Who is Salei? Ruslan Salei: biography, personal life, career, photo. “Ruslan was not afraid to fly”

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Very soon the IIHF Hall of Fame will be replenished with another name of a unique hockey player - Ruslan Salei. We can talk about the services of this man to Belarusian and world hockey for a very long time, and his untimely death was a terrible blow for all of us. Everyone will agree that the name of this man is worthy of being immortalized among the names of other legendary players, but we would like to once again recall the story of the life of this Belarusian hockey player, albeit short, but very bright in all respects.
The future eminent athlete was born on November 2, 1974. Ruslan had a very ordinary childhood: like all his peers, he went to school, where he was known as a terrible bully and prankster, and therefore often received “twos” for his behavior. In his free time from lessons and homework, he loved to kick the ball in the yard with the guys, and in the winter, when the open-air skating rinks were flooded in the city, he put on skates and also selflessly wielded a stick. I also tried to go karting, but apparently, in the words of Ruslan himself, “it wasn’t my destiny.” For a long time, the boy could not make a choice between a ball and a stick, but chance helped, and so Ruslan, along with a couple of his classmates, enrolled in a hockey school at the Sports Palace. The experienced coach immediately recognized Saleya as a talented hockey player and determined his position in the team: “You will be a defender!”
And so began the career of the still very young, but showing great hockey promise, Ruslan Salei. Soon he was noticed in the Minsk “Youth”, which was looking for talented and hardworking guys, and Ruslan began to play professionally: “play real hockey.” Salei celebrated his eighteenth birthday as part of the Grodno “Neman”, which at that time participated in one of the most prestigious leagues in the post-Soviet space - the major league of the Russian Open Championship. “I was missing stars from the sky, and therefore it was a very pleasant surprise for me when the head coach of Dynamo Minsk Andrei Sidorenko invited me to his club,” said Ruslan. Sidorenko himself recalls it this way: “We were impressed by Salei’s dedication, determination, and courage, so we decided to invite him to the team. Although at that time he was, as they say, “damp,” he promised to grow into a strong hockey player. And not just a strong player, but a very powerful one.” And so it happened: Salei scored his first goal for Dynamo in his third game with the club, and this goal became only the first step in his triumphant ascent to the top of the hockey Olympus.
A few years later, Ruslan received the title of “Best Hockey Player of Belarus”, and now not only the coaches, but the whole country - and, most importantly, himself - believed in Salei the hockey player. By the way, Ruslan played his first match wearing the now legendary number “24” for the youth team of our country, which took part in the Belarus Hockey Federation Cup. In all matches of the tournament, Ruslan established himself as an excellent hockey player, fighter and valuable player. Salei's first match for the national team, which took place on August 24, 1993, was also a little symbolic. It was nice to receive an invitation to the national team, Salei admitted, but he felt a great responsibility. Despite this, Ruslan did not let the team down and scored assists and goals in all away friendly matches with Poland. And four months later, Sale had the opportunity to play against the strongest Canadians. That match with the Maple Leaf team ended with a score of 2:2, but for the Belarusian team, a draw with the founders of hockey was already a huge achievement. However, the main thing was that the meeting with the Canadians gave Salei self-confidence and helped him understand: he can play against the strongest hockey players in the world.
Soon after this “acquaintance” with the stars of the North American Hockey League, Sale himself managed to get into the NHL. True, the circumstances surrounding this were not particularly pleasant: after a positive doping test at the World Championships in 1995 and, as a result, a six-month disqualification, Ruslan’s hopes of playing in Europe collapsed. Therefore, instead of simply training for six months and starting over with a new leaf in his homeland, he decided to try his luck immediately in distant America. So, fate literally pushed him to the USA, to the Las Vegas Thunder, which played in the International Hockey League, from where a year later he ended up in the strongest hockey league on the planet. At first it was not easy to play overseas: even in the International League the style of play was tougher, the speed was higher, and there was no need to talk about power moves at all. But Ruslan’s assertiveness and determination allowed him to gain a foothold in the IHL and move on.
