Alexander Chernykh is a Soviet hockey player who played as a striker. Sunday star “Chemist” and Olympic champion Calgary. He was expected in the NHL. Cherny’s grandiose sports career was prevented by an accident, after which he no longer returned to the ice as a player.
Biography: childhood and youth
Alexander Alexandrovich Chernykh was born on September 12, 1965 in Voskresensk near Moscow. He lived next door to Igor Larionov, Alexander Smirnov, Valery Kamensky and Andrei Lomakin. With them, Chernykh poured an ice rink in the yard and drove the puck, went to training and subsequently played for one club, and with some for the national team as well.
Alexander came to hockey when he was eight years old. At that time in Voskresensk SDUSHOR at the local club “Chemist” was popular. Parents brought Black into it. His first trainers were Vasily Boykov and Alexander Bobkov. Alexander did not immediately get involved in the training process and even wanted to quit this business, if not for the support of the coaches. According to him, it was Bobkov’s merit that he became a hockey player. Soon Chernykh began to show good results.
Among his first high-profile victories was the triumph of the Sunday children's team in the traditional Golden Hockey tournament for young hockey players, the finals of which were held in Chelyabinsk. Then Alexander was 11 years old. Impressions of the first "gold" were not limited to the presentation of medals and the Cup. The guys were invited to the Komsomol Central Committee, and then organized a meeting with famous athletes, artists and astronauts, among whom was Alexei Leonov, Valery Muratov. In an interview, Alexander recalled that then he was overwhelmed with vivid impressions and he even began to dream of astronautics. However, he soon stopped dreaming and plunged headlong into training on ice.
From the age of 15, Chernykh played for the youth national team of the USSR. He played with guys who were a year or two older. Even then, Alexander attracted the attention of specialists and received invitations to various clubs.
At 16, he became the bronze medalist of the European Youth Championship. The then coach of the local “Chemist” Vladimir Vasiliev, who played a significant role in the development of Black as a hockey player, felt that they were going to lure the young athlete. In order not to lose a promising player, he began to attract Alexander to the games for the main team of Chemist, despite his young age. His debut took place in the 1981/1982 season. Chernykh held his first match with Kiev Sokol and immediately scored. In the Sunday “Chemist” Alexander played until 1985.
The leader of the Chemist quickly turned from a promising player of Chernykh. In 1983, during the draft, the New Jersey Devils drew attention to him. However, Alexander will never be able to play in the NHL.
As part of the youth team, Cherny won:
- "Bronze" European Championship (1982)
- "Gold" of the European Championship (1983);
- two "gold" World Cup (1983, 1984);
- World Cup bronze (1985).
After school, Alexander became a student at the Institute of Physical Culture (now the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture), as did many hockey players at Khimik. To prevent promising players from joining the army and not losing for two years, the club after training formalized them with employees of rural schools. It was like a legal respite from the army.
When Chernykh switched to the third year, the institute was suddenly deprived of the right to give such a reprieve. The trainer “Chemist” Vasiliev helped Alexander to be taken to the Tver club SKA MVO. He was part of the so-called physical-sports organization of the Armed Forces of the USSR, along with CSKA, CSK Air Force and others. In Tver Chernykh spent the whole season, during which he managed to score 29 goals. Thus, he attracted the attention of Viktor Tikhonov, who at that time coached CSKA and the national team.
Career
In 1985, Chernykh moved from Tver to Moscow. As part of the “army”, he lost the whole season. He went on the ice in one of the three with Valery Kamensky and Nikolai Drozdetsky. Then he lacked stability: he spent a great match, then a failure. On his account there were only three goals and three assists. Hockey players with such indicators have not been kept in the best club in the country for a long time, especially since there was no shortage of personnel. Black increasingly began to sit on the bench. Then he decided to return to SKA MBO, where he spent another season.
In Tver Chernykh “played out” and in 1987 received a call to the national team, which came as a complete surprise to him. By that time, he was behind participation in the hockey tournament “Prize of the Izvestia newspaper” and friendly matches in Switzerland. In the same year, Chernykh again became a player in Chemist, although he was called by many clubs in the capital, including Dynamo and Spartak. However, he decided to return to his native land. Chemistry coach Vasiliev created the three Quarters - Chernykh - Vostrikov, who in the national championship scored any opponent without exception. Of course, Tikhonov drew attention to the guys and called all three of them to the national team.
The 1988 Olympics became for Cherny the first "adult" tournament of international importance. And then he flew overseas for the first time. In the Olympic matches, Cherny played in conjunction with Mogilny and Lomakin. The gold brought from those Games will be the highest achievement in Alexander’s career.
After the Olympics in Calgary, Chernykh participated in a number of competitions. There was only a year left before the ill-fated accident. During this time, Chernykh won:
- "Gold" CHE;
- World Gold;
- "Silver" in the championship of the Union in the "Chemist".
Accident and life after
In May 1989, Chernykh got into an accident. Returning by car from his sister’s wedding, he crashes into a lamp post and is seriously injured. Alexander received a severe head injury with partial paralysis, and his wife suffered a compression fracture of the spine.
The consequences of the accident did not allow Black to return to the ice as a player. He received a second disability group and for some time crossed out hockey from his life. Soon, Alexander began to work in Chemist as a children's coach.
