Anton Volchenkov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Anton Volchenkov |
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Volchenkov during the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs
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| Born | 25 February 1982 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
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| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| team Former teams |
Free agent CSKA Moscow Krylya Sovetov Moscow Ottawa Senators New Jersey Devils Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Nashville Predators Admiral Vladivostok |
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| National team |  Russia |
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| NHL Draft | 21st overall, 2000 Ottawa Senators |
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| Playing career | 1999–2020 | ||
Anton Alexeyevich Volchenkov (Russian: Анто́н Алексе́евич Волченко́в; born 25 February 1982) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is known for his strong defensive play. He played for many teams, including the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils in the NHL. He also played for his home country, Russia, in international tournaments.
Contents
Anton Volchenkov's Hockey Journey
Early Days and Draft
Anton Volchenkov started playing hockey in Moscow. He joined the CSKA hockey school when he was six years old. For a short time, his family moved to Kyiv, Ukraine. There, he attended the Sokil Kyiv hockey school. After about a year, he returned to the CSKA program in Moscow.
In the year 2000, Anton was chosen by the Ottawa Senators. This happened in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He was the 21st player picked overall.
Becoming a Top Defender
Volchenkov came to North America to play in the NHL in the 2002–03 NHL season. He played the whole season with the Senators. He quickly became known for being a fearless player. He was not afraid to block shots or hit other players.
Interestingly, when he was very young, Anton played as a goaltender. But his coach told him to switch to playing defenceman. This might explain why he became so good at blocking shots. In the 2006–07 NHL season, he led the entire NHL in blocked shots. He was always one of the best at blocking shots and making big hits.
In 2007, The Hockey News magazine called Volchenkov the fifth-best defensive defenceman. With his help, the Senators reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007. They lost to the Anaheim Ducks. Anton also blocked the most shots during those playoffs.
NHL Career Highlights
After his first few years, Anton became a regular player for the Ottawa Senators. He was known as a "stay-at-home" defenceman. This means his main job was to defend his team's net. He was one of Ottawa's top two defenders. On April 9, 2007, he signed a new three-year deal with the Senators.
Anton sometimes got injured because of his tough style of play. In 2007, he broke a finger trying to block a shot. He missed 15 games but came back to play. In the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was hit in the face by a puck. But he returned for the next game.
On July 1, 2010, Volchenkov signed a six-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. After four seasons with the Devils, his contract was bought out. This made him a free agent. On July 7, 2014, he signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators. He later played in the KHL for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Admiral Vladivostok.
Playing for His Country
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Russia |
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| Ice hockey | ||
| IIHF World U18 Championships | ||
| Gold | 2001 Finland | |
| IIHF World Championship | ||
| Gold | 2009 Switzerland | |
Junior and Senior Success
Anton Volchenkov has also played for Team Russia in many international tournaments. In 2001, he was the captain of the Russian World Junior Hockey team. They won the championship that year. Anton even scored the winning goal against Team Canada. This made many professional scouts notice him.
He also played for the senior Russian team in the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics. In 2009, he was part of the Russian team that won the World Championship.
Off the Ice
Anton Volchenkov's father, Alexei, was also a defenceman. He played for the Red Army hockey team in 1975. Anton has two sons and one daughter. His first son, Anton Jr., was born in 2003. In 2011, he welcomed twins, a boy named Milan and a girl named Milena.
Career Stats
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–2000 | CSKA Moscow | RUS.2 | 31 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | CSKA–2 Moscow | RUS.3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Krylia Sovetov Moscow | RUS.2 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 56 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Krylia Sovetov Moscow | RSL | 47 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | ||
| 2001–02 | Krylia Sovetov–2 Moscow | RUS.3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 57 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 40 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 69 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 62 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 75 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 53 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2006–07 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 78 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 67 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 | ||
| 2007–08 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 67 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 68 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 64 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 57 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 72 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 34 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2012–13 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 56 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 46 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Admiral Vladivostok | KHL | 42 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | Admiral Vladivostok | KHL | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | 31 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2019–20 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 696 | 19 | 114 | 133 | 438 | 86 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 60 | ||||
| KHL totals | 149 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 105 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Russia | WJC18 |  |
6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2001 | Russia | WJC | 7th | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2002 | Russia | WJC |  |
7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2002 | Russia | WC | |
9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Russia | WCH | QF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | Russia | OG | 4th | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Russia | WC | |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Russia | OG | 6th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 20 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 18 | ||||
| Senior totals | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||
