Alexei Vyacheslavovich Emelin (Russian: Алексей Вячеславович Емелин; born 25 April 1986) is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

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 ...

who is currently playing for

HC Spartak Moscow HC Spartak Moscow (russian: ХК Спартак Москва, en, Spartak Moskva) is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. They played in the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2013–14 season. Howe ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League 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 ba ...

(KHL). Emelin was drafted 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 ...

in the third round, 84th overall, of the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout ...

Playing career

Early career

Emelin spent a large portion of his career with Lada Togliatti in the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was consi ...

(RSL) before signing with

Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (russian: Ак Барс, tt-Cyrl, Ак Барс, en, Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey ...

. He was also a member of Russia's under-18 and under-20 national squads, and has also become a regular member of the senior national team, skating for both in EuroTour and the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. In a

(KHL) game in 2009, Emelin sustained a face injury during a fight with

Alexander Svitov Alexander Nikolayevich Svitov (russian: Александр Николаевич Свитов; born 3 November 1982) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with Lokomotiv Yaros ...

; an orbital bone shattered and had to be rebuilt with metal plate. He has tried to avoid getting into fights ever since the incident. Aleksey Emelin - Switzerland vs

Montreal Canadiens

On 17 May 2011, Emelin signed a one-year,

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

for the 2011–12 season. He played his first regular season NHL game on 9 October, in a 5–1 victory against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

. In addition, he scored his first regular season NHL point, an assist, on 6 December, in a game against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

. On 25 January 2012, he scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings. On 30 June 2012, Emelin signed a two-year extension up until the end of the 2013–14 season. Alexei Emelin - Montreal Canadiens

During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, Emelin established himself as a key member of the Canadiens' defensive core, often playing with fellow countryman Andrei Markov. He scored three goals and 12 points in 38 games for the Canadiens and finished with a plus-minus rating of +2. His season, however, was derailed by an injury during a game against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

on 6 April 2013, when Emelin collided with Bruins forward

Milan Lucic Milan Lucic (; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played major junior hockey with the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for three seas ...

, falling awkwardly and tearing a ligament in his left knee. As a result, Emelin missed the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. On 31 October 2013, he signed a four-year contract extension with Montreal, lasting through the 2017–18 season.

Nashville Predators

After his sixth season with the Canadiens, Emelin was left exposed at the

2017 NHL Expansion Draft Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

. He was selected by the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expa ...

on 21 June 2017. On 1 July 2017, the Golden Knights traded Emelin to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in exchange for a third-round pick in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being sel ...

. Vegas retained approximately $1.2 million USD of Emelin's salary in the trade. Emelin skated in 76 games with the Predators in his lone season with the club, as well as 10 postseason games.

Avangard Omsk

On 2 September 2018, Emelin returned as a free agent to the KHL, signing a three-year contract with Avangard Omsk.

Dinamo Minsk and Spartak Moscow

After four seasons with Avangard Omsk, Emelin left as a free agent and extended his career in the KHL after signing a one-year contract with

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian club,

HC Dinamo Minsk Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk (russian: Дина́мо-Минск; be, Дынама-Мінск, ''Dynama-Minsk'') is an ice hockey team based in Minsk, Belarus. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. Dinamo has qu ...

, on 26 July 2022. Selected as team captain for Dinamo Minsk in the lead up to the 2022–23 season, Emelin as a regular on the blueline made 38 appearances and registered 9 assists. On 19 December 2022, Emelin left Dinamo and transferred to HC Spartak Moscow for the remainder of the season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emelin, Alexei 1986 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Avangard Omsk players HC CSK VVS Samara players HC Dinamo Minsk players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics HC Lada Togliatti players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players Olympic ice hockey players of Russia HC Spartak Moscow players Sportspeople from Tolyatti Russian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Russian ice hockey defencemen Russian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Russian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Belarus Russian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada