sponsorship of the Samsung electronics company, the first jersey sponsor of Dynamo.

This jersey has all graphics screen printed onto the light weight mesh, typical of Russian jerseys of the era.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1993-94 Dynamo Moscow Sergei Klimovich jersey. This jersey was made by the Tackla company out of Finland. While Dynamo was still sponsored by Samsung, they had also now added sponsorship from Simod sportswear of Italy and Favorit Bank.

1990-91 Dynamo Moscow Darius Kasparaitis Jersey

Born in Lithuania on this date in 1972, Darius Kasparaitis first played for Dynamo Moscow at the age of 16 during the 1988-89 season, the first Lithuanian to play in the Soviet Hockey League, and won the Soviet League Championship with Dynamo in 1992.

Kasparitis while with Dynamo Moscow

After his fourth season with Dyanmo, he was drafted by the New York Islanders with the 5th overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He jumped straight into the NHL later that year, playing in 79 games with the Islanders and immediately announced his presence as a tough, physical player as he led the Islanders in hits while scoring a career high 21 points on four goals and 17 assists.

Kasparitis with the Islanders in 1992-93

After four seasons with the Islanders, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1998-97 season. He would play six seasons with Pittsburgh, during which he would score one of the most notable goals in his career, a Game 7 overtime versus the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 playoffs.

A late season trade in 2002 would see him play 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche before signing the following season with the New York Rangers with whom he would play parts of four seasons.

The blood on Kasparitis' face reveals the hard-nosed style of his play

During the lockout year of 2004-05 he would join many other NHL players on Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League.

2006-07 would see him return to Europe to play for SKA St. Petersburg on loan from the Rangers. Kasparitis would play one additional season for Saint Petersburg before retiring at the end of the 2008-09 season.

Kasparitis finished his career in the KHL with SKA Saint Petersburg

In international play, Kasparaitis played for the Soviet Union in the 1990 European Junior Championships and the 1991 World Juniors, earning silver both times. 1992 would see him earn gold medals for the Confederation of Independent States (CIS) at the World Juniors, where he was named best defenseman, the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France under the banner of the Unified Team ad again for he CIS at the World Championships later that spring.

Kasparitis wearing the CCCP of the Soviet Union during the 1991 World Juniors

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kasparaitis would play for Russia for the remainder of his career, which included the 1996 World Championships, the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics, where he earned a bronze in 2002 and a silver in 1998.

Today's featured jersey is a 1990-91 Dynamo Moscow Darius Kasparaitis jersey. It's very typical of Soviet jerseys of the time period in that it is a light weight mesh with all the graphics silk screened onto the jersey with the name on the back being a classic example of Cyrillic lettering. The jersey shows good game use with several black stick marks on the arms and body.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1995-96 New York Islanders Darius Kasparitis jersey. This notorious jersey was chosen by the Islanders new ownership group in an effort to appeal to a new, younger generation of fans, only to have the logo mocked by rival Rangers fans and the entire jersey become a symbol for the once mighty franchise's woeful play on the ice at the time.

The fisherman logo began to be phased out during only it's second season of use, as the club came up with an alternate sweater that replaced the fisherman with the club's original circular logo during 1996-97 and used that version exclusively during 1997-98 before the Islanders adopted a modern version of their original sweaters in 1998-99.

When told by reporters that the Islanders were going to revert back to their original logo, Kasparitis was quick to reply, "Good. We looked like idiots."

Elvis has left the building as Kasparaitis scores his Game 7 overtime versus the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 playoffs.

Here is an interview with Kasparaitis and his hair before the 2006 Olympic Games.

Finally a compliation of hits by Kasparaitis from the 1993-94 season.

2004-05 Dynamo Moscow Alexander Ovechkin Jersey

The next entry in "The Lockout Collection" features another jersey from the Russian Superleague.

Alexander Ovechkin, born on this date in 1985, would have most certainly been in the NHL during the 2004-05 season, having been drafted first overall by the Washington Capitals earlier in the year, but with the NHL season cancelled, Ovechkin would return home to Russia to play one final season for Dynamo Moscow.

Ovechkin began playing for Dynamo at the age of just 16 in the 2001-02 season and in 21 games, he scored just 2 goals and 2 assists. The next season would see him play in 40 games, with 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points, while in 2003-04, Ovechkin would finish third in scoring for Dynamo, with 23 points in 53 games.

He would make his North American debut in the 2003 World Juniors in Canada, as Russia would defeat Canada on their home soil. He would return for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and then again to compete in the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota, but would suffer a shoulder injury in the gold medal game that would force him to miss nearly two months of the Russian Superleague season. Despite the missed time, he would finish 5th in team scoring with 27 points from 37 games and would return in time for the playoffs, despite the shorter 60 game RSL schedule.

