Anton Alexeyevich Volchenkov (; born 25 February 1982) is a

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 ...

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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who is currently an

unrestricted 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 ...

. He most recently played for

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod () is a professional ice hockey club in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The team's home arena is Trade Union Sport Palace. The team used to play it ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League 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 ...

(KHL).

Playing career

Volchenkov grew up in Moscow and began attending the CSKA hockey school at the age of six. Around time when he was in fourth grade, his family moved to

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

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and he began attending the

Sokil Kyiv Hockey Club Sokil Kyiv (; ), commonly known as Sokil Kyiv, HC Sokil, or HC Sokol Kiev, is a Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Kyiv. While their home arena is located in the city, the team also plays out of Brovary, still within th ...

hockey school, as his uncle became the director of that school. After a year in Kyiv, Volchenkov returned to the CSKA program in Moscow. Volchenkov was drafted by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

in the first round as the 21st overall selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. In the

2002–03 NHL season The 2002–03 NHL season was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. League business Entry draft ...

, he came to

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and played the entire season with the Senators. He is known for his fearless attitude towards other players and the puck, and is generally considered to be amongst the toughest players in the league. In a game against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

, on 8 December 2003, he suffered a shoulder injury and took the majority of the 2003–04 season to recover. In his early days playing in Europe, he played

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 ...

. However, his coach instructed him to play defence, which may help explain why he led the NHL in blocked shots in 2006–07 by a large margin. He is consistently amongst the top shot blockers and hitters. Volchenkov was voted as the fifth-best defensive defenceman by ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a reader ...

'' in June 2007. With the defensive help of Volchenkov and Phillips, the Senators made their 2007 Stanley Cup run to the finals, where they were defeated by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

in another five-game series. Volchenkov also led the league in shots blocked during the 2007 playoffs. After his first stint in Ottawa, he became a regular in the Senators' starting line-up. As a stay-at-home defenceman, he is known primarily for his blocked shots and massive hits. He was considered to be among Ottawa's top two defenders, along with Chris Phillips. On 9 April 2007, Volchenkov announced he would be staying with the Senators, signing a three-year deal. Ottawa's

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John Muckler John Muckler (April 13, 1934 – January 4, 2021) was a professional hockey coach and executive, who last served as the general manager of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Muckler had over 50 years of professional hockey e ...

said, "Anton has been one of our top defencemen all season." In a regular season game against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

, on 29 November 2007, he suffered a broken finger in an attempt to block a shot. He would come back after missing 15 games. In the 2008 playoffs against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

, Volchenkov fell in front of the net and was struck in the face by a puck, suffering a laceration. He returned the following game, and finished the series with one assist, one penalty, and one shot in four games. On 1 July 2010, Volchenkov signed a six-year, $25.5 million contract with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

. After four seasons played into his six-year contract, the Devils placed Volchenkov on unconditional waivers for purpose of a buyout, on 30 June 2014. As a free agent on 7 July 2014, he was signed to a one-year $1 million contract by the Nashville Predators.

International play

In the early days of his hockey career, he captained the 2001

World Junior Hockey team to a championship in which he scored the winning goal against

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, catching the attention of many pro scouts. Throughout 2001-2003, he was mentored by James "JP" Kunda. Volchenkov has also played for team

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

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

, the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, and 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 ...

Personal life

After playing as a goaltender when he began playing hockey as a child, Volchenkov was switched to defence by his coach. He has been among the NHL league leaders in blocked shots since the 2005–06 season. Volchenkov's father Alexei was a defenceman on the Red Army hockey team during the 1975

Super Series The Super Series were exhibition games between Soviet teams and NHL teams that took place on the NHL opponents' home ice in North America from 1976 to 1991. The Soviet teams were usually club teams from the Soviet hockey league. The exception ...

. Volchenkov has two sons and a daughter, The firstborn Anton Jr. was born on 5 October 2003, and on 20 February 2011, he welcomed twins, a boy and a girl named Milan & Milena.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Volchenkov, Anton 1982 births Living people Admiral Vladivostok players 21st-century Russian sportsmen Binghamton Senators players HC CSKA Moscow players Ice hockey people from Moscow Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Krylya Sovetov Moscow players NHL first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils players Olympic ice hockey players for Russia Ottawa Senators draft picks Ottawa Senators players Nashville Predators players Russian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Russian ice hockey defencemen Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players