Pavel Bure: I think it is a big loss for the hockey world. Viktor Tikhonov was a great coach and I think he was the best coach ever for the Soviet Union and Russia. I was lucky; he recruited me to the team when I was only 16. I played for him at the local club the Red Army and for the national teams. So, it is a big loss.
What did you feel at the age of 16 when you saw him for the first time?
Pavel Bure: For me it was like a dream come true. I started playing at the club when I was six and it took me ten years to get to the professional level. Obviously it was one of the biggest days of my life.
There were many rumors that Tikhonov was very firm with the players — that discipline is above all. How did he communicate with you and other players? What exactly did you feel?
Pavel Bure: I think he was a great coach and you have to have a lot of discipline to be successful. So, that’s what he was doing. He knew what he was asking from the players and you had to give him not 100% but 110%. That’s what his club was all about.
Pavel Bure: He was a big part of worldwide hockey. As you say, he was the first who started to play in four lines and everybody is playing in four lines now. He was always asking us to play hard and short. So, you had to go on the ice, give him 110% in less than a minute and switch. And that’s why he was really successful, because we trained really hard and we were ready for everything.
Many newspapers said that Tikhonov was a guest at your wedding and he came even though he was feeling unwell. Could you please tell how it all happened?
Pavel Bure: Well, he was my teacher and my coach. He taught me a lot of things for life and for hockey. And yes, he didn’t feel well, but he came to my wedding. And when the Vancouver Canucks were retiring my number, he was about to fly with me, but at the last moment the doctors said that the flight was too long and he couldn’t make it. He was a great man and he was always with me in my life.
Pavel Bure: You know, those days when I started playing for him, we used to live in the training bibs for 11 months a year. So, you know, you spend a lot of time together and he taught me many different things. He taught that if you have a goal in front of you, you’ve got to give 110% to get this goal and you have to train hard. So, lots of things.
Is there any particular type of story that hasn’t been told about Viktor yet?
Pavel Bure: It’s hard to say right away. He was asking for a lot of discipline from the guys. You know, you weren’t allowed to be late for practice, not to mention the game. And after his school I've played in the NHL for 12 years and I don’t think I've ever been late, he taught us to be disciplined.
I was struck last year when I watched the KHL games last January. Viktor Tikhonov went into the SCKA players’ locker-room after the game and he had a talk with them in spite of his old age. How common was that? Did he do that often?
Pavel Bure: He was a living legend for many generations. He started to coach back in the 70’s. He coached Kharlamov, Mikhailov, Petrov, Krutov and Larionov – the generation after our generation. He’s been around for so many years; he had a great experience and, obviously, for any generation, when he comes into the room and talks, everybody pays attention.