With the move to America, a lot changed: language, social circle, lifestyle, training system and even his name - now Ruslan began to be called “Rusty”, and it is under this name that he is known today to the entire world hockey community. It is never easy to radically change your life, but this move was truly a turning point for Ruslan: already on June 22, 1996, with the overall number 9, Saley was drafted by the NHL club Anaheim Mighty Ducks. This is how his main dream came true - to play in the strongest league on the planet. Rusty knew very little about the “mighty ducks”: a young club that had never made it to the Stanley Cup, not the strongest roster, which was only to the advantage of a hockey player who wanted to gain a foothold in the NHL. Ruslan made his debut in the National Hockey League on October 7, 1996 - in the second match of the regular season. On this day, the Mighty Ducks met with the Canadiens in Montreal, the match ended in an extremely productive draw - 6:6, and Salei, in the confrontation with the most titled NHL club, finished the meeting with an excellent coefficient of utility for a debutant - “+4”. However, luck was not always on his side. After such an enchanting debut, Ruslan began making mistake after mistake, showing a negative coefficient game after game, and Ducks head coach Ron Wilson decided to send the unstable player to the minor league again, this time to the AHL. Farm clubs became a good life lesson, Salei admitted in one of his interviews, and first of all they taught perseverance and great endurance.
During his American career, Ruslan often had to play in the minor leagues, then return to the NHL again with the “mighty ducks,” but he always remembered his first goal in the strongest league on the planet with trepidation and pride: “His first goal in the National Hockey League Of course I remember! I scored it on November 7, 1997 in a road game against Calgary that ended in a 4-3 overtime victory.” In Anaheim, thanks to the new Ducks coach Pierre Paget, Ruslan even managed to try himself in the unusual role of a forward, which introduced some fuss and confusion into his usual style of play, but still taught him not to lose concentration on the court at any time. minute.
Saley played in the strongest league on the planet from 1996 to 2011, playing 912 matches in the NHL regular championships for Anaheim (1996 - 2006), Florida, Colorado and Detroit and scoring 204 (45+159) points according to the “goal+pass” system. He managed to play in 62 matches of the playoff series and score 16 (7+9) points, and in 2003, Ruslan Salei was the first domestic player to reach the Stanley Cup final.
America became for Salei not only a school of life and playing hockey, but also gave the athlete a loving wife, Bethann, and three wonderful children: Alex, Alexandro and Ava. The Saleev family was exemplary in all respects: loving parents, beloved children, harmony and idyll. Anyone who did not know Ruslan very well could not have imagined that the formidable defender of Anaheim, who had a very tough playing style and was not afraid to get into a fight on occasion, was in fact a gentle and caring family man. Salei always devoted himself completely to those close to him, be it family or friends, and did not hesitate to miss one or even several matches if his wife or children needed him. In such cases, evil tongues inclined the name of the Belarusian hockey player in every possible way, but Ruslan did not pay attention: his family was everything to him.
Although it seemed that his whole life was now overseas, Ruslan always remained a patriot of his Motherland. Bethann Salei recalls: “He liked life in the USA, but his heart and soul always remained in Belarus.” This can be confirmed by the fact that Ruslan never refused a call to the national team without good reason. As a member of the Belarusian national team (1993-2010), Salei played 66 matches and scored 31 (11+20) scoring points. He took part in all three Olympics (1998, 2002, 2010) in which the national team competed, as well as in all world championships at which he could physically be present.
The life of a successful hockey player and extraordinary person Ruslan Salei was tragically cut short on September 7, 2011, when a Yak-42 plane with the team of the Russian Lokomotiv on board crashed during takeoff near Yaroslavl.
Salei loved Belarus, and she always answered him in kind. Instead of the failed friendly match between Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) and Dynamo (Minsk), thousands of people came to say goodbye to Ruslan at the Minsk Arena. In memory of one of the most outstanding hockey players in our country, the Belarusian Hockey Federation retired the number 24 under which Salei played in the national team, and also established the annual hockey tournament in memory of Ruslan Salei.
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“I believe that if you still have the strength and health to play, if you are, figuratively speaking, on two legs and not on one, you need to go out and fight until the final siren, regardless of whether it is a decisive match or not.” This was Ruslan’s motto in life, this is how he dealt with all failures and always fought to the end. Belarus is proud to call him our son, and we will always remember him - a brave man, a talented hockey player, a determined defender wearing number 24.

