On Saturday, the Vancouver Whitecaps will host Wrexham AFC at BC Place for an international friendly. Wrexham, the Welsh soccer club co-owned by Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds, has gained prominence through the documentary series *Welcome to Wrexham*, which follows Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and Wrexham’s community as the team strives to climb from the lower tiers of English football to the Premier League.
While soccer has many opportunities for international exhibition games, hockey does not. NHL teams rarely face off against professional teams from other leagues outside of occasional preseason matches in Europe. However, between the late 1970s and early 1990s, NHL teams frequently competed against Soviet teams in a series of exhibition games known as the Super Series.
During this era, before players from Russia, Czechoslovakia, and Slovakia could freely join NHL rosters, Soviet teams were dominant in international hockey. They would undertake semi-annual tours of North America, playing multiple games against NHL teams. The Vancouver Canucks hosted five such games between 1977 and 1991, facing Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Moscow, Dynamo Riga, and twice against the Central Red Army, which was largely composed of Soviet national team players.
The Canucks performed surprisingly well in these matchups. Their overall record of 3 wins and 2 losses against Soviet teams gave them a .600 winning percentage, ranking them fourth among the 21 NHL teams that participated in the Super Series.
The Canucks’ first encounter with Soviet teams came in December 1977 when Spartak Moscow visited Vancouver. Spartak, the reigning Soviet League champions, was defeated 2-0 by the Canucks, with Rick Blight scoring both goals and Curt Ridley securing a shutout, marking the first time an NHL team had completely blanked a Soviet team.
Two years later, Dynamo Moscow arrived in Vancouver as a tune-up for the 1980 Olympics. Dynamo featured Alexsander Maltsev, a prominent Soviet forward. Despite Dynamo taking an early 2-0 lead, the Canucks responded with six unanswered goals to secure a decisive victory. Notably, Brad Smith scored twice in this game, equaling his total goal count during his entire Canucks career. Dynamo’s goalie, Vladimir Myshkin, would later be known for allowing the game-winning goal in the “Miracle on Ice” game.
In December 1988, Dynamo Riga, which included future Canucks Anatoli Semenov and Arturs Irbe, faced Vancouver. The Canucks dominated with a 6-1 victory, thanks to a strong performance by Brian Bradley, who scored twice, and contributions from Tony Tanti, Jim Sandlak, and Ronnie Stern.
Despite their success, the Canucks’ strong performance against Soviet teams may have provoked a more intense response from the Soviets. By 1989 and 1990, the Central Red Army team, although not as formidable as in previous decades, still included many of the Soviet national team stars and was led by the stern Viktor Tikhonov. The Red Army decisively defeated the Canucks 6-0 in their first game, with future NHL stars like Sergei Fedorov and Valeri Kamensky leading the charge.
The rematch in 1991 was closer, with the Canucks showing resilience. Despite the Red Army controlling much of the play, Vancouver’s Troy Gamble made crucial saves, and Garry Valk and Greg Adams gave the Canucks a brief lead. Jay Mazur’s late goal tied the game, but Valeri Kamensky scored twice, including the overtime winner, leading to a 4-3 victory for the Red Army.
With the increasing number of Russian players joining the NHL and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Super Series came to an end. This series marked the last time an international club visited Vancouver for such exhibitions, though the Canucks did travel to Sweden in 2000 for preseason games against MoDo and Djurgården, winning both matches with notable performances from Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
