Alexander Ivanovich Korolyuk (russian: Александр Иванович Королюк, born January 15, 1976) is a Russian former 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 hock ...

winger who played in 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) with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

before playing the remainder of his career in 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). Korolyuk was drafted in the sixth round, 141st overall, by the

in the

1994 NHL Entry Draft The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL g ...

Playing career

As a youth, Korolyuk played in the 1990

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a team from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Korolyuk was drafted 141st overall by the

, from

PHC Krylya Sovetov HC Krylya Sovetov (russian: link=no, ХК Крылья Советов; ''Soviet Wings'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. The team played in the top divisions of Soviet and Russian hockey. In 2008, the team was expell ...

. Three years later, he jumped to the

NHL 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 ...

, making the opening night roster for the Sharks. However, he spent the majority of that season playing in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. Differences with then-head coach

Darryl Sutter Darryl John Sutter (born August 19, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current head coach of the Calgary Flames. He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL ( Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich, and Ro ...

caused Korolyuk to be a contract hold-out at the start of the

2000–01 NHL season The 2000–01 NHL season was the 84th regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, 30 teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanc ...

. He would eventually play 70 games for the Sharks that season. Korolyuk only played 32 games the next season and left the team after continued problems with Sutter. He played all of 2002–03 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 ...

. While playing in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, Sutter was fired, paving the way for his return to the Sharks in 2003–04. Playing primarily on the second line with

Alyn McCauley Alyn Daniel McCauley (born May 29, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for ten years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and the Los Angeles Kings. Prior to his NHL ca ...

and

Nils Ekman Nils Karl "Nisse" Ekman (born 11 March 1976) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger. During his 15-year career as a player at the professional level he played in the National Hockey League, Swedish Elite League (SHL), Kontinent ...

, Korolyuk posted a career-high 37 points. That would be his final season in the NHL, however, as Korolyuk returned to Russia during the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

. On 1 October 2006, his rights were traded to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

, along with

Jim Fahey James M. Fahey (born May 11, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks and the New Jersey Devils. He last played for the Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL. P ...

, for Vladimir Malakhov and a first-round draft pick. Later that season, Korolyuk became interested in an NHL return and requested to Devils management that his rights be traded back to the Sharks. His request was granted and the Sharks re-acquired him 16 February 2007 for a third-round draft pick, only to have the trade voided six days later when Korolyuk did not report for his physical in the allotted time period. Korolyuk continued his playing career in the

, playing for

HC Vityaz Hockey Club Vityaz (, en, HC Knight) is a professional ice hockey team based in Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely kn ...

Atlant Mytishchi Hockey Club Atlant Moscow Oblast (russian: ХК Атлант Московская область, en, Atlas Hockey Club Moscow Region) was a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast. They were members of the Bobro ...

SKA St. Petersburg The Hockey Club SKA (russian: Спортивный клуб СКА), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg. They are members o ...

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (russian: ХК Локомотив, en, Locomotive HC), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) ...

, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk,

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They a ...

and

HC Yugra Hockey Club Yugra (russian: Хоккейный клуб Югра), is a professional ice hockey team based in Khanty-Mansiysk, Yugra, Russia. They currently play in the Supreme Hockey League, the second-highest league in Russia, and played in the ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Korolyuk, Alexander 1976 births Ak Bars Kazan players Atlant Moscow Oblast players HC Khimik Voskresensk players Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ice hockey people from Moscow Kentucky Thoroughblades players Krylya Sovetov Moscow players Living people Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players Manitoba Moose (IHL) players Metallurg Magnitogorsk players HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players Olympic ice hockey players of Russia Russian ice hockey right wingers San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players SKA Saint Petersburg players HC Vityaz players HC Yugra players