Head coach of the Yunost-Minsk hockey club Mikhail Zakharov remembers Saleya, whom he knew closely [photo]

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Batten passed on the letter through friends who flew from America to Minsk to say goodbye to Ruslan. The letter is now kept by brother Vadim. Handwritten, large - on a sheet of paper. She writes that they must understand, writes that she wanted to see Ruslan. I remember one such strong words: “Most of all in my life I would like to hug him”...

- Will Batten fly to Minsk for nine or forty days?

Don't know. Of course, he will arrive later.

- You said that Ruslan completed a house in Minsk.

There is an apartment and a house in Minsk. The house was built next door to me, next to Lesha Kalyuzhny. True, Ruslan never had time to spend the night in his Minsk house. Although the house is almost completely ready. On his last visit on August 28 (Ruslan came from Riga to Minsk for one day and immediately flew to Yaroslavl - approx.) he could go and arrange the furniture. But we didn't go. We sat up until night and started talking. The next day Ruslan flew away... He could have finished the housework earlier. But last year Ruslan abruptly decided to change the sketches. I wanted to make a cellar.

- Was it hard for Ruslan to experience the separation from his family?

No, it's part of the job. I missed you, of course. At Lokomotiv he had a contract for a year. Batten was going to fly to Yaroslavl. He rented a large apartment there, four rooms.

- Your wife didn’t really agree to move?

I didn’t want to go to Yaroslavl. And to Minsk is possible. Minsk is Minsk - a beautiful, wonderful city. After all, Ruslan’s family and friends are here.

- What did you call him in a friendly way?

Rustik. I called him Small.

- How’s your wife?

She called him Rustik, Rustik.

- How is he?

Honey, hunny (sweetheart - approx.).

« Ruslan’s wife cooked borscht beautifully, but she didn’t eat it herself.”

Saleya's wife is amazing. They have a big, comfortable house. Three children. But at the same time, she coped with everything herself: no cleaners, no nannies. She did all the housework herself. Batten is a great cook. To be honest, I was stunned. When I arrived for the first time, Ruslan asked: “What are we going to eat? There will be borscht, meatballs, mashed potatoes and salad with tomatoes.” Wow, I think! How did she prepare all this? I asked Batten later. She got me a huge book in English. She prepared it like this! But she hardly ate what she cooked for us. She loves Japanese food! Ruslan and his wife taught me how to eat sushi and chuka salad. Now I love it. And at first it was such disgusting! By the way, when they first started dating, she sent him a gift package to Minsk: soups, Japanese things. Then she sent me a toy with her own scent. Either a bear or something else. Ruslan, he says, slept with this toy. I’m thinking exactly: bye bye... (Zakharov twirls his finger at his temple.) Today Batten, tomorrow Masha. But no! Their family is great!

- How many years have they been together?

They have been together for a very long time. More than 10 years. And this is a real family. He adored his family!

- Did she speak Russian?

Few words. Such strong ones.

- Ruslan, friends say he was a swearer.

Yes. Sometimes he swore. He was talking, but he blurted out! And his wife is behind him. She could too. And another phrase: “I don’t speak Russian.” But I tried to learn something in Russian.

- How did Ruslan and Batten meet?

He met her in Anaheim at a party.

- Does she have anything to do with hockey? You don't just end up at a party in a club.

She knew the hockey guys, she knew Tverdovsky. These parties in America are big, there are a lot of people. I've been to these. About 20 guests, the owner may not even know. Everything is different with them.

