Alexei Ponikarovsky
| Alexei Ponikarovsky | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
April 9, 1980 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
free agent RSL: Krylya Sovetov Dynamo Moscow Khimik Moscow Oblast KHL: HC Donbass NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs Pittsburgh Penguins Los Angeles Kings Carolina Hurricanes Winnipeg Jets New Jersey | ||
| National team |
 Ukraine | ||
| NHL draft |
87th overall, 1998 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1998–present | ||
Oleksiy Volodymyrovych "Alexei" Ponikarovsky (Template:Lang-ua; born April 9, 1980) is a Ukrainian Canadian[1] professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent.
Playing career
RSL
Ponikarovsky played for Dynamo 2 and Dynamo Jr., farm teams during 1995–99 campaigns, seeing a little action with the main club during the 1998–99 season and finally becoming a fixture on the team during the 1999–00 season when Dynamo won the Russian Superleague Championship.
In 1997–98, Ponikarovsky played 24 games for Dynamo Moscow in the First Division of the Russian Hockey League collecting three points with 30 penalty minutes. He then played 13 games for Krylya Sovetov of the Russian Elite League in 1998–99 and played three playoff games for Moscow Dynamo.
In 1999–00, Ponikarovsky played 19 games for Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Elite League and played 29 games for THK Tver in the First Division of the Russian Hockey League collecting 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) with 26 penalty minutes.
NHL
In the 2005–06 NHL season, Ponikarovsky put up career highs in goals, assists. points, and penalty minutes. He saw added responsibility and was given more ice-time, often with former Dynamo Moscow teammate Nik Antropov or Mats Sundin, and became one of the team's regular penalty-killers. Ponikarovsky finished the season with four shorthanded goals and 1 assist. His four shorthanded goals tied ten players, including teammate Matt Stajan, for eighth in the league.[2]
On December 16, 2006, Ponikarovsky notched a career high five points in Toronto's 9-2 victory of the New York Rangers, scoring two goals and assisting on three others. He is commonly referred to by his teammates as "The Poni Express", "The Ukraine Train" or simply "Poni". On May 10, 2007, the Maple Leafs re-signed Ponikarovsky to a $6.315 million, 3-year contract.[3]
On March 2, 2010, Ponikarovsky was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula.[4] Following the trade, he remained optimistic he would resume contract talks with Toronto in the off-season.[5] In his debut game with the Penguins on March 6, 2010 against the Dallas Stars, he scored his first goal with his new team.
On July 27, 2010, Ponikarovsky signed with the Los Angeles Kings, receiving a signing bonus of $200,000 and a one-year contract for $3M.
On July 1, 2011, Ponikarovsky signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes reportedly worth $1.5 million.[6]
On January 20, 2012, Ponikarovsky was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Joe Sova and a 4th round pick in the 2012 entry draft. In 33 games, he scored 18 points before helping the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, scoring an overtime game winner in game 3 of the semi-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers.
On July 1, 2012, Ponikarovsky signed as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets on a one-year contract worth $1.8 million. Due to the 2012 NHL lockout, he signed an temporary contract with the Ukrainian Kontinental Hockey League club HC Donbass for the 2012–13 season.[7] In Donetsk, he had posted 18 points in 32 games, after which he returned to start the shortened NHL season with the Jets. After scoring only 2 goals in 12 games, Ponikarovsky was traded by the Jets back to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 4th round pick and a 7th round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft on February 13, 2013.[8]
Off the ice
On June 7, 2007 Ponikarovsky became a Canadian citizen during a ceremony in Etobicoke, Ontario. Ponikarovsky lives in Miami with his wife Inna, daughter Jessica, and sons Alex and Maxim, and while still owning a house in Toronto.[9][10] He has favored wearing the number 23 as two of his grandparents were born on the 23rd, along with his wife.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Krylya Sovetov | RHL | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 49 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 72 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2001–02 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 63 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 73 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 44 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2004–05 | Khimik Moscow Oblast | RSL | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 81 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 71 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 23 | 38 | 61 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 61 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 16 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 61 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 49 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 33 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 8 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Donbass | KHL | 32 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 678 | 139 | 184 | 323 | 419 | 62 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 28 | ||||
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ukraine | OG | 10th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| Senior int'l totals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||||
References
- ^ Tom, Godfrey (2007-06-08). "Leaf now a Canadian". CANOE sports. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "2005-2006 - Regular season - All Skaters - Short Handed Scoring - SHORT HANDED GOALS". NHL.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) [dead link] - ^ "Leafs' Ponikarovsky signs extension". Canadian Press. 2007-05-10. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Leafs trade Ponikarovsky to Penguins for Skoula, Caputi". TSN. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Alexei Ponikarovsky: "Fedotenko said:" Ready to win the Stanley Cup? "". 5 March 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
- ^ "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "HC Donbass reach agreement on contract with Ruslan Fedotenko, Alexei Ponikarovsky" (in Russian). HC Donbass. 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Ponikarovsky reacquired from Winnipeg". New Jersey Devils. 2013-02-13. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "2010 Kings Media Guide". Los Angeles Kings. 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.sokol.kiev.ua/page-id-5420.html
External links
- 1980 births
- Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
- Carolina Hurricanes players
- Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- HC Donbass players
- HC Dynamo Moscow players
- HC Khimik Voskresensk players
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Krylya Sovetov Moscow players
- Living people
- Los Angeles Kings players
- Naturalized citizens of Canada
- New Jersey Devils players
- Olympic ice hockey players of Ukraine
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Sportspeople from Kiev
- St. John's Maple Leafs players
- Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Ukrainian emigrants to Canada
- Ukrainian ice hockey players
- Ukrainian Orthodox Christians
- Winnipeg Jets players