Alexander Valerievich Perezhogin (; born August 10, 1983) is a

Kazakhstani The demographics of Kazakhstan enumerate the demographic features of the population of Kazakhstan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects ...

–

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

former 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. He was selected in the first round, 25th overall, by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Perezhogin began his playing career in his homeland of

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 ...

before leaving in 1998, with his coach Sergei Gersonsky, to play for

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a professional ice hockey club based in Omsk, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Franchise history Early years of Omsk hock ...

's farm team Avangard VDV. He would then gain Russian citizenship upon his recruitment. Perezhogin remained with the Omsk organization for the remainder of his Russian league career before being drafted. Perezhogin was drafted by the

in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 25th overall. In the 2003-04 season, Perezhogin came to North America to play with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate. He played with the

for two seasons. During Perezhogin's suspension from the AHL for his stick-swinging incident on Garrett Stafford, on the advice of

Bob Gainey Robert Michael Gainey (born December 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1973 until 1989. After retiring from active play, he became a hockey coach and later an executive with ...

and the Montreal Canadiens, he re-joined his former team,

of the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second-best league in the world, after the Nation ...

(RSL), and scored 33 points in 43 games. In total, Perezhogin tallied 55 points in 95 games in his career with Avangard. He scored his first NHL goal on a break-away in his first career game, on October 6, 2005, at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

against

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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Kevin Weekes Kevin Weekes (born April 4, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 348 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now a studio analyst for NHL Network, appearing on shows like ''On the Fly'' and '' NHL T ...

. On May 8, 2007, Perezhogin signed a contract with Salavat Yulayev Ufa of the

. He would earn nearly $1.8 million US, almost three times his NHL salary during the 2006-07 season. The Montreal Canadiens still hold his NHL rights as he is a restricted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. In April 2009, Perezhogin was invited to represent

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 ...

in the

2009 IIHF World Championship The 2009 IIHF World Championship took place from 24 April to 10 May 2009 in Switzerland. The games were played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern and Schluefweg in Kloten. The PostFinance Arena in Bern was renovated and accommodates an atten ...

hosted 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 ...

, where he played along the sides of Russian

NHL 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 ...

superstars such as

Ilya Kovalchuk Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger. He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals in ...

and five of his teammates from

Salavat Yulaev Ufa Hockey Club Salavat Yulaev (; ), commonly referred as Salavat Yulaev Ufa, is a professional ice hockey club based in Ufa, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Established in 1957, Salavat Yu ...

. Russia won its second consecutive gold medal against Canada on May 10, 2009. In April 2010, Perezhogin was traded to once again join his former team,

, with

receiving Igor Volkov in return.

Stick swinging incident

On April 30, 2004, during the 2004

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

playoffs against the Cleveland Barons, Perezhogin was cross-checked in the face by Garrett Stafford, with both players falling to the ice. While both were trying to get back up, Stafford swung his stick at Perezhogin's head making contact with his helmet. In response, while getting up, Perezhogin turned around and swung his stick in an axe-swinging, almost chopping fashion and caught Stafford, who was still getting up, in the face. The consequent blow knocked Stafford unconscious and into

convulsion A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is often used as a synony ...

s. Stafford required twenty stitches, lost some teeth, and was diagnosed with a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

. He was released the next day from

Hamilton General Hospital The Hamilton General Hospital (HGH) is a major teaching hospital in Downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, located at the intersection of Barton Street East and Victoria Avenue North. It is operated by Hamilton Health Sciences and is formally aff ...

and has since made a full recovery. Perezhogin was suspended for the rest of the playoffs, and in an unprecedented move for the entire following AHL season of 2004–05. Perezhogin was also charged by

Hamilton Police Service The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) is the police service of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, the service employed 829 sworn officers and 414 non-sworn staff, serving a population of about 570 000 residents. The service's headqu ...

and was given a one-year probation, ordered to donate $5,000 to charity and to cover all of Stafford's medical bills. Perezhogin did play pro hockey in 2004–05 but in the

with Avangard. He returned to Hamilton for the 2005–06 season. He was called up to the

that season and played 67 games for the Habs. In 2007, however, he returned to Russia, playing for

of the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perezhogin, Alexander 1983 births Living people Avangard Omsk players Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Oskemen Kazakhstani emigrants to Russia Kazakhstani ice hockey right wingers Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players NHL first-round draft picks Russian expatriate ice hockey people Russian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Russian ice hockey right wingers Salavat Yulaev Ufa players Zauralie Kurgan players