- How did she take it?

She is beautiful, she is interesting, smart, impressive. Very athletic. When we lived in the apartment, she would run from the ninth to the first floor for half an hour. He runs in the morning. When I was visiting them, I saw Ruslan going to training in the morning, and Batten rushing off for a run. When she was in Minsk she constantly went to the fitness center.

- How did Ruslan learn English?

Easily! He learned it in the USA. Then he lived with an American woman and learned the language thoroughly.

- Did you speak only English with the children?

He wanted them to speak Russian. He said: “They know Russian, but with me they turn on the fool and communicate in English.” And when they come here, they speak Russian with their grandparents. Recently I showed all the children on Skype. Children love him very much! They especially loved to play with him. The house has a huge games room. The children took Ruslan there right in the morning. And we were really looking forward to going to the pool with dad.

- Did you take him to the ice?

I didn't ask about ice. His boy is small. Only four. They preferred to swim in the pool with Ruslan.

- Did you take care of your parents?

Very! They had a tradition: only his family met him from America. I never sent him or met him. Only family. He arrived and always went to his family for dinner. Only after that we met. With the first money I bought my father a car - “five”. In those days, you could already find a foreign car, a Skoda, for example. I, he says, gave the money and offered to choose. My father bought a “five” and tinkered under the car in the garage. Ruslan had a “nine”, his first car. And then he left all his cars to his relatives. I never sold it, I brought everything here.

“He wanted to win with Lokomotiv”

- How did Ruslan manage to move to Yaroslavl?

He wanted to play in Minsk. There was a conversation about Dynamo Minsk. I don’t want to discuss this... I know one thing: if Yunost-Minsk entered the KHL, there would be a wild fight for it. He would have gone to Yunost, we would have agreed. With Salei's appearance in Minsk there would be no problems either with the people or with the fans.

- Did you consult with you whether to go to Lokomotiv?

He wanted to win. The team there is good, the conditions are good, the marketing is good. Everything was great. Lokomotiv is one of the best teams in terms of hockey players. The team president, Yakovlev, played hockey himself. It is very important.

Salei is a player for Anaheim.

- Did you learn about the tragedy from the news?

I found out earlier. I immediately called Vadik (Ruslan’s older brother - approx.). “Vadik, I may be wrong, God willing, but I think he died.” My friends called me and said that something was happening to the plane. Vadik talked to Ruslan 10 minutes before my call. He also asked me again: “How is this possible?” - “I don’t know for sure, but I have to tell you.”

- Who identified Ruslan?

Brother. It was possible to identify. At the funeral service the coffin was open. Then we decided to close the coffin. He held on to the seat until the end... His arms and legs were broken. He was the last to be found.

- Was the question of where to bury it - here or in America - discussed?

Yes, it was discussed. We decided here: he is our hero.

“In 2014 I was going to leave and work as a coach”

- What were Ruslan’s plans?

I was going to play. He was in excellent athletic shape.

- What is Ruslan’s secret? For a while he was a fairly average player. Luck?

Not luck, probably. He trained a lot. Look how he rocked. The older brother is a strong man, but Ruslan is three times larger: his chest and neck are powerful. Imagine: he came to Minsk to relax for exactly a week and trained for three hours every day. This is how NHL players train! I trained all the time. On Sunday I always went to the bathhouse. And on Monday - training again: cardio, cycling, barbell. Three hours is a lot.

- Persistence?

Certainly. Many hockey players have not achieved what Ruslan achieved. He was never talented, never. And he played 912 games in the NHL. I very much doubt that a Belarusian hockey player will ever be able to do this. He achieved everything through work, through labor, the right attitude towards work, towards himself.

- Did you express any regrets that you couldn’t win the Stanley Cup?

