Alexander Alexandrovich Frolov (; born June 19, 1982) is a Russian retired professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
player. In an eight-year
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) career, he played with the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
and the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
. After Frolov's NHL career ended, he moved to the KHL with
Avangard Omsk and
CSKA Moscow.
Playing career
Frolov was drafted by the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
in the first round, 20th overall, in the
2000 NHL Entry Draft. He had been playing in Russia's third-tier hockey league with
Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl, then stayed in Russia for two more seasons, moving up to the second-tier
Russian Supreme League (RSL) and first-tier
Russian Super League (RSL) with
Krylya Sovetov Moscow.
Signed to a three-year contract with the Kings in July 2002,
Frolov made his
NHL debut in
2002 for the Kings, scoring his first NHL goal, a
game-winner, in his seventh game on October 25 against
Mike Richter of the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
.
Frolov finished his rookie season with 14 goals and 31 points. After improving to a team-high 24 goals
and 48 points the following season, Frolov returned to the Russian Super League in 2004–05 due to the
NHL lockout. He began the season with
CSKA Moscow and finished second in team scoring to
Nikolay Zherdev, despite completing the campaign with
Dynamo Moscow.

Frolov became a
restricted free agent before the
2005–06 season and after turning down a three-year deal, he signed a longer, five-year, $14.5 million contract in August 2005.
In the first year of his new contract, he scored his first NHL
hat-trick on November 13, 2005, in an 8–2 victory over the
Columbus Blue Jackets.
Later that season, Frolov was named to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
's
2006 Winter Olympic team in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, where he suffered a partially separated shoulder. He missed approximately a month with the Kings when he returned,
but still managed a 54-point season in 69 games.
In
2006–07, Frolov continued to improve and recorded a career-high 35 goals and 71 points, second in team point-scoring to
Michael Cammalleri.
He finished second in team-scoring for the second consecutive year to
Anže Kopitar in
2007–08 with 67 points,
despite missing 11 games due to a
groin
In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...
injury suffered in November.
An unrestricted free agent after the
2009–10 season, Frolov signed with the New York Rangers on July 27, 2010, on a one-year, $3 million contract. On January 8, 2011, he suffered a torn
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the right knee after forward
Brad Winchester fell over Frolov's leg. The injury forced him to miss the remainder of the
2010–11 season after he underwent surgery to repair the damage. Frolov registered seven goals and nine assists for 16 points, along with eight penalty minutes, in 43 games during his only season with the Rangers.
On May 12, 2011, Frolov left the NHL and signed a three-year contract with Russian team
Avangard Omsk of the
KHL. On November 5, 2013, Avangard Omsk traded Frolov and Stanislav Egorshev to
CSKA Moscow in exchange for
Sergei Shirokov and
Maxim Goncharov.
On September 15, 2014, Frolov announced his retirement from professional hockey, citing the effect of knee injuries he had sustained since 2011. However, after a season out of the game, Frolov returned on July 7, 2015, signing a one-year contract with former club Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL.
In July 2018, after seven seasons in the KHL, Frolov signed with South Korean club Daemyung Killer Whales from Songdo, Incheon of the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH).
International play
Frolov represented Russia on two occasions as a
junior at the
2000 World Junior U18 Championships in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and
2001 World Junior Championships in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, where he earned a gold medal. He scored a goal in the 5–4 gold medal game victory over
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and finished with a team-high six goals and eight points in seven games.
After completing his rookie season with the Los Angeles Kings, Frolov debuted at the senior level with
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
at the
2003 World Championships and scored five points as Russia failed to medal. He made his second
World Championships appearance in
2007, tallying an international personal best 11 points in nine games. Playing as the host nation, Russia earned bronze defeating
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
3–1 in the bronze medal game.
Frolov also competed in the
2004 World Cup, where he managed two assists in four games. He was selected to his first
Winter Olympics for the
2006 games in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
. However, Frolov was injured early in the tournament, suffering a partially separated shoulder in a round-robin game against
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. He missed the remainder of Russia's games as they were defeated 3–0 by
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
in the semi-final game.
Frolov was selected as a reserve by Russia for the
2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
should an injury occur during the tournament.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frolov, Alexander
1982 births
Living people
Amur Khabarovsk players
Avangard Omsk players
HC CSKA Moscow players
Daemyung Killer Whales players
HC Dynamo Moscow players
Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Krylya Sovetov Moscow players
Los Angeles Kings draft picks
Los Angeles Kings players
NHL first-round draft picks
New York Rangers players
Olympic ice hockey players for Russia
Ice hockey people from Moscow
Russian ice hockey left wingers
HC Spartak Moscow players
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players