Alexander Stanislavovich Romanov (russian: Александр Станиславович Романов; born 6 January 2000) is a Russian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

for the New York Islanders of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Romanov was selected by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

with the 38th overall pick in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

Playing career

After two seasons playing in the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

, Romanov was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the

on 13 July 2020. Making his debut with the team for the

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

-shortened 2020–21 season, Romanov played in 54 of 56 regular season games. However, he took to the ice in only four of the 22 games in the Canadiens' deep

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. On 5 July 2021, he became the youngest defenseman in Canadiens history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals. On 7 July 2022, during the

2022 NHL Entry Draft The 2022 NHL Entry Draft was the 60th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 7–8, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Montreal were originally scheduled to host the 2020 draft but were unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandem ...

, Romanov was traded by the Canadiens, along with a fourth-round pick, to the New York Islanders in exchange for a first-round pick (13th overall). Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said it was "very difficult" to trade Romanov, but that it was a necessary step in a series of trades to acquire centreman

Kirby Dach Kirby Dach (born January 21, 2001) is a Canadians, Canadian professional Centre (ice hockey), ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Dach was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with th ...

from the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

International play

Romanov represented

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He finished with one goal and seven assists, anchoring the Russian defence en route to a bronze medal. Romanov was named the best defenceman of the tournament by the IIHF Directorate and was voted to the All-Star team.

Personal life

Romanov's maternal grandfather is

Zinetula Bilyaletdinov Zinetula Khaidarovich "Bill" Bilyaletdinov (russian: Зинэтула Хайдарович Билялетдинов, tt-Cyrl, Зиннәтулла Хәйдәр улы Билалетдинев; born 13 March 1955) is a former Russian ice hockey ...

, who played for the Soviet national team from 1974 to 1987 and coached the Russian national ice hockey team from 2011 to 2014. His father is former KHL player

Stanislav Nikolaevich Romanov Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

. In October 2020, Romanov married longtime girlfriend and former rhythmic gymnast Sofia Krasovskaya. In February 2023, Romanov and his wife Sofia welcomed their first child, a baby girl.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romanov, Alexander 2000 births Living people Ice hockey people from Moscow HC CSKA Moscow players Krasnaya Armiya (MHL) players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players New York Islanders players Russian ice hockey defencemen