Evgeni Malkin

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Position Center
Shoots Left
Nickname Geno [1]
Height
Weight		 6 ft 3 in (1.92 m)
195 lb (89 kg)
NHL Team Pittsburgh Penguins
Nationality Flag of Russia Russia
Born July 31, 1986,
Magnitogorsk, USSR
NHL Draft Round 1, Pick 2, 2004
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pro Career 2003 – present

Evgeni Vladimirovich Malkin (Russian: Евгений Влади́мирович Малкин, Jevgenij Malkin) (born July 31, 1986 in Magnitogorsk, U.S.S.R.) is a Russian professional ice hockey player.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

The 6 foot 3 inch, 195 pound center was drafted 2nd overall (behind Alexander Ovechkin) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, Malkin remained in Russia for the 2005-06 hockey season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk after the Russian Hockey Federation refused to ratify a transfer agreement between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation, forcing Malkin to honor his existing contract with Magnitogorosk. On August 7, 2006, it appeared that the 20-year-old Russian player had come to a compromise and signed a deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk that would have kept him in Russia until May 2007. Malkin stated that he signed the one-year contract not as a compromise but because of the immense "psychological pressure" his former club exerted on him, and, after leaving his Russian team while practicing in Finland, Malkin invoked a provision of Russian labor law that allowed him to cancel his contract by giving his employer two weeks notice, which allowed him to sign a contract with the Penguins on September 5, 2006. His contract is identical to the contract signed by Alexander Ovechkin before his breakout season last year. [2][3]

Malkin is a product of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk hockey school. He has consistently been the top scorer on Russia's '06 national team. He made his debut on the U18 squad during the 2003 U18 World Junior Championships, where he skated on the top line with Alexander Ovechkin. He made his Russian Superleague debut during the 2003-04 season, working his way up from the fourth line.

Malkin has been compared to players such as legendary Montreal Canadien Jean Beliveau and former Pittsburgh Penguins player Mario Lemieux. Malkin is a very smooth skater with great passing ability and many experts agree that in a draft without an Ovechkin- or Crosby-like prospect he could and would be a first overall.

Malkin was named top forward and MVP of the 2006 World Junior Hockey Tournament for the silver medal winning Russian team, which he captained. He earned first star against the American hockey team in the semi-finals, but team Russia eventually lost 5-0 to Team Canada in the finals. Less than two months later, Malkin was given one of the final spots on the senior Russian hockey team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, where he helped the team to a fourth-place finish with 6 points in 7 games, and was named the team's best player, despite playing on the third line behind the likes of Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Kovalev, Ovechkin and Yashin. He also played at the IIHF World Hockey Championships in May, where he led Team Russia with 9 points. He is one of the very few hockey players to play in all three major tournaments in the same year.

His father, Vladimir, was a defenseman for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and his brother, Denis, was also in Metallurg's hockey system. Evgeni, according to his father, used to sleep with a hockey stick in his bed.

On September 20, 2006, in his first preseason game as a Pittsburgh Penguin, Malkin collided with teammate John LeClair and dislocated his shoulder, which forced him to miss the start of the season. Malkin made his NHL debut on October 18 against the New Jersey Devils, scoring his first NHL goal against goaltender Martin Brodeur.

On October 19, 2006, Malkin's former Russian hockey club filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NHL and the Penguins in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. [4] The case was dismissed on November 15, 2006, insuring that Malkin will continue play in the NHL this season.[5] The lawsuit claims that Malkin should not be permitted to play in the NHL because he is still under contract in Russia. The claim also seeks unspecified monetary damages. Even though the injunction was dismissed, Metallurg may still proceed with the case seeking monetary damages.

Malkin set a modern-day NHL record as the first player to score at least one goal in each of his first six games. No player had achieved this feat since the league's inaugural season in 1917-18, when Joe Malone scored at least 1 goal in 14 consecutive games to start his Hall of Fame NHL career.[6] Malkin's streak was eventually stopped at 7 games by the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, November 4, 2006

[edit] Awards

  • NHL Rookie of the Month - October 2006[7], November 2006[8]

[edit] Endorsements

Malkin is under an exclusive autograph contract for the Frameworth company of Canada. Frameworth also exclusively represents his teammate, Sidney Crosby. Both players are under the guidance of agent Pat Brisson.

[edit] Records

  • First player since 1917-18 to score goals in each of his first six NHL games.

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003-04 Metallurg Magnitogorsk Rus 34 3 9 12 12 -- -- -- -- --
2004-05 Metallurg Magnitogorsk Rus 52 12 20 32 24 5 0 4 4 0
2005-06 Metallurg Magnitogorsk Rus 46 21 26 47 46 11 5 10 15 41
Rus Totals 132 36 55 91 82 16 5 14 19 41

[edit] International play

Played for Russia in:

International statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Russia WC 9 0 4 4 8
2006 Russia Oly 7 2 4 6 31
Senior Int'l Totals 16 2 8 10 39

[edit] References

  1. ^ Molinari, Dave. "Oh, for good 'ol golden nicknaming days of yore", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2006-10-29.
  2. ^ *The Sports Network. (2006-08-19). Malkin sits down for interview with TSN. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
  3. ^ *Sports Illustrated. (2006-09-05). Malkin finally signs with Pens. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
  4. ^ *CBS Sportsline. (2006-09-19). Russian club seeks to stop Malkin from playing in NHL. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
  5. ^ *TSN.ca (2006-11-15). Legal Challenge Against Malkin Fails. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
  6. ^ *Pens' Malkin named NHL Rookie Of The Month for Oct.. National Hockey League (2006-11-02). Retrieved on 2006-11-03.
  7. ^ *Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2006-11-02). Malkin earns rookie honours. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-01-03.
  8. ^ Pens' Malkin named NHL Rookie of the Month for November

[edit] External links

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