Nikolai Sologubov



Nikolai Mikhailovich Sologubov (Николай Михайлович Сологубов; b. August 8, 1924 in Moscow, Soviet Union &mdash; d. December 30, 1988 ) was an ice hockey defenceman in the Soviet Union.

German-Soviet War
Sologubov took part in the German-Soviet War in World War II. Serving in the naval infantry he was wounded to leg in a battle near Shlisselburg in 1943. After a month and a half rehabilitation at a hospital he returned to front into the infantry and served as a scout. Six months later he was wounded into his arm, but returned to the Leningrad front once again. He was wounded for the third time during the Krasnoye Selo offensive, when a "jumping mine" exploded very close to him. The wound was so serious, that doctors were going to amputate his leg, suspecting gangrene. Fortunately, this diagnosis had not been confirmed, but he was operated four times on the right leg and four times on the left one.

Sports career
He played for several Moscow-based teams from 1949 to 1964 including CSKA Moscow. He played for the national team in all the IIHF World Championships from 1955 to 1961 as well as 1963, and in the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics. At the 1960 Winter Olympics Sologubov was the USSR Olympic Team Flag Bearer. He helped the Soviet Union win World Championship Gold in 1956 and 1963, Silver in 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1959, and Bronze in 1960 and 1961. Sologubov was named best defenceman at the World Championships in 1956, 1957, and 1960. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sologubov helped the United States in the 1960 Winter Olympics. The U.S. was losing to Czechoslovakia, having difficulty breathing the thin air. Sologubov, then the Soviet captain, went to their dressing room and informed them (using gestures, because he did not speak English) that they needed to take oxygen. The Americans came back to win the game and the gold medal.

In 1957 Sologubov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. He was also awarded the Medal for Combat Service and the Medal For Labour Valour.