Alexei Vyacheslavovich Emelin (Russian: Алексей Вячеславович Емелин; born 25 April 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for HC Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Emelin was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round, 84th overall, of the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

Playing career

Early career

Emelin spent a large portion of his career with Lada Togliatti in the Russian Superleague (RSL) before signing with Ak Bars Kazan. He was also a member of Russia's under-18 and

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

national squads, and has also become a regular member of the senior national team, skating for both in EuroTour and the World Championships. In a Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) game in 2009, Emelin sustained a face injury during a fight with Alexander Svitov; an

orbital bone In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...

shattered and had to be rebuilt with metal plate. He has tried to avoid getting into fights ever since the incident. Aleksey Emelin - Switzerland vs

Montreal Canadiens

On 17 May 2011, Emelin signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens for the 2011–12 season. He played his first regular season NHL game on 9 October, in a 5–1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. In addition, he scored his first regular season NHL point, an assist, on 6 December, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. On 25 January 2012, he scored his first NHL goal against the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. On 30 June 2012, Emelin signed a two-year extension up until the end of the 2013–14 season. Alexei Emelin - Montreal Canadiens

During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, Emelin established himself as a key member of the Canadiens' defensive core, often playing with fellow countryman Andrei Markov. He scored three goals and 12 points in 38 games for the Canadiens and finished with a plus-minus rating of +2. His season, however, was derailed by an injury during a game against the Boston Bruins on 6 April 2013, when Emelin collided with Bruins forward Milan Lucic, falling awkwardly and tearing a ligament in his left knee. As a result, Emelin missed the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. On 31 October 2013, he signed a four-year contract extension with Montreal, lasting through the 2017–18 season.

Nashville Predators

After his sixth season with the Canadiens, Emelin was left exposed at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. He was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights on 21 June 2017. On 1 July 2017, the Golden Knights traded Emelin to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a third-round pick in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. Vegas retained approximately $1.2 million USD of Emelin's salary in the trade. Emelin skated in 76 games with the Predators in his lone season with the club, as well as 10 postseason games.

Avangard Omsk

On 2 September 2018, Emelin returned as a free agent to the KHL, signing a three-year contract with

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental H ...

Dinamo Minsk and Spartak Moscow

After four seasons with Avangard Omsk, Emelin left as a free agent and extended his career in the KHL after signing a one-year contract with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk, on 26 July 2022. Selected as team captain for Dinamo Minsk in the lead up to the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, Emelin as a regular on the blueline made 38 appearances and registered 9 assists. On 19 December 2022, Emelin left Dinamo and transferred to HC Spartak Moscow for the remainder of the season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emelin, Alexei 1986 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Avangard Omsk players HC CSK VVS Samara players HC Dinamo Minsk players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics HC Lada Togliatti players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players Olympic ice hockey players of Russia HC Spartak Moscow players Sportspeople from Tolyatti Russian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Russian ice hockey defencemen Russian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Russian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Belarus Russian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada