 Before 1989 , players that lived in the Soviet Union , Czechoslovakia , and other nations behind the Iron Curtain were not allowed to leave and play in the NHL . In March 1989 , Sergei Pryakhin became the first member of the Soviet national team who was permitted to play for a non @-@ Soviet team . Several Soviet players , including Igor Larionov and Viacheslav Fetisov , wanted to leave and play in the NHL . Soviet officials agreed to allow players to leave if they played one final tournament with the national team . Players agreed to this , and the Soviet Union won its 21st World Championship . Shortly after , Soviet players began to flood into the NHL . Many of the Soviet Union 's top players left , including the entire " Green Unit " – Larionov , Fetisov , Vladimir Krutov , Sergei Makarov and Alexei Kasatonov . The following year , the Soviet team was in disarray but still managed to win the 1990 World Championships . It was the final championship the Soviet team would win . In 1991 , Swedish forward Mats Sundin – the first European player to be drafted first overall in the NHL – led his team to the gold medal . The Soviets won bronze – the last medal the team would ever win . 
