Slava Voynov

Slava Voynov
Voynov during the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012.
Born January 15, 1990
Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams 		Los Angeles Kings
Traktor Chelyabinsk
National team  Russia
NHL Draft 32nd overall, 2008
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 2006–present

Vyacheslav "Slava" Leonidovich Voynov (Russian: Вячесла́в Леони́дович Во́йнов; born January 15, 1990) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is better known by his nickname Slava, personally, as well as professionally. He is currently indefinitely suspended from playing for his team, the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Voynov in 2009 as a member of the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL.

Voynov began his career with Traktor Chelyabinsk, playing his rookie Russian Superleague season in 2006–07. After a second campaign with Traktor, he was selected 32nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The Kings, in their efforts to translate his cyrillic spelled name into the latin alphabet, have spelled his first name Viatcheslav. In the same off-season, he was drafted fifth overall by the Moncton Wildcats, a junior club, in the 2008 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft. However, because of his two seasons of professional experience in Russia, Voynov was eligible to forego the junior process in North America, and was assigned to the Kings' minor league affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. He recorded 8 goals and 23 points in his AHL rookie season. The following campaign, he improved to 29 points in 79 games. In 2011, he was selected to represent the Eastern Conference at the 2011 AHL All-Star Game.

His first and second NHL goals were scored on October 27, 2011 against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars. On June 11, 2012, Voynov won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in his first NHL season. Voynov had an impressive rookie season with the Kings, but with the 2012–2013 NHL season delayed because of the lockout, he was reassigned to Manchester to start the year. In the 2012–2013 playoffs Voynov set a new Kings record for number of goals scored by a defender during playoffs, scoring a fifth playoff goal during the third game of the semifinals. [1]

On June 18, 2013, Voynov announced that he and the LA Kings agreed on a six-year, $25 million contract extension, worth 4.16 million a year. [2]

Personal

Voynov married Marta Varlamova, age 27, a single mother, in August 2014.

Arrest and suspension

On October 20, 2014, Voynov was suspended indefinitely pending an investigation by the NHL after being arrested on domestic violence charges.[3] On November 20, 2014, the Los Angeles County prosecutor announced that Voynov would be charged with "one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury."[4] Although Voynov was indefinitely suspended from the league, the Los Angeles Kings attempted to circumvent that by having Voynov attend a team practice. The Kings were later fined a hefty amount of $100,000 for their misdemeanor. [5]

The NHL does not have a policy on domestic violence charges, however Voynov's suspension was justified under the collective bargaining agreement of the NHL.[6] Although the CBA does not outline cases specific to Voynov and domestic violence, the league is able to suspend players while they are part of a criminal investigation.[7]Under section 18-A.5, "The league may suspend the player pending the league's formal review and disposition of the matter where the failure to suspend the player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the league." [8] If convicted, Voynov runs the risk of up to nine years in prison, and the possibility to be deported back to Russia. Although it is possible that Voynov will not suit up for the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014-2015 season, the 25 year old will still receive a salary. Voynov will be paid while he is under investigation by the league, however he has been banned from participating in any team activities while serving his suspension.[9]

Voynov pleaded not guilty to the charges of domestic violence.[10] He has been accused of choking, kicking, and punching his wife, Marta Varlamova,[11] however, according to TMZ, his wife has since written a letter assuming the blame for the entire incident and requested that Voynov not be charged.[12]

Awards and honours

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06Traktor-2 ChelyabinskRUS-320000—————
2006–07Traktor ChelyabinskRSL3100012—————
2007–08Traktor-2 ChelyabinskRUS-321010—————
2007–08Traktor ChelyabinskRSL361342020000
2008–09Manchester MonarchsAHL618152346—————
2009–10Manchester MonarchsAHL791019294391340
2010–11Manchester MonarchsAHL761536513672356
2011–12Manchester MonarchsAHL15224400000
2011–12Los Angeles KingsNHL548122012201234
2012–13Manchester MonarchsAHL35791622—————
2012–13Los Angeles KingsNHL4861925141867130
2013–14Los Angeles KingsNHL8243034442627916
2014–15Los Angeles KingsNHL60222—————
NHL totals 190 18 63 81 72 64 9 16 25 20

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Russia WJC18 1st 7 1 4 5 2
2007 Russia WJC 2nd 6 1 0 1 0
2008 Russia WJC18 2nd 6 1 4 5 2
2008 Russia WJC 3rd 7 0 1 1 0
2009 Russia WJC 3rd 7 1 3 4 0
2014 Russia Oly 5th 5 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 33 4 12 16 4
Senior totals 5 0 0 0 0

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sports.ru/hockey/149681309.html
  2. ↑ "Voynov, Kings agree on six-year extension". CBS Sports. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  3. ↑ Halford, Mike (October 20, 2014). "Kings’ Voynov arrested for domestic assault, suspended indefinitely". NBC Sports.
  4. ↑ Dillman, Lisa (November 20, 2014). "Kings' Slava Voynov to face felony abuse charge". NBC Sports.
  5. ↑ http://deadspin.com/slava-voynovs-domestic-violence-arrest-was-a-bloody-sce-1671317956
  6. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2014/10/20/slava-voynov-suspended-domestic-violence-charge/17604737/
  7. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2014/10/20/slava-voynov-suspended-domestic-violence-charge/17604737/
  8. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2014/10/20/slava-voynov-suspended-domestic-violence-charge/17604737/
  9. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2014/10/20/slava-voynov-suspended-domestic-violence-charge/17604737/
  10. ↑ http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nhl/2561/slava-voynov
  11. ↑ http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nhl/2561/slava-voynov
  12. ↑ http://www.sportsworldnews.com/articles/24318/20141216/slava-voynov-wife-update-marta-varlamova-accepted-blame-for-domestic-violence-incident-in-november-in-letter-to-prosecutor-photo.htm
  13. ↑ http://www.eliteprospects.com/awards.php?award=U18%20WJC%20All-Star%20Team
  14. ↑ 2010–11 First and Second All-Stars named

External links

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