Ilya Kovalchuk
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| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| Nickname | Kovy |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 225 lb (102 kg) |
| NHL Team | Atlanta Thrashers |
| Nationality |  Russia |
| Born | April 15, 1983, Tver, USSR |
| 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, USSR) is a professional ice hockey player.
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[edit] Playing career
Ilya Kovalchuck began his professional career at the RSL 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 wears the number 17 as a tribute to the late Valeri Kharlamov, a Soviet superstar in the 1970s.[2] When Kovalchuk plays for his national team he wears number 71, because number 17 is retired to 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 Aq 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. Kovalchuk has never played in a playoff game, as the Thrashers, the team for which he has played all his career, have never qualified for the postseason in their history.
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.
Kovalchuk has been caught numerous times for using an illegally curved hockey stick, which some believe can help improve a player's shot.[citation needed] In 2006, Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz said Kovalchuk "always plays with an illegal stick."[3] In Ilya's rookie season, coach Curt Fraser instructed him to "Quit using illegal blades".[citation needed]
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.
It had only been the first time Fraser couldn't get through to Kovie. Dany Heatley has earned praise for all-around top play, while unlike Heatley, and like Guy Lafleur before him, Kovalchuk has shown that his game is truly offense. Nonetheless, Fraser tried to get the young gun to improve defensive play — Fraser said in October 2002 that "Ilya Kovalchuk needs to learn now that no matter how many goals you score, you can't give up more."[citation needed]
[edit] Off the ice
In early 2006, Kovalchuk joined in the charity effort focusing on unfortunate children in Atlanta and also throughout the Philadelphia area. He was recognized for his good service by the National Hockey League and is currently involved in several hockey related charities including "The DiGiacobbe Household," and the "National Boraske Foundation of Economics (NBFE)" which are both stationed in Ridley Park, PA.[citation needed]
[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
- NHL Second All-Star Team - 2004
- Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy - 2004 (shared with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash).
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999-00 | HC Spartak Moscow | RSL | 51 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 89 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | HC Spartak Moscow | RSL | 39 | 25 | 18 | 43 | 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 | Ak 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 | 27 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 16 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 305 | 160 | 143 | 303 | 216 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
[edit] International play
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
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Russia | Oly | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | |
| 2003 | Russia | WC | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2004 | Russia | WCH | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2005 | Russia | WC | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Russia | Oly | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 31 | |
| Senior Int'l Totals | 34 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 65 | |||
[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.
[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 |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1983 births | Atlanta Thrashers draft picks | Atlanta Thrashers players | Hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics | Living people | National Hockey League first round draft picks | National Hockey League first overall draft picks | National Hockey League 50-goal seasons | Olympic bronze medalists for Russia | Russian ice hockey players | Rocket Richard Trophy winners