It always hurt him. I told him: “Smart guy, but that year you did such a stupid thing, you didn’t guess! You had to stay in the club for any money.” He agreed. I made a big mistake when leaving Anaheim. And I was very worried. After Salei left the club, Anaheim won the Cup. On Wednesday, a farewell ceremony was held for Saley at the Anaheim arena. CNN should have shown. Saley's house in America is now open, and all the hockey players with whom he played support Batten's wife. He was the number one defenseman in games played for Anaheim. The Detroit coach has already said that he is very sorry that he could not keep Ruslan in Detroit.

-Have you shared your dreams?

I recently told you this over a barbecue. He says: “I’ll graduate in 2014. After the Olympics I will be a coach. I’ll play my last match for Yunost.” - Me: “And how do you plan it?” - “Where we play, I’ll play there. In the Belarusian championship, I’ll play there. We'll go out with you for two shifts. How old will you be? And he laughs. I was shocked.

-Where were you going as a coach?

If Yunost were in the KHL, he would definitely be a coach at Yunost. He says: “Let me end up as a coach, and you as a coach. We will hire Lesha Kalyuzhny as general manager. He won’t make a coach.” I wrote it out for everyone. After his playing career, he was no longer interested in money. They will pay 10 - 20 thousand dollars a month - normal. He was excellent at hockey. He knew the situations thoroughly. He gave me a lot of advice. He would be a strong coach. I also wanted to finish after 2014, I was tired. I was glad that Salei would replace me. I wanted to work on defense. He said: “We’ll see, there’s so much time until 2014.” I wanted to move my family here. There is a house. And work as a coach. You can't live without work.

- Did you have any career prospects in America?

He didn't want to be a coach there. I wanted to go to Minsk.

- Were you thinking about something else?

Think about a restaurant. Sports. At the Chizhov Arena.

“Next year the Saleya Cup will be held”

- It has already been decided that there will be a tournament named after Ruslan Salei...

Yes. The Federation should deal with this first and foremost. Thanks to the president too.

- He played with the president. Were they friends?

Certainly. They weren't close friends. And as an athlete, the president respected Salei and loved playing with him.

- On the Internet, in the responses, they suggest giving the Minsk Arena the name of Ruslan Salei. Is this possible?

I am for. But my opinion will hardly be taken into account. We don’t have a hockey player of this level, and we won’t have one for a very long time. I discussed this with Mishka Grabovsky. And he said to Kostitsyn, to everyone’s face: “Don’t be offended, but you care about him like the moon.” Grow and grow.

- Have you already thought about the monument?

Yes. Will do. It's not fast. All hockey players who want to will collect money. Let's make a good one.

“Taught all my friends to drink whiskey”

- Who was Ruslan’s friend in the USA?

I played cards a lot with my friends - Oleg Tverdovsky (former NHL player, now plays in Ufa. - Ed.), Sasha Frolov (former NHL player, plays in Omsk. - Ed.). It happened that Ruslan would lose at first - by 600, 800 dollars. Then he started pouring drinks for everyone. Then smoke with cigars. He loved good cigars. He was calm about alcohol. I never saw him drunk. And in America, Tverdovsky said, houses have game rooms so as not to disturb families. One day Salei came to Tverdovsky in a new Mercedes and parked it at the gate. Tverdovsky opened the gate, rolled out his car and crashed into this Mercedes. “Oh,” he says, “I won’t say anything today, I’ll tell you later.” And in the house the cooks are working, the kitchen... Salei complains to Tverdovsky: “Well, your cooks are arrogant! Do not know?! They broke my car." They could always joke and laugh at each other. Friends are friends.

- All my Minsk friends say that he taught everyone to drink whiskey.

And me too. First. Whiskey is to me like moonshine. He brought good brands. He tried to teach me how to smoke cigars, good Cuban ones. But it didn't work. He says: “You shouldn’t smoke, they’re very good.” At first I taught him to drink whiskey with juice. And then he forced me clean. Like, the drink is 30 years old, it can’t be spoiled. He didn't even allow it with ice. And he taught his father to drink whiskey.

