Dmitry Frolov does not belong to the hockey legends, but he was a very capable hockey player and an excellent defender. Three times he became the champion of the USSR, in the Russian national team he became the world champion in 1993. He received an invitation from the NHL, but did not want to leave the country and spent the best years of his career here. Today Dmitry works as a coach, having time to collaborate with several teams of the youth hockey league.
Career start
Dmitry Frolov was born in Temirtau (Kazakhstan) in 1966. The hockey school in the Kazakh SSR was quite strong. Many famous players came out from there. Teams from Ust-Kamenogorsk and Karaganda performed well in the national championship. Little Dima did not escape the hobby, having signed up for the hockey section. Physically strong stubborn guy rapidly progressed and already in his teens began to shine at junior tournaments.
The statistics of Dmitry Frolov in hockey has been counting since 1982, when at the age of fifteen he made his debut at the adult level for the Stroitel team from Kazakh Temirtau. The club then played in the Second League of the Union Championship and did not shine very much.
However, the tenacious, unyielding defender made a good impression and promised to grow into a great hockey player. Having left his native Temirtau, Dmitry spent two seasons in the leading club of the Kazakh SSR - Karaganda "Motorist".
In the elite division
According to Dmitry, when he was a player in the country, there were not a large number of youth tournaments, and young hockey players had to make their own way to success by pushing adult players with their elbows. The same went for the hockey player Dmitry Frolov, who arrived at Dynamo Kharkiv at the age of eighteen, having no guaranteed place in the first team.
The Ukrainian team then played in the First League of the Union Championship, and the young defender soon became a key link in team interactions.
He spent two years in Kharkov, after which he went to play in the Premier League for Dynamo from Riga. Here Dmitry Frolov also spent two seasons, attracting the attention of coaches of the best teams in the country. The hockey player left Latvia for the third Dynamo club in his life. This time, he was invited to join Dynamo from Moscow, one of the country's best hockey clubs.
Golden years
Real star players were gathered here, and in the first seasons Dmitry Frolov spent a lot of time off the court, not having a place in the first team. As a result, he asked the club management to return to Kharkov for a while, so as not to lose their playing practice and hone their skills in games for the First League club.
In the late eighties, Dmitry Frolov entered a new level of development and, together with Zhamnov and Svetlov, became one of the leaders of the Moscow Dynamo. As part of the “blue and white” team, he participated in the games of the legendary Super Series against NHL teams, twice won the European Cup. In the 1989/1990 season, a talented defender was first invited to the USSR national team.
At the turn of the epochs, the brilliant Dynamo won the Union Championship for three consecutive years, becoming the last champion of the united USSR. Not the last role in that team was played by Frolov Dmitry Nikolaevich, statistics on the game in the defense of which was one of the best in the country.
World Champion and Legionnaire
In 1990, the Dynamo defender was selected at the draft by the Calgary Flames NHL club at number 146. However, Dmitry Frolov decided not to tempt fate and remained playing in Russia, having managed to take three champion titles with Dynamo.
In 1992, he left Moscow, moving to the St. Petersburg SKA, which was then headed by Boris Mikhailov. He will invite Frolov to the national team, which will win gold medals of the World Cup in 1993. A native of Temirtau was called twice to the national team to world forums, but the success of the team in those years was more than modest, the Russians did not go beyond the quarter-finals.
Refusing to leave Russia at one time, Dmitry Frolov still did not escape the temptation to try his hand abroad. However, the invitation came not from the NHL, but from not very hockey Italy. Ex-Dynamo began to play for the Devils Milano, in which he managed to become the champion of the country.
Frolov's European career ended with performances for clubs from Austria and Germany, for which he spent one season.
Return
The hockey player returned to his homeland in 1997, becoming a player in his native Moscow Dynamo. Together with the club, he reached the finals of the Euroleague and the Cup of Russia, but after one season he left the team. At the highest level, he played a couple of years, having managed to change several Super League clubs, among which were Avangard and CSKA. In 2002, Dmitry Frolov announced the end of his career, already being a hockey player of the modest “Gazovik”.
However, Dmitry was not forgotten in his homeland. At that time, the Barys hockey club from Astana was actively developing.
The team leaders decided to invite an experienced veteran who started in Kazakh hockey to the team and called Dmitry. Frolov accepted the offer of Barys and won with him the bronze of the First League.
