Viktor Khatulev
| Viktors Hatuļevs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
17 February 1955 Riga, Soviet Union |
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| Died | 7 October 1994 (aged 39) Riga, Latvia |
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense / Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Dynamo Riga | ||
| NHL Draft | 160th overall, 1975 Philadelphia Flyers |
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| WHA Draft | 116th overall, 1975 Cleveland Crusaders |
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| Playing career | 1974–1981 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Soviet Union
|
||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
1975 Canada and USA | |
|
1974 Leningrad | |
Viktors Hatuļevs (17 February 1955 – 7 October 1994) was a Latvian ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played for Dinamo Riga in the Soviet Hockey League. He was the first Soviet player drafted in the National Hockey League (NHL) Amateur Draft but never had a chance to play in North America since Soviet players were not allowed to play for foreign teams.
Hatuļevs played for Dinamo Riga in the 1970s. In Latvia, then a part of the USSR, ice hockey was the number one sport. Riga's Dinamo, under Viktor Tikhonov, rocketed into the big league and competed with Moscow teams as an equal.
Hatuļevs played in the first World Junior Championships in Leningrad and second World Junior Championships in Winnipeg and Brandon, Manitoba. The two unofficial tournaments helped set the stage for the first official World Juniors in 1977. He was the best player in the World Youth hockey championship in 1974/75, and in 1973/74 he was the best goal scorer.
At age of 20, Hatuļevs became the first Soviet-born and trained player ever drafted by an NHL team. The Philadelphia Flyers made the historic selection at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft in the ninth round, 160th overall, even though there was no chance of getting him out of the USSR. Hatuļevs was also selected by the Cleveland Crusaders in the ninth round, 116th overall, of the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.
But instead of being allowed to play in North America, he was banned from Soviet hockey for five years in 1975 for fighting, though the suspension was later lifted. He was also not allowed to leave the USSR.
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