Ilya Kovalchuk

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Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Right
Nickname	Kovy
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
NHL Team	Atlanta Thrashers
Nationality	Image:Flag of Russia (bordered).svg Russia
Born	April 15, 1983, Tver, USSR
NHL Draft	1st overall, 2001 Atlanta Thrashers
Pro Career	2001 – present

</div></div> Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (Russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук, Il'ja Valer'jevič Kovalčuk; born April 15, 1983, in Tver, USSR) is a professional ice hockey player.

1 Playing career
2 Off the ice
3 Awards
4 Career statistics
5 International play
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Playing career

Drafted by Atlanta first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Ilya Kovalchuk was the first Russian to be drafted first overall in NHL history.<ref name="NHLPA">NHLPA PLAYER BIO: Ilya Kovalchuk. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.</ref> In club-level competition, Kovalchuk wears the number 17 as a tribute to the late Valeri Kharlamov, a Soviet superstar in the 1970s.<ref name="Num17">Larry Wigge (2001). Few doubts surround top pick Kovalchuk - National Hockey League draft, hockey player Ilya Kovalchuk. The Sporting News. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.</ref> When Kovalchuk plays for his national team he wears number 71, because number 17 is retired to Kharlamov.

Kovalchuk finished second to teammate Dany Heatley in the voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2002.<ref name="NHLPA">NHLPA PLAYER BIO: Ilya Kovalchuk. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.</ref> Both were named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. In the 2003-04 NHL Season Kovalchuk scored 41 goals, making him a co-winner of the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy after tying for the league lead in goals along with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash.<ref name="NHLPA">NHLPA PLAYER BIO: Ilya Kovalchuk. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.</ref> He also added 46 assists for 87 points, tied with Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche for second in the league that season, behind Martin St. Louis. Kovalchuk also participated in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game. During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Kovalchuk played with Aq Bars Kazan. After the lockout, Kovalchuk scored 52 goals in 2005-06, which tied him with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for third in the league in goal-scoring. He also tied his career-high of 46 assists for a career-high 98 points, finishing 8th overall in scoring and leading the Atlanta Thrashers in scoring for the second consecutive season. Kovalchuk has never played in a playoff game, as the Thrashers, the team for which he has played all his career, have never qualified for the postseason in their history.

In 2006 Kovalchuk played in the Torino Winter Olympics as a member of the Russian men's hockey team, and had a four-goal game on February 19 in a 9-2 win over Latvia, but returned to Atlanta without a medal.

Kovalchuk has been caught numerous times for using an illegally curved hockey stick, which some believe can help improve a player's shot.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz said Kovalchuk "always plays with an illegal stick."<ref name="Trotz">Thrashers 4, Predators 3, SO. USA Today (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.</ref> In Ilya's rookie season, coach Curt Fraser instructed him to "Quit using illegal blades".^{[citation needed]}

The NHL has subsequently, as of the 2006-07 season, changed the rules on stick curvature to allow for a much more curved stick than was previously allowed. Kovalchuk, under the new rules, claims to play only with a legal stick.

It had only been the first time Fraser couldn't get through to Kovie. Dany Heatley has earned praise for all-around top play, while unlike Heatley, and like Guy Lafleur before him, Kovalchuk has shown that his game is truly offence. Nonetheless, Fraser tried to get the young gun to improve defensive play — Fraser said in October 2002 that "Ilya Kovalchuk needs to learn now that no matter how many goals you score, you can't give up more."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Off the ice

In early 2006, Kovalchuk joined in the charity effort focusing on unfortunate children in Atlanta and also throughout the Philadelphia area. He was recognized for his good service by the National Hockey League and is currently involved in several hockey related charities including "The DiGiacobbe Household," and the "National Boraske Foundation of Economics (NBFE)" which are both stationed in Ridley Park, PA.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Awards

Played in NHL YoungStars Game - 2002
NHL YoungStars Game MVP - 2002
NHL All-Rookie Team - 2002
Played in NHL All-Star Game - 2004
NHL Second All-Star Team - 2004
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy - 2004 (shared with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash).

[edit] Career statistics

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999-00	Spartak	RSL	51	14	6	20	89	--	--	--	--	--
2000-01	Spartak	RSL	39	25	18	43	78	12	14	4	18	38
2001-02	Atlanta	NHL	65	29	22	51	28	--	--	--	--	--
2002-03	Atlanta	NHL	81	38	29	67	57	--	--	--	--	--
2003-04	Atlanta	NHL	81	41	46	87	63	--	--	--	--	--
2004-05	Kazan	RSL	53	19	23	42	72	4	0	1	1	0
2005-06	Atlanta	NHL	78	52	46	98	68	--	--	--	--	--
2006-07	Atlanta	NHL	27	16	15	31	16	--	--	--	--	--
NHL Totals			305	160	143	303	216	--	--	--	--	--

[edit] International play

Played for Russia in:

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002	Russia	Oly	6	1	2	3	14
2003	Russia	WC	7	4	0	4	6
2004	Russia	WCH	4	1	0	1	4
2005	Russia	WC	9	3	3	6	4
2006	Russia	Oly	8	4	1	5	31
Senior Int'l Totals			34	13	6	19	65

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Kovalchuk's profile at the Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by: Rick DiPietro	1st Overall Pick in NHL Entry Draft 2001	Succeeded by: Rick Nash
Preceded by: Milan Hejduk	(Co)Winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash 2004	Succeeded by: Jonathan Cheechoo