- Did any of your Minsk friends travel to Ruslan in America?

Yes, many were. I was with him. Brother, and the whole family, parents. He always invited us to visit. I remember showing the Kostitsyn brothers and Mishka Grabovsky how Salei lived. They were 15-16 years old and could not fully understand. But the pictures of Salei’s life impressed them. Then Ruslan and Batten had two absolutely identical BMWs. But I didn’t tell them that it was my wife’s second car. He said that Ruslan drives both. Well, that’s how he wants it (smiles). The guys wondered why this was so. Andryukha said then: “I will live like this too.”

“Ruslan was not afraid to fly”

- Was he not afraid of flying?

No, of course not! I've been flying all my life. Yes, and here there was, I think, a normal plane. Both fuel and pilots. The problem is different... I'm not sure we'll find out.

- Russian teams fly a lot. Don't save money on flights?

They save money, I think. Not that rich. Yes, there is money. There is no rule that there must be a plane for such and such an amount, no less. Maybe they'll do it now.

BY THE WAY

Salei's salary in the NHL over the past 10 years

Season

Team

Sum

"Detroit"

"Colorado"

"Colorado"

"Colorado"

"Florida"

"Anaheim"

"Anaheim"

"Anaheim"

"Anaheim"

"Anaheim"

In 2010, Ruslan changed the NHL club: from Colorado he moved to the star Detroit. The main goal is to win the Stanley Cup. For the sake of this dream, he significantly sacrificed his income. If in Colorado he received more than 3 million (excluding taxes), then in Detroit they offered him less than a million.

Yaroslavl offered him more.

Five facts from Salei’s sports biography

As a boy, Ruslan himself signed up for the hockey section. To get to morning training, he had to get up at six in the morning. Then he drove to school, and then drove again to training.

He made his debut in the Belarusian national team at the age of 19. He was a member of the national team from 1993 to 2011. In 2002, he became one of the authors of the Olympic sensation when our team beat the Swedes and reached the semifinals.

At the beginning of his career, he played for Dynamo Minsk and Tivali, and Grodno Neman. In 1995, Saley's doping test tested positive for ephedrine and he was banned from competing in Europe for six months. Ruslan went to America.

Since 1996, Salei has played 912 NHL games. He played for Anaheim, Florida, Colorado and Detroit. In 2003, Ruslan was the best defenseman of Anaheim, with whom he reached the Stanley Cup final.

In 2011, he accepted an offer from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, with whom he dreamed of winning the Gagarin Cup.

Ruslan Albertovich Salei(Belorussian Ruslan Albertavich Saley; November 2, 1974, Minsk, USSR - September 7, 2011, Yaroslavl region, Russia) - legendary Belarusian hockey player. Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus (2002).

Career

A student of the Minsk hockey school SDYUSHOR12 (Minsk). Since 1991 he played for Minsk teams.

In 1995, while playing for the national team at the 1994 World Championships in Group C, he failed a doping test after one of the matches, for which he was disqualified for 6 months. Salei himself explained the incident by saying that he was being treated for the flu and through the medicine a prohibited drug entered his body. At the same time, his agent suggested that Salei move to play in the USA, where the disqualification did not apply. As a result, in the fall of 1995 he began playing for the IHL club Las Vegas Thunder.

After a season in Las Vegas, he was selected 9th overall by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 1996 NHL draft, which is still a record for hockey players from Belarus.

Participant in the Olympic Games in Nagano, Salt Lake City and Vancouver.

Participant of the 1994 World Championships in Group C, 1995 in Group C, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004 in the first division, 2008 and 2009 as part of the Belarusian national team.

Played for the national team of Belarus in 1993-2010, played 66 matches, scored 31 (11+20) scoring points, received 109 penalty minutes.

In the NHL regular seasons, he played 917 games, in which he scored 204 (45+159) points. 62 games in the Stanley Cup, scored 16 (7+9) points.

He played 99 matches in the MHL championships, scored 12 (7+5) scoring points, and earned 96 minutes of penalty time.

