Alexei Kovalev
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-->Alexei Kovalev (Russian:Алексей Вячеславович Ковалёв, Aleksej Kovaliov; born February 24, 1973, in Togliatti, U.S.S.R.) (now Russia) is a Russian professional ice hockey player. He plays as a right winger.
Playing career
Alexei Kovalev was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, first round, 15th overall, becoming the first Russian player to be drafted in the first round. Best known for his sleek stickhandling skills, he became an important part of the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup run, finishing with the third-most points for New York in the playoffs. Kovalev, with fellow Russians Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov were the first Russians to have their name on the Stanley Cup.In 1998-99, he was traded, along with Harry York, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Petr Nedved, Sean Pronger and Chris Tamer, with only 14 games played in the season. While only putting up 46 points in 63 games with the Penguins, he managed a strong effort with 12 points in 10 postseason games. The next few seasons, he had his best years yet with 76 and 95 points.
In a trade to mainly reduce their salary mass, Pittsburgh sent Kovalev back to the Rangers. He was sent, along with Dan LaCouture, Janne Laukkanen and Mike Wilson for Mikael Samuelsson, Rico Fata, Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner and cash.
A bit more than a year later, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Jozef Balej and a second round selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. While only managing 3 points in 12 games in the regular season, Kovalev broke out in the 2003-2004 playoffs, where he registered six goals and ten points in eleven games for Montreal.
He spent the 2004-05 NHL lockout playing for Ak Bars Kazan, in the Russian Superleague, where he registered 23 points in 35 games. Kovalev played for Russia in the 2005 World Championships in Austria, and was named the tournament's best forward. He subsequently signed a four-year contract (worth $4.5 million per year) with Montreal prior to the start of the 2005-06 NHL season, during which he scored his 300th career goal and recorded his 700th point on December 20, 2005 against Ottawa's Dominik Hasek in a 4-3 win. Kovalev (along with Craig Rivet), is an alternate captain of the Canadiens.
Kovalev is also a licensed pilot.
Awards
- NHL Offensive Player of the Week for November 6-12, 2000.
- NHL Offensive Player of the Week for November 5-11, 2001.
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game 2000-01.
- NHL Player of the Month in February 2001.
- IIHF's World Hockey Championship tournament's best forward
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game 2002-03.
- Won the Molson Cup for the month of November 2005.
Records
- First Russian player to be drafted in the first round
- First Russian player (along with Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov) to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup
Career statistics
(as of April 23, 2006)| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1989-90 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| 1990-91 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| 1991-92 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 26 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 16 | |||||||
| 1992-93 | Binghamton Rangers | AHL | 13 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 | ||
| 1992-93 | New York Rangers | NHL | 65 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 79 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 23 | 33 | 56 | 154 | 23 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 18 | ||
| 1994-95 | Tolyatti Lada | Rus | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 | ||
| 1995-96 | New York Rangers | NHL | 81 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 98 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1996-97 | New York Rangers | NHL | 45 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997-98 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 44 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | New York Rangers | NHL | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 63 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 37 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 14 | ||
| 1999-00 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 82 | 26 | 40 | 66 | 94 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2000-01 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 44 | 51 | 95 | 96 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 2001-02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 67 | 32 | 44 | 76 | 80 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 54 | 27 | 37 | 64 | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 24 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | New York Rangers | NHL | 66 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 54 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2004-05 | Ak Bars Kazan | Rus | 35 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 80 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2005-06 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 23 | 42 | 65 | 76 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Totals | NHL | 918 | 315 | 430 | 745 | 978 | 95 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 90 | |||
International play
Played for the Soviet Union in:- 1990 European Junior Championships (silver medal)
- 1991 European Junior Championships (silver medal)
- 1992 World Junior Championships (gold medal)*
- 1992 Winter Olympics (gold medal)*
Played for Russia in:
- 1992 World Championships
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
- 1998 World Championships
- 2002 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2005 World Championships
- 2006 Winter Olympics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | USSR | EJC | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1991 | USSR | EJC | 5 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 8 | |
| 1992 | CIS | WJC | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1992 | CIS | Oly | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | |
| 1992 | Russia | WC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1996 | Russia | WCH | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| 1998 | Russia | WC | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 14 | |
| 2002 | Russia | Oly | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Russia | WCH | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2005 | Russia | WC | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | |
| 2006 | Russia | Oly | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | |
| Senior Int'l Totals | 52 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 64 | |||
External links
- http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/viewastext.php?262e675f=6f4e0a63&pid=2803
- http://www.nhl.com/players/8458529.html
- http://www.nhlpa.com/WebStats/PlayerBiography.asp?ID=2945
See also
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