Dynamo had their share of NHL talent that season due to the lockout, and would finish first overall during the regular season with 126 points from 60 games, eight clear of second place Lada Togliatti. Notable NHL players for Dynamo that season included Pavel Datsyuk, Maxim Afinogenov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Frolov and ten games from Martin Havlat at one point in the regular season.

With eight of 16 teams qualifying for the playoffs, first seeded Dynamo would draw Nizhnekamsk Neftkhimik, who would fall in three quick games by scores of 2-0, 4-2 and 2-1.

Next up for Dynamo was Avangard Omsk, who upset 3rd ranked Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the opening round, and were led by RSL leading scorer Maxim Shushinsky and Jaromir Jagr. Dynamo would drop the first game by a 3-2 score, but would heed the wake up call and punish Omsk 11-0 in Game 2. Game 3 would be a tight 1-0 victory for Dynamo and they would advance to the finals with a 3-1 win in Game 4.

Waiting for Dynamo was second seeded Lada Togliatti. Dynamo would take Game 1 by a 3-1 score, go up 2 games to none with a 2-0 shutout and capture the title with a 2-1 win in Game 3 for a sweep of the best-of-five series.

Today's featured jersey is a Lutch 2004-05 Dynamo Moscow Alexander Ovechkin jersey as worn in his final season in Russia before coming over to play in the NHL. The front features the logo of team sponsor Rosgosstrakh, the Russian National Insurance Company with Ochakovo Lager in red below, with the iconic Dynamo "D" logo on the upper left chest.

The back features Ovechkin's name in Cyrillic and the #32 he wore for Dynamo over a simplified Rosgosstrakh wordmark in red. The jersey is all dye-sublimated, as evidenced by the fading of the blue areas of the sleeves and the subtle radial fading of the numbers, as they are lighter in the center and get darker toward the outer edges.

Lutch jerseys such as today's featured jerseys are easily obtained from our sponsors ProRussianJerseys.com in a variety of teams and players. Quality-wise, they are very nice jerseys, equal to the Tackla jerseys worn by international teams in the early 90's. The printing quality is first rate and the jerseys are quite durable and make a fine, and unique, addition to any jersey collection sure to elicit comments whenever you wear one.

Here is a profile of Ovechkin, made before he was even drafted by the NHL.

Excuse the "Tom Waits of Russia" soundtrack on this collection of Ovechkin highlights from 2003 while playing for Dynamo.

Dynamo Moscow - 2012 KHL Gagarin Cup Champions

Dynamo Moscow won a close fought seventh game of the KHL's 2012 Gagarin Cup Finals on the road in Siberia today, completing a comeback from falling behind 3 games to 1 to Avangard Omsk.

Neither team scored during the first two periods, setting up a tense winner-take-all final 20 minutes. Dynamo looked to have the chance they were waiting for with a 5-on-3 advantage which lasted over a minute early in the period, but Karri Ramo in the Avangard goal held Dynamo at bay as the game continued scoreless.

Finally Marek Kvapil found fellow Czech Jakub Klepis on the right side of the Omsk goal and Klepis, who was stoned on a one-timer, converted a backhander of the rebound on his second try to score the only goal of the game.

The final moments were tense, as Omsk pulled Ramo for an extra attacker and kept the puck in the Dynamo end for several good chances, but to no avail, as Alexander Yeremenko completed the shutout to give Dynamo the title.

Dynamo Moscow - 2012 KHL Gagarin Cup Champions

It was Dynamo's first Gagarin Cup, as well as the first for any club from the Russian capital, and a great result for a team which was on the verge of vanishing in 2010 when their previous and storied previous iteration HC Dynamo, who had been formed in 1946, merged with HC MVD to form UHC (United Hockey Club) Dynamo for the 2010-11 season in a deal which saw the new team assume the history of the legendary Dynamo club but the roster and ownership of MVD.

Here is the game winning goal, scored by Klepis, a one time Washington Capital.

Here is a report of Dynamo's arrival back at home in Moscow, where they were greeted by their excited fans.

1991-92 Dynamo Moscow Sergei Klimovich Jersey

Born on this date in 1974, Sergei Klimovich first played for Dynamo Moscow in 1991-92 as well as participating in the European Junior Championships for Russia.

Klimovich started his professional career with Dynamo Moscow

In the summer of 1992, Klimovich was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 41st overall in the NHL Entry Draft. The following season he became a full time member of Dynamo and also played in the 1993 World Junior Championships, scoring four points in seven games.