He played 39 matches in the Russian championships, scored 20 (8+12) scoring points, and received 38 minutes of penalty time.

Participant in the final tournaments of the European Cup 1994 and 1995.

He died along with the Lokomotiv team on September 7, 2011 during takeoff of the plane at Yaroslavl airport. He was buried on September 10 in Minsk on the honorary alley of the Eastern Cemetery.

Was married. Had three children.

Achievements

• Stanley Cup finalist (2003).
• Winner of the Clarence Campbell Prize 2003
• Champion of Belarus (1993, 1994, 1995).
• Best hockey player of Belarus (2003, 2004).
• Third prize-winner of the Grand Prize of St. Petersburg (1993).
• Member of the IIHF Hall of Fame (2014).

Memory

• The Belarusian Hockey Federation has retired the number 24 under which Salei played in the national team.
• Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk wore number 24 during preseason matches of the 2011/2012 NHL season in memory of his former teammate. In the same season, number 24 was not used by the club's players.
• Ruslan Salei became the first member of the Belarusian Hockey Hall of Fame.
• On September 8, 2012, a monument to Ruslan Salei was unveiled at the Moscow Cemetery in Minsk. Another monument is planned to be installed near the Chizhovka Arena sports complex, or at the Yunost-Minsk skating rink.
• At the matches of the national team of the Republic of Belarus at the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship, fans paid tribute to the memory by stretching out the number and surname of the hockey player on a large canvas.
• An international tournament in memory of Salei is held annually in August.

Family for Ruslana Saleya was everything. His life, his love, his tenderness, so unusual for hockey players, focused on her. Wherever he played, no matter what he won, his thoughts did not go far from home. More precisely, from two houses. One, Belarusian, where my mother, sister and brother lived. And another, in California, where his wife Beth Ann and three children were waiting.

The eldest daughter, Alexis, now only six years old, became a ray of light for dad, an outlet from all gaming problems. What kind of hockey is there, what criticism, what arguments with the coach, when you see her eyes, smile, little hands, legs. " I know for sure that when she wants to play, she goes to dad, and when she wants to sleep, she goes to mom. Because dad plays with her more", Ruslan said in an interview.

Two years later, a son appeared - Alexandro. Just this season, Salei moved from Anaheim to Florida, and the Ducks went on to win the Stanley Cup. The most offensive situation for any player, but Ruslan wasn’t even upset. He joked that he had already won his “cup”.

Little Ava was born just six months ago. Now she only learns about dad from stories. Insanely sad. My heart aches when I look at family photos...

I would like to ask a question that has been gnawing at me for a long time while working on the articles “We Remember.” What kind of time is this and what kind of country is this in which strong, healthy, successful people die so often? The color of the nation. And not just one, but half a dozen - Russian, Belarusian, Swedish, Czech, Slovak...

During the war, at the front, this happens everywhere. I feel sorry for the guys there too, but “alager com alager.” But we are not at war... It seems... In any case, they don’t tell us anything about this war on the main TV channels.

The dead leave behind families, children, and some of the dead are still children themselves. And we all grieve, and we all pathetically “feel guilty” and no less pathetically say “oh, we didn’t save it.” And our whole fault lies in the fact that we are silent about the true culprits. We were silent after all the previous disasters and now we are trying not to think.

We are silent about the heads of our transport, in whose economy everything is collapsing, falling, sinking, burning. We remain silent about the bosses of these bosses, who are content with this state of affairs, without making personnel decisions, without creating control systems. We are silent about ourselves, who elect these “bosses of all bosses” and then silently look at their inaction. Policemen are being born and born, and we are silent...

Although the words we said at the right time could have saved Salei’s life. And many others.

