Biography - Valeri Bure

Who is Valeri Bure?

Valeri Bure is a former ice hockey player.

Valeri Bure – Age, Parents, Siblings

Valeri Bure’s birthplace is in Moscow, Russia, and his birth name/full name is Valeri Vladimirovich Bure. He was born on June 13, 1974, to parents Vladimir Bure and Tatiana Bure. The Bure family was granted noble status. His father was an Olympic swimmer, who had won four medals at three Olympic Games between 1968 and 1976 while his ancestral family made watches for Russian stars from 1815–1917. 

Bure has an older brother named Pavel Bure, who is also a retired professional ice hockey player. When Valeri Bure was 9 years old, his parents separated. 

And in 1991, he along with his brother and father moved to Los Angeles and then to North America to embark on a career as a hockey player in National Hockey League (NHL). His mother did arrive in the States too, two months later. In Los Angeles, Bure’s father trained and coached the two brothers.

Valeri Bure’s father remarried and his half-sister Katya Bure was born. The blended family seemed close but in 1998, the Bure brothers became estranged from their father, stepmother, and step-sister.

Education, Ethnicity

Bure's ethnicity is Russian but his educational history is unknown.

His ethnicity is Russian.

Valeri Bure – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce, Affair

Valeri Bure began a relationship with Full House actress Candace Cameron. They were introduced by Cameron’s co-star Dave Coulier at a charity hockey game. After dating for almost a year, the couple married on June 22, 1996. Bure was 22 and Cameron was 20. 

Bure and Cameron are blessed with three children. Their eldest child a daughter, Natasha Valerievna Bure was born on 15 August 1998. Their two other children, both sons, named Lev Valerievich Bure and Maksim Valerievich Bure were born on 20 February 2000 and 20 January 2002 respectively.

They have been married for over 22 years! Which is pretty rare in Hollywood. The couple is still together, in love, with no rumors of extra-marital affairs and divorce.

Also read: Steve Yzerman - Ice hockey player, Ice hockey executive

Valeri Bure – Career

Early Days

Valeri Bure’s career as a professional ice hockey player had begun back in Russia. In 1990 and 1991, he played a total of three games with the club HC CSKA Moscow. When he arrived in North America in the early 1990s, he was 17 years old and played junior hockey, joining Spokane Chiefs.

After playing for the club in the season of the year 1992 and 1993, he was named to the WHL's West Division First All-Star Team. He led his team, scoring 147 points, and came in second place. In the 1993-1994 season, Bure recorded 102 points in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and was also named Second All-Star Team.

Valeri Bure, in the 1994-1995 season joined Fredericton Canadiens.  He had 23 goals and 48 points in 45 games but was still in his brother’s shadow, struggling to live up to expectations. An injury left him with two concussions and a kidney injury, which limited him to playing only 64 games in the 1995-96 season.

On February 1, 1998, he was traded to Calgary Flames in exchange for Jonas Höglund and Zarley Zalapski. In the Calgary Flames, Valeri  Bure became one of the team's leading scorers. 

After three successful seasons in the club, he was traded on June 24, 2001, along with Jason Wiemer for Rob Niedermayer to the Panthers. A second-round draft pick was also included in the exchange. But Bure did not sign the contract with the Panthers until late September as an agreement was not reached on salary.

Also read: Patrice Bergeron - Ice hockey player for NHL's Boston Bruins

Plays with injuries

He played for the Panthers from 2001–02 while struggling with his knee injury, also restricting his game time. In the 2003 season, his game was also hampered due to a hairline fracture to his wrist. Bure was then traded on March 11, 2003, to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Mike Van Ryn. 

After being placed on waivers, Bure was again claimed by the Panthers. After the 2003-04 season with The Panthers, on March 9, 2004, he was again traded to Dallas Stars, in exchange for Drew Bagnall and a draft pick. 

Valeri Bure then signed a contract with Los Angeles Kings for the 2005–06 season but never could make it to the regular season. A back injury obtained during the pre-season required surgery and a second hip surgery caused him to miss the entire season.

Also read: P. K. Subban - Ice Hockey Player at NHL

So, at the age of 31, in 2005, following a series of surgeries, Valeri Bure retired from professional hockey.

In 2010, Bure returned to the ice as a contestant in the reality show Battle of the Blades. He was paired up with professional figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva. They won the competition and shared $100,000, which was donated to charity.

Stature, Business ventures

Bure is considered a smaller player in the NHL. He is only five feet, ten inches in height. So, along with his team mated Saku Koivu (five foot ten) and Oleg Petrov (five foot nine), they were nicknamed "Smurf line".

He and his wife had opened a Florida restaurant called The Milk and Honey Café but had to close it down when the family moved to California. 

As of now, they own a winery Bure Family Wines, located in Napa Valley, California. The seal used for the winery was a modified Russian imperial seal that his great-grandfather used on his watches.

Also read: Soni Nicole Bringas - Actress, Dancer of Jane the Virgin, Fuller House 

Valeri Bure – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Bure is around $14 million while the figure on his annual salary is unknown.

Valeri Bure – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media sites Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Valeri Bure is absent.

Also read: Milan Lucic - Ice hockey player of Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins