Sergei Fedorov, who the Detroit Red Wings helped defect from the Red Army in 1990, will be part of the Russian Olympic Committee hockey staff this winter at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in February.
Fedorov will serve as an assistant coach, it was announced Monday. Fedorov, 51, played for the Wings from 1990-2003, winning Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998 and 2002. He was an incredibly powerful skater and all-around talent, and enjoyed his best season in 1994, when he became the first Russian awarded the Hart Trophy as the regular season most valuable player. The Wings drafted him in the fourth round, at No. 74, in 1989, and the following year orchestrated his defection while Fedorov was at the Goodwill Games in Portland, Oregon.
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Though there was hope within the organization Fedorov would spend his entire NHL career in a Wings uniform, he departed as a free agent to play for the Anaheim Ducks. Fedorov last played in the NHL in 2009, for the Washington Capitals. He returned to his native Russia and played until 2012 in the Kontinental Hockey League. In 2015, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside former Wings teammate and fellow All-Star Nicklas Lidstrom.
Fedorov currently serves as the head coach of CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
National teams have been releasing information about the makeup of teams and coaching staff that will take part in the Winter Games. Earlier this month, the German national team named Wings defenseman Moritz Seider to its roster.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.