| Rudi Hiti is considered as the top Yugoslav/Slovenian player until Anze Kopitar came along. Despite mostly playing in the IIHF World Championship B-pools, Hiti displayed such skill that it caught the interest of the Chicago Blackhawks who invited him to training camp in 1970. Unfortunately, in his first NHL exhibition game, he broke his jaw and never got another chance.
Hiti represented his country in 17 IIHF World Championships and two Olympics (Grenoble 1968 and Sapporo 1972). He was named to the World Championship All-Star Team four times. Hiti played club hockey with HK Kranjska Gora, HK Jesenice, HK Olimpija Ljubljana before joining Italys and HC Alleghe and HC Bolzano.
He won four Slovenian/Yugoslav national championships and was an Italian champion three times. Hiti coached the Slovenian national team from 1991- 2000. |
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