Maxim Vasilievich Balmochnykh (born March 7, 1979) 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 6 games 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).

Playing career

Balmochnykh began his career with his hometown team HC Lipetsk of the Vysshaya Liga before moving to 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 ...

's HC Lada Togliatti. He was drafted in the second round, 45th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the

1997 NHL Entry Draft The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was the 35th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1997. As of 2022, the only remaining active player in the NHL from the 1997 draft class is Joe Thornton. Selections ...

. After being drafted, Balmochnykh made his North American debut with the

Quebec Remparts There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts (french: Remparts de Québec) that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The first edition played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has pla ...

of the QMJHL in the 1998–99 season. He then joined the Ducks organization and was assigned to the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of 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 ...

. His call up 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 ...

came during the 2000–01 season, during which he played six games for the Mighty Ducks, scoring one assist. He spent the next two seasons in Cincinnati before he was 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 ...

on July 6, 2002, with Jeff Friesen and

Oleg Tverdovsky Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...

for

Petr Sýkora Petr Sýkora (; born November 19, 1976) is a Czech former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Pengu ...

, Jean-Francois Damphousse, Mike Commodore, and

Igor Pohanka Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling ...

. Balmochnykh returned to Russia in 2002 with

Severstal Cherepovets Hockey Club Severstal is a professional ice hockey team based in Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League. History Founded in 1956, the club was originally known as Stroitel ...

while New Jersey retained his NHL rights. He returned to the Devils the next season but spent the entire season in the AHL for the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

. Balmochnykh became a free agent in 2004 and returned to Russia permanently, rejoining HK Lipetsk. After two seasons in the Vysshaya Liga, Lipetsk were relegated to the

Pervaya Liga The All-Russian Hockey League B or VHL-B (russian: Первенство Всероссийской хоккейной лиги (ВХЛ-Б), ''Pervenstvo Vserossiyskoy hokkeynoy ligi'') is an ice hockey league in Russia. It stands at the third-ti ...

, the country's third tier league and Balmochnykh moved to

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 R ...

with

HC Dynamo 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 ...

before returning to the Russian Superleague with Metallurg Novokuznetsk. After a disappointing season, he was released and he returned to Dynamo Minsk before signing with

HK Gomel HK Gomel ( be, ХК Гомель, translit=HK Homyel') is an ice hockey team in Gomel in Belarus. It was founded in 2000, and participates in the Belarusian Extraliga. Honours *Belarusian Extraliga: **Winners (1) : 2003 *Belarusian Cup (ice ho ...

in 2008. He then rejoined Dinamo Minsk, who were now playing in the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balmochnykh, Maxim 1979 births Albany River Rats players Anaheim Ducks draft picks HK Brest players Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players HC Dinamo Minsk players HK Gomel players HC Lada Togliatti players Metallurg Novokuznetsk players Severstal Cherepovets players Living people Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Sportspeople from Lipetsk Quebec Remparts players Russian expatriates in the United States Russian ice hockey left wingers