Russian Rocket - International Career

International Career

Prior to joining the NHL in 1991, Bure competed in several junior international tournaments for the Soviet Union. The first was the 1988 Quebec Esso Cup, an under-17 tournament (now known as the World U-17 Hockey Challenge) held in Quebec City, where he earned a gold medal. That same year, he competed in his first of two consecutive European Junior Championships.

The following year, Bure debuted at the world under-20 level as a 17-year-old at the 1989 World Junior Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. The top line of CSKA Moscow teammates Bure, Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Federov led the Soviet Union to a gold medal. Bure's eight goals tied him for the tournament lead with Jeremy Roenick of the United States, in addition to a team-high 14 points. He was named to the Tournament All-Star Team and earned Best Forward honours.

Bure competed in his second World Juniors the following year in 1990, winning a silver medal in Helsinki, Finland, while scoring seven goals in seven games. Later that year, he made his senior debut with the Soviet national team as a 19-year-old at the 1990 World Championships in Switzerland.

He scored two goals and four assists in ten games to help the Soviets to a gold medal finish, winning all three games in the medal round. Despite winning the overall tournament, the Soviets finished with a silver in the European Championship, which took into account only games played amongst European teams during the tournament. Nevertheless, each Soviet player was awarded $10,000 for winning the overall tournament, which Bure used to buy a new Lada. Several months later, in July, Bure took part in his third international tournament of the year at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle. Bure scored four goals and an assist in five games, and the Soviets captured the gold medal by defeating the United States in the final.

In 1991, Bure appeared in his third and final World Junior Championships. Having won their first four games, the Soviets required only a win in their the second-to-last-game against Finland to clinch the gold medal. After the Finns built a 4–0 lead, Bure led a 5-goal comeback in which he scored his team's final three goals for a natural hat trick. Nevertheless, the Soviets gave up a goal in the final minute of the game to set up a gold medal match against Canada.

Although Bure finished the tournament as the leading scorer with 12 goals in 7 games, the Soviets fell to Canada 3–2 to settle for silver. He finished his three-year World Junior career with a tournament-record 27 goals, to go with 39 points, in 21 games. Bure later competed in the 1991 World Championships for his second international appearance of the year. He improved on his previous year's total with 11 points in 11 games, tied for the team lead with Valeri Kamensky, and helped the Soviets to a bronze medal finish. Bure was named to the tournament's Second All-Star Team. The 1991 team marked the last World Championships that the Soviets played as the USSR, giving way to the union's dissolution later that year.

Prior to the dissolution, Bure was set to represent the Soviet Union at the 1991 Canada Cup several months later in Canada. However, after turning down a three-year contract with his Russian club, CSKA Moscow, he was left off the final roster. Further controversy ensued five years later in the inaugural 1996 World Cup (the successor tournament to the Canada Cup). Bure had recently recovered from reconstructive surgery to his right knee and had begun practicing with the Russian national team, when he refused to sign a petition organized by national team veteran Slava Fetisov. With the Russian Ice Hockey Federation dealing with internal corruption, the petition called for the ouster of a select few Russian ice hockey officials. In response, Bure explained, "I do not sign petitions. I believe I should work – play hockey. Petitions to the federation or to Olympic committees do not interest me."

In the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, Team Russia had played five preliminary games in order to set the groupings for the main tournament stage. Russia was the only team that went undefeated (winning against U.S.A (Detroit), Sweden (Stockholm), Finland (Moscow), Germany (Landshut) and tied against Team Canada (Calgary). The U.S.A, Sweden and Finland games saw the pairing line of "Bure-Fedorov-Mogilny", for the first and only time internationally on the senior level, and was considered "perhaps the best forward line on earth" at the time. With Bure injured as a result of a bruised kidney suffered in an exhibition game against the United States, he would not play in the main tournament.

Two years later, Bure made his Olympic debut with Russia at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. He helped his team to the gold medal game after an Olympic record five-goal game in Russia's 7–4 semi-final win against Finland, two of which came on breakaways. Playing the Czech Republic in the final, however, Bure and the Russians were shut out by goaltender Dominik Hašek and lost the gold medal by a 1–0 score. He finished with a tournament-high nine goals to be named the top forward and, while recording no assists, placed third in point-scoring with nine points in six games.

After the Panthers were eliminated in the 2000 playoffs, Bure was added to the Russian roster for the 2000 World Championships, held in Saint Petersburg. The Russians were not able to make the medal rounds, suffering upset defeats to both Latvia and Belarus. In six games, Bure managed four goals and an assist. Two years later, Bure made his second Olympic appearance at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, playing with a fractured hand. Attempting to make his second straight trip to the gold medal game, Bure and the Russians knocked out the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals 1-0, but lost in the semi-finals to the United States by 3–2. Bure finished his final international tournament as a player with two goals and an assist in six games to go with a bronze medal, having defeated Belarus in the bronze medal game.

Upon the announcement of his retirement in 2005, Bure was named Russia's Olympic general manager, succeeding Viacheslav Fetisov. He promised to put an end to the Russian Hockey Federation's history of internal conflict and player boycotts, stating, "You won't see such a mess with the national team that you've seen here before", and that "You won't see grouchy players here anymore. Only those who really want to play for Russia will be called into the team." As general manager, Bure chose the team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. The Russians failed to win a medal after they were shut out by the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game. Leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, former Soviet national goaltender Vladislav Tretiak was named Bure's successor as Olympic general manager on October 12, 2009.

Over five years later, in December 2011, Bure was announced as one of the 2012 inductees for the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. He was named alongside American Phil Housley, Finn Raimo Helminen and Czechoslovak Milan Novy in the annual class. The players will be officially inducted in a ceremony in May 2012.