06 | November | 2009 | Russkiy Hockey

Full name: Pavel Vladimirovich Bure
Last team: New York Rangers
Number: 9
Position: Right Wing
Height: 5’10″/180 cm
Weight: 190 lbs/85 kg
Shoots: Left
Born: March 31, 1971 in Moscow, RUS
Drafted: Selected by Vancouver Canucks in 6th round (113th overall) of the 1989 Entry Draft

Strengths: Pavel Bure was a very rare talent: he shot the puck from anywhere, had magical stick-handling ability, and his aim was one of the most precise in hockey. He was a natural goal scorer as well as one of the fastest skaters in the world.

Weaknesses: Bure’s defensive skills were below average for a leading star forward, making him frequently labeled as a one-dimensional player. Bure’s knee injuries and surgeries forced him to retire from playing at the age of 32.

Biography: How did Pavel Bure get to be nicknamed “The Russian Rocket” and become one of the best hockey players in the world? It all started when Pavel was a little boy, and his father – Olympic swimming gold-medalist Vladimir Bure – took him to the rink to teach him how to skate. Pavel wore his mother’s figure skates, and held on to a sliding chair so he wouldn’t fall. About a decade later, Pavel joined the legendary CSKA team in Moscow and won the title of Soviet National Rookie of the Year after his first full season. At the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Bure was selected only 113th overall, so he played another great season with CSKA before he was signed by the Vancouver Canucks. That was also when Pavel’s international career elevated. He played in three World Junior Championships, winning gold in 1989 and silver in the next two years. That was when he became part of one of the most dangerous forward lines at the time: Mogilny-Fedorov-Bure. That line anchored the Soviet Union to gold at the 1990 World Championship. In his first NHL season, Pavel unsurprisingly won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie! He had a pair of 60-goal seasons under the tenure of coach Pat Quinn. In 1994, Pavel’s leadership and talents helped the Canucks reach the 1994 Stanley Cup final, where they lost to Pavel’s future club, the New York Rangers. Then, Bure began to be plagued by injuries. His reunion in Vancouver with Alexander Mogilny did not last long – Bure missed a lot of games in 1996. But the Russian Rocket managed to come back and rock the hockey world again. At the 1998 Olympics, other than winning the silver medal Pavel led all Olympians with nine goals in and was named top forward of the tournament. In March 1999, he was part of a blockbuster deal that sent him to the Florida Panthers. In 2000, Bure led the NHL in goals, with 58, helping his team finish fifth in the Eastern Conference. One of the highlights of Pavel’s career was playing with his brother Valeri at the 2000 All-Star game in Toronto; Valeri helped Pavel win the game’s MVP award. Next season, Bure again led the league in goals. Unfortunately, his next two seasons were not as successful. In March 2002, Pavel was traded to the New York Rangers, but in his first season with the club, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. After a brief stint in the following campaign, Pavel re-injured his knees and formally retired from playing hockey in 2005. Pavel took on a new challenge when he served as the General Manager of Russia’s men’s hockey team for the 2006 Olympics. In 2012, Bure was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fall and on November 2, 2013 his number 10 was retired by the Vancouver Canucks organization.

Club Stats:

Season	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
1987-88	CSKA Moscow	5	1	1	2		0
1988-89	CSKA Moscow	32	17	9	26		8
1989-90	CSKA Moscow	46	14	10	24		20
1990-91	CSKA Moscow	44	35	11	46		24
1991-92	Vancouver	65	34	26	60	0	30
1992-93	Vancouver	83	60	50	110	+35	69
1993-94	Vancouver	76	60	47	107	+1	86
1994-95	EV Landshut (DEL)	1	3	0	3		2
1994-95	Spartak Moscow	1	2	0	2		2
1994-95	Vancouver	44	20	23	43	-8	47
1995-96	Vancouver	15	6	7	13	-2	8
1996-97	Vancouver	63	23	32	55	-14	40
1997-98	Vancouver	82	51	39	90	+5	48
1998-99	Florida	11	13	3	16	+3	4
1999-00	Florida	74	58	36	94	+25	16
2000-01	Florida	82	59	33	92	-2	58
2001-02	Florida/NY Rangers	68	34	35	69	-5	62
2002-03	NY Rangers	39	19	11	30	+4	16

Totals	USSR/Rus. League	128	69	31	100		54
Totals	NHL Reg. Season	702	437	342	779	+42	484
Totals	NHL Playoffs	64	35	35	70	+8	74

National Team Stats:

Year	Tournament	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
1988	European U18	6	10	0	10	2
1989	European U18	6	5	6	11	4
1989	World U20	7	8	6	14	4
1990	World U20	7	7	3	10	10
1990	World Championship	10	2	4	6	10
1991	World U20	7	12	3	15	31
1991	World Championship	10	3	8	11	2
1998	Olympic Games	6	9	0	9	2
2000	World Championship	6	4	1	5	10
2002	Olympic Games	6	2	1	3	8

Totals	U18 Level	12	15	6	21	6
Totals	U20 Level	21	27	12	39	45
Totals	Senior Level	38	20	14	34	32