Ruslan Salei facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ruslan Salei |
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Salei while with the Detroit Red Wings.
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| Born | November 2, 1974 Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
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| Died | September 7, 2011 (aged 36) Yaroslavl, Russia |
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| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Dinamo Minsk Tivali Minsk Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Ak Bars Kazan Florida Panthers Colorado Avalanche Detroit Red Wings |
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| National team |  Belarus |
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| NHL Draft | 9th overall, 1996 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
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| Playing career | 1992–2011 | ||
Ruslan Albertovich Salei was a professional ice hockey player from Belarus. He played for 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim picked him ninth overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
Ruslan Salei sadly passed away on September 7, 2011. He was involved in a plane crash with almost the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team. The team was traveling to start their new season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Contents
Playing Career
Ruslan Salei was chosen by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as the ninth player picked in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining the Ducks, he played in his home country of Belarus. He played for Dinamo Minsk in the Russian Elite League in 1992.
After playing in Russia, Salei came to North America. He joined the Las Vegas Thunder team. He played well there and was soon drafted by the Ducks. He signed a three-year contract with them. Salei spent some time playing for the Ducks' minor league teams, the Baltimore Bandits and the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. By the end of the 1997–98 NHL season, he became a full-time player for the Mighty Ducks.
In October 1999, Salei was suspended by the NHL for ten games. This happened after a play where he checked Dallas Stars player Mike Modano from behind. Salei was a key player for Anaheim. He played in all 21 of their games in the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Ducks made it all the way to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, but they lost in seven games. Salei scored an important overtime goal in Game 3 of that series.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, when NHL games were paused, Salei played in Russia. He played for AK Bars Kazan in the Russian Superleague (RSL). When the NHL started again, he returned to the Ducks. He played for them until the end of the 2005-06 NHL season. He played 594 regular season games for Anaheim. This was a team record for a defenceman at the time.
On July 2, 2006, Salei signed a four-year contract with the Florida Panthers. He quickly became a strong player for them. In the 2006-07 NHL season, he had his best year, scoring 32 points. He continued to play well in the 2007-08 NHL season. When the Panthers were no longer in the running for the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, Salei was traded. On February 26, 2008, he moved to the Colorado Avalanche.
In his first full season with the Avalanche in 2008-09 NHL season, Salei continued to be a strong defenceman. He played his 800th NHL game on January 15, 2009. He also reached over 1,000 career penalty minutes. Salei had a back injury at the start of the 2009–10 NHL season. This made him miss many games. But he recovered in time to play for Belarus in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
On August 9, 2010, the Detroit Red Wings signed Salei. He joined them as a free agent. He scored two goals and had eight assists that season. He also scored one goal in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs.
On July 5, 2011, Salei signed a one-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. This team plays in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia.
Death
On September 7, 2011, a plane carrying almost the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team crashed. The accident happened near Yaroslavl, Russia. The team was on its way to Minsk, Belarus, to start the 2011–12 KHL season. Out of 45 people on board, 44 passed away, including Ruslan Salei.
Awards
- Belarus player of the year (2003, 2004)
- IIHF Hall of Fame inductee (2014)
Career Statistics
Here are Ruslan Salei's statistics from his time playing ice hockey.
Regular Season and Playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990–91 | Progress Grodno | URS.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Neman Grodno | CIS.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Dinamo Minsk | RUS | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Neman Grodno | RUS.2 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Tivali Minsk | BLR | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Tivali Minsk | RUS | 39 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Tivali Minsk | BLR | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Tivali Minsk | RUS | 51 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Tivali Minsk | BLR | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 76 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 123 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 18 | ||
| 1996–97 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Baltimore Bandits | AHL | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 66 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 74 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 71 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 50 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 82 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 61 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 78 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 | ||
| 2003–04 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 82 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 110 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Ak Bars Kazan | RSL | 35 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 78 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 114 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 18 | ||
| 2006–07 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 65 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 17 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 70 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 75 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 48 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 917 | 45 | 159 | 204 | 1065 | 62 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 52 | ||||
| RUS totals | 99 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
Ruslan Salei also played for the Belarus national ice hockey team in many international tournaments.
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Belarus | WC C | 22nd | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |
| 1995 | Belarus | WC C | 21st | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1997 | Belarus | OGQ | Q | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | |
| 1998 | Belarus | OG | 7th | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1998 | Belarus | WC | 8th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 2000 | Belarus | WC | 9th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2001 | Belarus | WC | 14th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | |
| 2002 | Belarus | OG | 4th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Belarus | WC D1 | 17th | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Belarus | OGQ | DNQ | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Belarus | WC | 9th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2009 | Belarus | WC | 8th | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2010 | Belarus | OG | 9th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Belarus | WC | 10th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| Senior totals | 65 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 91 | ||||
See also
- List of ice hockey players who died during their playing career