Klimovich wearing the rare "Onion Dome" jersey style from the early days of the post-Soviet Russian National Team

After another season with Dynamo, Klimovich came to the United States, joining many Russians at the time seeking fame and fortune in the NHL. He played three full seasons with the Indianapolis Ice of the International Hockey League (IHL), scoring a high of 57 points in 1997-98. In addition, during the 1996-97 season Klimovich would play his one and only NHL game with two penalty minutes served but no points for the Blackhawks.

Klimovich played three seasons for Indianapolis in the IHL

He would play for both the Las Vegas Thunder and Quebec Rafales, both of the IHL, and the Idaho Steelheads of the West Coast Hockey League in 1997-98 as his time in North America came to an end.

1998-99 Klimovich split time between first EC Graz in Austria and the Augsburg Panthers in Germany and remained with Augsburg for the 1999-00 season as well.

A return to Russia followed for 2000-01 when Kilmovich rejoined Dynamo Moscow. 2001-02 was split between Sibir Novosibirsk, then in the Russian second division, where he excelled with 63 points in 47 games. The remainder of the season saw him join Metallurg Magnitogorsk for 13 games in the top division.

Klimovich returned to Dyanmo for the 2001-02 season

For the first time since his three seasons in Indianapolis, Klimovich found some stability, as he rejoined Sibir Novosibirsk, now in the top division of the Russian league, for three seasons from 2002-03 to 2004-05.

His career would wind down with a season spent with Spartak Moscow and a move to Metallurg Novokuznetsk, 3,000 kilometers east of Moscow in south central Russia for the 2006-07 season. After three seasons off the ice, Klimovich returned to action with HK Belgorod in the Russian third division and then 4 games with Donbass Donetsk in Ukraine, ending a 21 year hockey journey that took him from Idaho around the globe to central Asia.

While Klimovich only played in a single NHL contest, there are many other leagues in the world where one can make a living being a hockey player, and his long career proves that the NHL, while the elite league on the planet, is not the only one.

Today's featured jersey is a 1991-92 Dynamo Moscow Sergei Klimovich jersey and it's white color shows off the many battle scars this jersey accumulated on the ice. It also features the bold sponsorship of the Samsung electronics company, the first jersey sponsor of Dynamo.

This jersey has all graphics screen printed onto the light weight mesh, typical of Russian jerseys of the era.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1993-94 Dynamo Moscow Sergei Klimovich jersey. This jersey was made by the Tackla company out of Finland. While Dynamo was still sponsored by Samsung, they had also now added sponsorship from Simod sportswear of Italy and Favorit Bank.

1990-91 Dynamo Moscow Darius Kasparaitis Jersey

Born in Lithuania on this date in 1972, Darius Kasparaitis first played for Dynamo Moscow at the age of 16 during the 1988-89 season, the first Lithuanian to play in the Soviet Hockey League, and won the Soviet League Championship with Dynamo in 1992.

After his fourth season with Dyanmo, he was drafted by the New York Islanders with the 5th overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He jumped straight into the NHL later that year, playing in 79 games with the Islanders and announced his presence as a tough, physical player immediately as he led the team in hits, as well as scoring a career high 21 points on four goals and 17 assists.

After four seasons with the Islanders, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1998-97 season where he would play six seasons, during which he would score one of the most notable goals in his career, a Game 7 overtime versus the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 playoffs.

A late season trade in 2002 would see him play 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche and then sign the following season with the New York Rangers, where he would play parts of four seasons.

During the lockout year of 2004-05 he would join many other NHL players on Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League.

2006-07 would see him return to Europe to play for SKA St. Petersburg on loan from the Rangers.

In international play, Kasparaitis has played for the Soviet Union in the 1990 European Junior Championships and the 1991 World Juniors, earning silver both times. 1992 would see him earn gold medals for the CIS/Unified Team in both the World Juniors, where he was named best defenseman, and Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

With the political situation in Russia now resolved, Kasparaitis would now play for Russia in the 1992 and 1996 World Championships, the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics, earning a bronze in 2002 and a silver in 1998.

Today's featured jersey is a 1990-91 Dynamo Moscow Darius Kasparaitis jersey. It's very typical of Soviet jerseys of the time period in that it is a light weight mesh with all the graphics silk screened onto the jersey with the name on the back being a classic example of Cyrillic lettering. The jersey shows good game use with several black stick marks on the arms and body.

Elvis has left the building as Kasparaitis scores his Game 7 overtime versus the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 playoffs.

Here is an interview with Kasparaitis and his hair before the 2006 Olympic Games.

Finally a compliation of hits by Kasparaitis from the 1993-94 season.