Sergei Bautin became a crowd favorite during his two years in Luleå.
Now he is dead, only 55 years old.
– A shock, says his former teammate Erik Granqvist.
Sergei Bautin was already drafted in the first round of the NHL draft in 1992. However, Bautin never really got it right in the NHL, and after being sent down to the AHL in his third season, he never rose. Instead, Bautin, who won Olympic gold with the OSS in 1992, chose to move to Sweden.
Just turned 55 years old
It was during the 1996/1997 season that Bautin played in Luleå, and it didn’t take long before he became a real crowd favorite. Bautin was nicknamed “Bam-Bam” in Luleå, after his rock-hard playing style. He was one of the toughest players in the then Elitserien, and was given the role of protector for, among others, cult goalkeeper Jarmo Myllys.
Now comes the news that Bautin has expired. His former club Dynamo Moscow announced on Monday that the former big back died after a long illness, aged just 55.
“It is an irreplaceable loss for the Dynamo family. We mourn you,” the club wrote in a statement.
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The grief of the expert
Erik Granqvist, now a popular expert at Viaplay but then a teammate of Bautin in Luleå, says it’s a shock.
– He was a calm and film-interested teammate off the ice. With the armor on, he was rock hard and cleaned up in front of Jarmo Myllys for two seasons in the 90s. If someone touched Luleå’s star goalkeeper, “Bam-Bam” came and bundled them up immediately, he tells Aftonbladet.
Erik Granqvist talks about how Bautin was as a teammate – and how Luleå’s coach tried to get Bautin to calm down with all the expulsions.
– They tried to explain that it was enough to mark the players who poked Myllys. He didn’t have to lower them every time. He was somewhat of a loner in private, but loved to break his arm during team parties, says Granqvist.
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