Ruslan’s career turned out to be beautiful, powerful, and many Canadians would be jealous. 979 NHL games, 220 points, Stanley Cup final, universal respect and fame. A graduate of the Yunost school, he began his career in the Minsk clubs Dynamo and Tivali, but at the age of 19 he was forced to leave his native country due to a doping scandal. Now that story seems empty: a man had a cold, tried to treat himself with pseudoephedrine, nothing criminal. But then he was accused of God knows what and was banned from playing in Europe. I had to leave.

Minor leagues - AHL, IHL... First entry into the Anaheim team... Then - consolidation in it. He moved towards his status gradually, without rushing things. He played with all his heart, hunting, moving from one pair to another - more and more valuable to the team. A few years later it turned out that for the “mighty ducks” he is one of the symbols, the indisputable authorities. Almost the same as Selanne. By the way, Ruslan was very friendly with the Finn; they often played cards together. " He was the real soul of the team", Teemu said after the tragedy.

In 2003, Salei and the Ducks reached the Stanley Cup final, where they lost to New Jersey in seven games. This achievement was the greatest in his overseas career. After nine seasons in Anaheim and a “lockout” trip to Kazan (where, by the way, he became one of the few NHL players who performed at his usual level), Ruslan began traveling around the cities and towns of America. Florida (his most successful stop), Colorado and, finally, Detroit, where he met the future coach of Lokomotiv Brad McCrimmon.

In the City of Motors, the Canadian worked with the defenders, in Yaroslavl he was supposed to become the main one. Apparently, this was one of the main reasons for Salei’s move to Russia. Another reason was family. The age of a hockey player is short-lived, it is quite problematic to get a good contract in America at 36 years old, but in the KHL it is still possible. I had to say goodbye to my dreams of the 1000th game in the National League and the Stanley Cup - for the sake of my wife, children, and their comfortable future. This decision turned out to be fatal.

He never spoke ill of his partners and was above scandals and squabbles. He was a leader in the team, both in the locker room and on the hockey rink. He was respected, listened to, and consulted with. All the successes of the Belarusian squad (including the Salt Lake semi-final) are connected with this great defender...

Until the last moment there was hope that Ruslan was alive, that he had gone to Minsk earlier, that in another hour or two he would contact his family, the press, and call. Everyone would breathe a sigh of relief. Now you will have to hold this exhalation within yourself for the rest of your life.

Every September, a tournament in memory of Ruslan Salei will be held in Minsk with the participation of teams from Belarus and Russia. This is a way to keep his memory alive. Good way, true.

The main thing is that we remember.

We ask those who knew Ruslan Salei to write in the comments what they consider necessary. This material, like materials about other Lokomotiv guys, will remain on the Internet forever. And every year, on September 7, we will supplement it with your stories and commemorate it with you.

Ruslan Albertovich Salei(belor. Ruslan Albertavich Salei; November 2, Minsk, USSR - September 7, Yaroslavl region, Russia) - legendary Belarusian hockey player. Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus (2002).

Career

A student of the Minsk hockey school SDYUSHOR12 (Minsk). Since 1991 he played for Minsk teams.

In 1995, while playing for the national team at the 1994 World Championships in Group C, he failed a doping test after one of the matches, for which he was disqualified for 6 months. Salei himself explained the incident by saying that he was being treated for the flu and through the medicine a prohibited drug entered his body. At the same time, his agent suggested that Salei move to play in the USA, where the disqualification did not apply. As a result, in the fall of 1995 he began playing for the IHL club Las Vegas Thunder.

After a season in Las Vegas, he was selected 9th overall by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 1996 NHL draft, which is still a record for hockey players from Belarus.

He played 39 matches in the Russian championships, scored 20 (8+12) scoring points, and received 38 minutes of penalty time.

Participant in the final tournaments of the European Cup 1994 and 1995.

Was married. Had three children.

Achievements

• Stanley Cup finalist (2003).
• Winner of the Clarence Campbell Prize 2003
• Champion of Belarus (1993, 1994, 1995).
• Best hockey player of Belarus (2003, 2004).
• Third prize-winner of the Grand Prize of St. Petersburg (1993).

Memory

see also

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