By age 11, he was named the best forward in his league. After Bure failed to impress in his first tryout, his father told him that if he did not show significant improvement within two months, he would withdraw him from the hockey school. Until that point, Bure had only played ball hockey on the streets. He attended his first tryout with the CSKA Moscow hockey school at the age of six, despite his limited skating ability. Vladimir Bure, a Russian swimming legend, had dreams of Pavel becoming a professional swimmer, but he aspired to play hockey at an early age. At age 12, his parents separated, and he remained with his mother. Bure was later recognized for his international career as a 2012 inductee in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.īure was born in Moscow in 1971 to Vladimir and Tatiana Bure. Following Bure’s retirement in 2005, he was named the general manager for Russia’s national team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. After the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, Bure competed for Russia in two Winter Olympics, claiming silver at the 1998 Games in Nagano as team captain, and bronze at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

As a member of the Soviet Union, he won two silver medals and a gold in three World Junior Championships, followed by a gold and a silver medal in the 19 World Championships, respectively. Internationally, Bure competed for the Soviet Union and Russia.

In 2017, an NHL panel named Bure one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. After six years of eligibility, Bure was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in June 2012. He averaged better than a point per game in his NHL career (779 points with 437 goals in 702 NHL games) and is fourth all-time in goals per game. Bure struggled with knee injuries throughout his career, resulting in his retirement in 2005 as a member of the Rangers, although he had not played since 2003.

After seven seasons the Canucks dealt Bure to the Panthers, where he won back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophies as the league’s leading goal-scorer. Selected 113th overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by Vancouver, he began his NHL career in the 1991–92 season, and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s best rookie before leading the NHL in goal-scoring in 1993-94 and helping the Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Trained in the Soviet Union, he played three seasons with the Central Red Army team before his NHL career. Nicknamed “ The Russian Rocket” for his speed, Bure played for 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks, the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers. Pavel Vladimirovich Bure (born March 31, 1971) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played the right wing position.

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