Artem Tretiak Junior Review

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Tretiak to Join VHL

 

Artem Tretiak, the Russia goalie, has entered the Victory Hockey League Minors, reads the ticker at the bottom of the screen. ESPN reports that the 35 year old veteran is taking his talents to the Victory Hockey League, finally leaving his native home and declaring for a more worldwide hockey experience. 

 

Friends, family, analysts and experts all agree, "It's about time." That's the overwhelming sentiment for fans of Tretiak, who has played for a decade and a half in Russia throughout his career. Though he will be seen as a new face, a rookie, even a prospect, the veteran is on the backside fo 30 and may not have much left in the tank.

 

Throughout his twenties, Tretiak was a staple of Russian hockey. He sat in net for hundreds of games and saved thousands of would be goals. He was as reliable as a well-tuned time piece. You could count on him to be in the right position, at the right time, every day of the week. When he hit his thirties, it looked like that dominance would continue forever, as he kept up his all-world quality play for a few more seasons. Then, however, it started to slip away. 

 

First, there was an injury. Tretiak broke his leg during an offseason incident - a horrible snowmobile accident. The recovery was tough, and it took a lot out of Tretiak. By the time he was ready to be back on the ice, it had been over a year of workouts, physical therapy and mental preparation. The country was ready for him to be back in action - but he failed, miserably. His performance was poor and his mental state was even worse. He had been at the top and to be back at the bottom was too much. He spiraled. 

 

 

For the first time in his career, his original team wanted no part of Artem, and he was let go from the roster. Most teams wanted nothing to do with him, so he ended up on a bottom-feeder, essentially serving as a marketing ploy. However, it was here that Tretiak began to play himself back into form a bit. His confidence grew and suddenly it looked like he might be back to his elite ways. 

 

Then, it happened. He broke his leg, again. This time it was on the ice, and it wasn't pretty. He retired from the sport, entered into another recovery process. 

 

But the itch was still there, so Tretiak came out of retirement - only to find that no one wanted the aging veteran after a second major injury. So, he stayed retired until he got a call from an agent in the VHL. They said he should give it a try, try to revitalize his career. So he has. He's here. Who knows if he will be able to turn back the clock any, but he's going to give it a try.