Sergei Kapustin
Sergei Alekseevich Kapustin was a Soviet ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for Neftyanik Ukhta from his hometown, HC CSKA Moscow, Krylya Sovetov Moscow, and HC Spartak Moscow.
Kapustin played thirteen seasons with the Soviet Union national team. He was part of the team that won seven Gold Medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983. Kapustin was voted to the first All Star team at the 1978 and 1981 tournaments. He played for the Soviet Union in the 1974 Summit Series, the 1976 Canada Cup, the Gold Medal team at the 1976 Winter Olympics, the 1979 Challenge Cup, and the 1981 Canada Cup. He was voted "best forward" at the 1978 Izvestia Cup.
Kapustin was selected by the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, as they believed it possible he might go to North America.
Kapustin was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. He retired in December 1985 after that year's Izvestia Cup tournament, although he continued his career in Austrian clubs Innsbrucker EV and EC Salzburg, respectively. After the collapse of the latter, Kapustin retired. He died of sepsis in 1995 at age 42 after swimming in a Moscow pond, having cut his elbow on a rusty nail.
His younger brother Igor was also a prominent hockey player.