Vladimir KOBRANOV

Vladimír Kobranov started his career in 1945 with ČLTK Praha and played with them through 1950. Kobranov was a high-scoring right winger who led the Czech Extraliga in goal scoring in 1945-46 and 1947-48, and led ČLTK Praha to the Extraliga title in 1950. He also played on the Czechoslovakian teams that won the 1949 World Championships and a silver medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics. But in 1950 his life changed, when he was arrested, along with 11 other Czechoslovak hockey players, and was accused of treason for plotting to defect at the 1950 World Championships. Kobranov was imprisoned and sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in the uranium prisoner camps in Jáchymov, but his sentence was commuted after five years. After his release he settled in Pardubice, and played hockey through 1964 with Tesla Pardubice. After the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Kobranov finally did escape, defecting to Switzerland in 1969, and lived the remainder of his life there, where he coached hockey and tennis.