The Red Machine: the Soviet Quest to Dominate Canada's Game

The Red Machine covers Soviet hockey from it's arrival in Russia up until the time the book was written in 1990. Lawrence Martin does a terrific job of explaining the Soviet game. He details the pioneer coaches and their philosophies and play styles that set the Russians apart from the western hockey world and led them to become titans on an international stage.

The Soviet leaders in politics were set on using global hockey tournaments to demonstrate the power of Communism and it's superiority over the world through the use of a hockey system that shunned individualism on the ice and instead focused more on collective methods of line organization and puck movement. Focusing on completing a high volume of fast passes, speed, and agility, the Russian teams gained hockey supremacy made changes to the sport that would forever change the game and how the Canadians developed and used their players.

As quoted in the book, Winnipeg Jets General Manager Mike Smith said about Soviet and Canadian hockey history: “It's safe to say that over the long haul we got more from the Russians than they got from us.”

I consider this to be a must-read for hockey fans who consider themselves history-buffs or hockey nerds interested in the various play styles and techniques that the Soviet teams of old have passed on to modern hockey.