Anton Volchenkov

Anton Volchenkov
Volchenkov during the 2013 Playoffs.
Born	February 25, 1982 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Unrestricted Free Agent CSKA Moscow Krylya Sovetov Moscow Ottawa Senators New Jersey Devils Nashville Predators
National team	Russia
NHL Draft	21st overall, 2000 Ottawa Senators
Playing career	1999–present

Anton Alexeyevich Volchenkov (Russian: Анто́н Алексе́евич Волченко́в; born February 25, 1982) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently is a Free Agent of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Volchenkov in HC Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod jersey.

Volchenkov grew up in Moscow and began attending the CSKA hockey school at the age of six. Around time when he was in fourth grade, his family moved to Kiev, Ukraine and he began attending the Sokil Kyiv hockey school, as his uncle became the director of that school. After a year in Kiev, Volchenkov returned to the CSKA program in Moscow.

Volchenkov was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round as the 21st overall selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2002–03 NHL season, he came to North America and played the entire season with the Senators. He is known for his fearless attitude towards other players and the puck, and is generally considered to be amongst the toughest players in the league.^[1] In his early days playing in Europe, he played goaltender. However, his coach instructed him to play defence, which may help explain why he led the NHL in blocked shots in 2006–07 by a large margin. He is consistently amongst the top shot blockers and hitters.

After his first stint in Ottawa, he became a regular in the Senators' starting line-up. As a "stay-at-home" defenceman, he is known primarily for his blocked shots and massive hits. He also played in the 2006 Olympic Games for the Russian national ice hockey team and was considered to be among Ottawa's top two defenders, along with Chris Phillips.

On April 9, 2007, Volchenkov announced he would be staying with the Senators, signing a three-year deal. Ottawa's General Manager John Muckler said, "Anton has been one of our top defencemen all season."^[2]

He was usually paired with fellow stay-at-home defenceman Chris Phillips. Volchenkov was voted as the fifth-best defensive defenceman by The Hockey News in June 2007. With the defensive help of Volchenkov and Phillips, the Senators made their 2007 Stanley Cup run to the finals, where they were defeated by the Anaheim Ducks in another five-game series. Volchenkov also led the league in shots blocked during the 2007 playoffs.

On July 1, 2010, Volchenkov signed a six-year, $25.5 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.

After four seasons played into his six-year contract, the Devils placed Volchenkov on unconditional waivers for purpose of a buyout, on June 30, 2014.^[3] As a free agent on July 7, 2014, he was signed to a one-year $1 million contract by the Nashville Predators.^[4]

International play

Medal record
Competitor for  Russia
Men's ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championships
	2001 Finland
IIHF World Championship
	2009 Switzerland

In the early days of his hockey career, he captained the 2001 Russian World Junior Hockey team to a championship in which he scored the winning goal against Team Canada, catching the attention of many pro scouts. Throughout 2001-2003, he was mentored by James "JP" Kunda.

Volchenkov has also played for team Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 2010 Winter Olympics, and in the 2009 IIHF World Championship.

Injuries

In a game against the Boston Bruins, on December 8, 2003, he suffered a shoulder injury and took the majority of the 2003–04 season to recover.

In a regular season game against the Nashville Predators, on November 29, 2007, he suffered a broken finger in an attempt to block a shot. He would come back after missing 15 games.

In the 2008 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Volchenkov fell in front of the net and was struck in the face by a puck, suffering a laceration. He returned the following game, and finished the series with one assist, one penalty, and one shot in four games.

Personal life

After playing as a goaltender when he began playing hockey as a child, Volchenkov was switched to defence by his coach. He has been among the NHL league leaders in blocked shots since the 2005–06 season.

Volchenkov has been married for five years. He and his wife have a son, Anton Jr. and on February 20, 2011, he and his wife welcomed twins, a boy and a girl.

Volchenkov's father Alexei was a defenceman on the Red Army hockey team during the 1975 Super Series.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999–00	HK CSKA-2 Moscow	RUS-3		6	0	1	1	10		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	HK CSKA Moscow	RUS-2		31	2	9	11	40		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	RUS-2		34	3	4	7	56		14	0	1	1	6
2001–02	Krylya Sovetov-2 Moscow	RUS-3		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	RSL		47	4	15	19	48		3	0	0	0	29
2002–03	Ottawa Senators	NHL		57	3	13	16	40		17	1	1	2	4
2003–04	Ottawa Senators	NHL		19	1	2	3	8		5	0	0	0	6
2004–05	Binghamton Senators	AHL		81	10	35	45	62		6	0	3	3	0
2005–06	Ottawa Senators	NHL		75	4	13	17	53		9	0	4	4	8
2006–07	Ottawa Senators	NHL		78	1	18	19	67		20	2	4	6	24
2007–08	Ottawa Senators	NHL		67	1	14	15	55		4	0	1	1	2
2008–09	Ottawa Senators	NHL		68	2	8	10	36		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Ottawa Senators	NHL		64	4	10	14	38		6	0	2	2	4
2010–11	New Jersey Devils	NHL		57	0	8	8	36		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	New Jersey Devils	NHL		72	2	9	11	34		24	1	1	2	10
2012–13	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod	KHL		11	0	1	1	16		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	New Jersey Devils	NHL		37	1	4	5	37		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	New Jersey Devils	NHL		56	0	8	8	20		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Nashville Predators	NHL		46	0	7	7	14		1	0	0	0	2
NHL totals				696	19	114	133	438		86	4	13	17	60

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000	Russia	WJC18			6	1	0	1	6
2001	Russia	WJC	7th		7	0	4	4	6
2002	Russia	WJC			7	1	3	4	6
2002	Russia	WC			9	0	0	0	0
2004	Russia	WCH	QF		1	0	0	0	0
2006	Russia	Oly	4th		8	0	0	0	2
2009	Russia	WC			1	0	1	1	0
2010	Russia	Oly	6th		4	0	1	1	2
Junior totals					20	2	7	9	18
Senior totals					23	0	2	2	4

References

1. "Sens working hard to keep Volchenkov". Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
2. "Ottawa, Volchenkov agree to 3-year extension". Retrieved 2007-05-18.
3. "Blueliners Gleason, O'Brien and Volchenkov put on waivers". The Sports Network. 2014-06-29. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
4. "Predators sign Blueliner Volchenkov to one-year deal". The Sports Network. 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-07-07.

External links

• Anton Volchenkov's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Anton Volchenkov's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Anton Volchenkov's player profile at NHL.com
• Anton Volchenkov profile at Eurohockey.com