Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (Russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian professional ice hockey winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He previously played for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as Ak Bars Kazan, Khimik Moscow Oblast, SKA Saint Petersburg, and Avangard Omsk in the Russian Superleague (RSL) and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Kovalchuk developed in the youth system of Spartak Moscow, joining their senior team in the Vysshaya Liga in 1999. After two seasons with Spartak, he joined the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL, who selected him first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After eight seasons with the Thrashers, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in 2010, with whom he signed a 15-year, $100 million contract, after a 17-year, $102 million deal was rejected by the NHL. In 2013, he left the NHL to return to Russia, joining SKA Saint Petersburg, where he played for five seasons before returning to the NHL in 2018.
Kovalchuk is tied for fourth all-time in the NHL for regular-season overtime goals scored (15), 18th all-time in goals per game average (.511), and the seventh-highest scoring Russian in NHL history. In the NHL, Kovalchuk has twice been named to the end of season All-Star Team, and in 2004 finished in a three-way tie for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal-scorer, sharing it with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash.
Internationally, Kovalchuk has played for Russia in the IIHF World U18 Championship, World Junior Championship, World Championship, World Cup and Winter Olympics, and won the 2008 and 2009 World Championships. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Kovalchuk was named the most valuable player while helping Olympic Athletes from Russia win the gold medal.
1983Apr, 15
Ilya Kovalchuk
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Events on 1983
- 24Feb
Japanese American internment
A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II. - 19Jul
CT scan
The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published. - 24Jul
Sri Lankan Civil War
The Black July anti-Tamil riots begin in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000. Black July is generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War. - 1Sep
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace, killing all 269 on board, including Congressman Lawrence McDonald. - 12Sep
Los Macheteros
A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros.