“Forever inscribed himself in the history of “Salavat Yulaev”
Salavat Yulaev coach Konstantin Koltsov passed away at the age of 42. This was reported by press service club.
“It is with deep sorrow that we inform you of the death of Salavat Yulaev coach Konstantin Koltsov. He was a strong and cheerful person; He was loved and respected by players, colleagues and fans. Konstantin Evgenievich forever wrote in the history of our club. “Koltsov won the Russian Championship and the Gagarin Cup under Salavat Yulaev and did a great job with the team’s coaching staff.”
Played with Lemieux and Crosby, won the Gagarin Cup
Konstantin Koltsov was born in Minsk. At the age of seven he entered the Yunost school, where he started playing hockey and reached the youth team. He made his debut at the adult level in Russia – the young player signed a contract with Severstal. His debut in the Russian Championship took place in 1998, and a year later he was already a stable first-team player. He also competed for the Belarusian national team in three world championships as part of the youth, youth and adult teams.
As recently as 1999, the forward was selected 18th overall by Pittsburgh. But Koltsov’s journey abroad turned out to be long: just three years later, the player who played for Novokuznetsk Metallurg, Ak Bars and Moscow Spartak joined the Penguins. He scored his first goal for his new team away in Chicago. In total, he played 144 games in the NHL and collected 38 (12+26) points in these games. In Pittsburgh, he managed to play alongside the legendary Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby.
In 2002, as a member of the Belarusian national team, Koltsov participated in the Olympic Games, after which he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus.
He returned to Russia in 2006 and became a player for Salavat Yulaev. He soon became the champion of Russia and then won the Gagarin Cup. After Salavat, he played for Atlant Mytishchi and Dinamo Minsk and then retired. At the same time, he remained at Dinamo and became assistant head coach.
He continued his coaching career at Spartak in 2021. A year later he joined Viktor Kozlov’s headquarters in Salavat Yulaev, where he worked until the end. Literally a few hours before the news of Koltsov’s death appeared, it became known that he would leave the club.
Cause of death not disclosed
No official information was given about the cause of death of the 42-year-old athlete. According to this by Smartpress. Koltsov died due to rupture of a blood clot, the press service “Salavat Yulaev” reported. However, the club denied this version.
“The information that the Salavat Yulaev hockey club allegedly confirmed to the Belarusian press information about the cause of death (blood clot) is not true. “We did not confirm anything to anyone, no one contacted us.” RIA News.
The famous hockey player and coach died in Miami, where he had flown to support his girlfriend, the world’s number two, Aryna Sabalenka.
She was supposed to perform at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament in this city, but according to the portal Tennis365She withdrew from the competition due to the tragedy she experienced. Sabalenka was removed from the official training program and records of her participation were deleted from social networks.
“Still living and living”
The hockey world expresses its condolences regarding the death of Konstantin Koltsov. Olympic champion and three-time world champion Valery Kamensky believes that Koltsov is a promising coach.
“I knew him as an actor, we didn’t know each other well. A talented man, serious. I offer my condolences to his family and loved ones. Of course, he really loved hockey, his job changed to a coaching position, and he was very promising. Kamensky said in an interview: It is very sad that we are losing such people at this age. “Sports Express”.
St. Head coach of St. Petersburg SKA Roman Rotenberg was shocked by this news. He recalled his recent meeting with Koltsov at the Channel One Cup, where the specialist led the Belarusian team.
“Tonight terrible news came – Konstantin Koltsov passed away. Selfless player, promising coach. We last met him at the Channel 1 Cup, where he led the Belarusian national team. Under Koltsov’s leadership, Belarusians showed bright, interesting hockey, playing with them was not easy and very interesting. Konstantin was a great player and I have no doubt he would have made a great coach,” Rotenberg wrote. Telegram.
Vladimir Krikunov, the former head coach of the Russian and Belarusian national teams, said that Koltsov will be the head coach of Dinamo Minsk. The well-known expert stated that he saw Konstantin quite recently.
“He was in my team, he was in the national team. Kostya was a normal guy. He is alive now… It’s hard to say anything. A normal guy, a worker. In general, I always worked and trained without complaining. And now it seems that Minsk’s Dynamo He was supposed to be the head coach of You know how it is, you can’t put hay everywhere…
I don’t know what happened to him. I know you are in America. Someone says a blood clot broke out. I found out and I was shocked. The man is alive, I just saw him. The 43-year-old was only supposed to turn 43 on April 17. Live and live, your whole life is still ahead! You have to live with it…
My son just called. They say something is already attached to the car. There is no official statement at the moment,” Krikunov said. “Championship”.
“Our hockey brother”
Two-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion Vyacheslav Fetisov called Koltsov his “hockey brother” in his comments to socialbites.ca. He called to remember him and the fact that he served the great game.
“Young man, what happened? First of all, I would like to express my condolences to his family.
Hockey is our brother, our comrade, he faithfully served hockey – a great game.
What a shame… This age is a formation period for a coach. Big loss. Have you received an offer from Dinamo Minsk? Of course, this would be hopeful; he has already studied and gained experience. I don’t want to comment on something I don’t know, rumors and speculations are not for me. We offer our condolences to his family, this is a great tragedy. “We will remember this man, I have no other words,” said Fetisov.
Kontinental Hockey League, Russian and Belarusian Hockey Federations, Salavat Yulaev, Ak Bars and Dinamo Minsk expressed their condolences for Koltsov’s death. Salavat press service reported that fans brought flowers to the central entrance of the Ufa Arena.