Ilya Kovalchuk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Left Wing |
| Shot | Right |
| Nickname(s) | Kovy. Koval-Chuck. |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m) 225 lb (102 kg/16 st 1 lb) |
| NHL Team | Atlanta Thrashers |
| Nationality |  Russia |
| Born | April 15, 1983 , Tver, U.S.S.R. |
| NHL Draft | 1st overall, 2001 Atlanta Thrashers |
| Pro career | 1999 – present |
Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (Russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук, Il'ja Valer'jevič Kovalčuk; born April 15, 1983, in Tver, U.S.S.R.) is a Russian professional ice hockey winger who currently plays for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League.
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[edit] Playing career
Ilya Kovalchuk began his professional career at the Russian Super League club HC Spartak Moscow. He played there for two seasons before entering the NHL. Drafted by Atlanta first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Ilya Kovalchuk was the first Russian to be drafted first overall in NHL history.[1] In club-level competition, Kovalchuk wore the number 17 as a tribute to Valeri Kharlamov, a Soviet superstar in the 1970s.[2] When Kovalchuk played for his national team he wore number 71, reversed #17 in tribute to the great Kharlamov.
Kovalchuk finished second to teammate Dany Heatley in the voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2002.[1] Both were named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. In the 2003-04 NHL Season Kovalchuk scored 41 goals, making him a co-winner of the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy after tying for the league lead in goals along with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash.[1] He also added 46 assists for 87 points, tied with Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche for second in the league that season, behind Martin St. Louis. Kovalchuk also participated in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game. During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Kovalchuk played with Ak Bars Kazan. After the lockout, Kovalchuk scored 52 goals in 2005-06, which tied him with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for third in the league in goal-scoring. He also tied his career-high of 46 assists for a career-high 98 points, finishing 8th overall in scoring and leading the Atlanta Thrashers in scoring for the second consecutive season. He also became the first Thrashers player to score 50 goals in a season. In the 2006-07 NHL season, Kovalchuk's point production dropped for the first time in his career. He finished with 42 goals and 34 assists for 76 points. Despite his drop in production, Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers qualified for the playoffs for the first time. The team would lose to the New York Rangers in four games, but Kovalchuk would score one goal and one assist in the series.
In 2006 Kovalchuk played in the Torino Winter Olympics as a member of the Russian men's hockey team, and had a four-goal game on February 19 in a 9–2 win over Latvia, but returned to Atlanta without a medal.
In 2006, Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz said Kovalchuk "always plays with an illegal stick."[3] The NHL has subsequently, as of the 2006–07 season, changed the rules on stick curvature to allow for a much more curved stick than was previously allowed. Kovalchuk, under the new rules, claims to play only with a legal stick.
On November 1, 2007 and November 3, 2007, Kovalchuk scored two consecutive hat-tricks despite a loss to the Ottawa Senators and the win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had a goal in the next game but lost the chance to score a hat-trick due to being injured midway through. It would have been an NHL record had he scored a hat-trick.
On 2008-01-23 Kovalchuk was suspended for one game by the NHL for a hit from behind on New York Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival in a game a day prior.[4]
On 2008-05-18 Kovalchuk played in the IIHF Championship Game in Quebec City, Canada where he scored just twice. However, he scored the tying goal in the final game for the Gold medal to bring the game to overtime and then the game winner goal to give Russia its long-awaited gold medal.
[edit] Awards
- Played in NHL YoungStars Game - 2002
- NHL YoungStars Game MVP - 2002
- NHL All-Rookie Team - 2002
- Played in NHL All-Star Game - 2004, 2008
- NHL Second All-Star Team - 2004
- Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy - 2004 (shared with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash).
[edit] Records
- Atlanta Thrashers franchise scoring leader, 466
- Atlanta Thrashers franchise goal scoring leader, 254
- Atlanta Thrashers franchise single season goal total, 52 (2005–06,2007-08)
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] Regular season and playoffs
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999-00 | HC Spartak Moscow | RSL-2 | 49 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 75 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | HC Spartak Moscow | RSL-3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | HC Spartak Moscow | RSL | 40 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 78 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 38 | ||
| 2001-02 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 65 | 29 | 22 | 51 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 81 | 38 | 29 | 67 | 57 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 81 | 41 | 46 | 87 | 63 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Aq Bars Kazan | RSL | 53 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 72 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2005-06 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 78 | 52 | 46 | 98 | 68 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006-07 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 82 | 42 | 34 | 76 | 66 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||
| 2007-08 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 79 | 52 | 35 | 87 | 52 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 466 | 254 | 212 | 466 | 334 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||||
[edit] All Star Games
| Year | Location | G | A | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | St. Paul | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Atlanta | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| All-Star Totals | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
[edit] International play
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Russia |
|||
| Men's Ice Hockey | |||
| World Under-18 Championships | |||
| Gold | 2001 Finland | Ice Hockey | |
| Silver | 2000 Switzerland | Ice Hockey | |
| Olympic Games | |||
| Bronze | 2002 Salt Lake City | Ice Hockey | |
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | 2008 Canada | Ice Hockey | |
| Bronze | 2007 Russia | Ice Hockey | |
| Bronze | 2005 Austria | Ice Hockey | |
Played for Russia in:
- 2002 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 2003 World Championships
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2005 World Championships (bronze medal)
- 2006 Winter Olympics
- 2008 World Championships
[edit] International statistics
| Year | Event | GP | G | A | P | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | WJC-U18 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2001 | WJC | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 37 | |
| 2001 | WJC-U18 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 26 | |
| 2002 | Oly | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | |
| 2003 | WC | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2004 | WC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2004 | WCH | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2005 | WC | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Oly | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 31 | |
| 2007 | WC | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | |
| 2008 | WC | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 52 | |
| Junior Int'l Totals | 19 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 69 | ||
| Senior Int'l Totals | 57 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 127 | ||
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c NHLPA PLAYER BIO: Ilya Kovalchuk. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
- ^ Larry Wigge (2001). Few doubts surround top pick Kovalchuk - National Hockey League draft, hockey player Ilya Kovalchuk. The Sporting News. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
- ^ Thrashers 4, Predators 3, SO. USA Today (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
- ^ Thrashers' Kovalchuk suspended for one game (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Rick DiPietro |
1st Overall Pick in NHL Entry Draft 2001 |
Succeeded by Rick Nash |
| Preceded by Milan Hejduk |
(Co)Winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash 2004 |
Succeeded by Jonathan Cheechoo |
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