Former Olympian Shares his Experiences at United Center
A Chat with Nikolai Khabibulin

A tremendous sports city such as Chicago has many great attributes. The many professional sporting franchises provide numerous opportunities to have discussions with former Olympic athletes who proved themselves in the International arena before establishing their presence within the professional ranks. One such athlete is Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, affectionately nicknamed “the Bulin Wall.” Khabibulin is an established goaltender for the Russian national team, winning an Olympic gold medal with the Unified Team in 1992, and a bronze for Russia in 2002. In the summer of 2005, Khabibulin, coming off a Stanley Cup title with the Tampa Bay Lightning the previous NHL season, was signed by Chicago to a four-year, $27 million deal, making him the highest paid goalie in the league. His NHL resume includes four All-Star appearances.  I spoke with him at the Hawks first ever Training Camp Festival at the United Center this past Saturday. The all day event featured a Hawks practice session, the “Mad Dash to Madison” 5K Run/Walk/Skate, a 3-On-3 Street Hockey Tournament in the UC parking lot, live music, and an interactive games area.

I began our conversation by asking him about being a member of the Gold Medal winning team in 1992 at Albertville. “Any time you’re on a winning team, winning the last game is awesome. Probably something that I’ll remember forever,” Khabibulin said.  I followed up by asking him about his 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic experience where Russia finished with a Bronze.

However, Nikolai was selected as the Games best goaltender by the IIHF. “That was a little different because I actually got to play in Salt Lake. We didn’t win the Gold, but it was still great because the Olympics happens only once every four years and every team gets their best players, so it’s exciting to be at the Olympic Village and just to see all the athletes around,” Nikolai answered.  Finally, I concluded our conversation by inquiring into any big differences between the International games and the NHL. “In 92 it was a big difference because they weren’t too many professionals. In 2002 the NHL players were allowed to play, so it was a hockey showcase. Every team had a lot of stars on it; it was a really fun time,” the goalie said.