Sergei Vasilievich Pryakhin (sometimes Priakin; ; born December 7, 1963) is a Russian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward who played 20 seasons in several leagues. He is a former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Krylya Sovetov Moscow HC Krylya Sovetov (; ''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 expelled from the Soviet Wings Sport Palace and a new t ...

(Soviet Wings) of the Soviet League and was the first Soviet hockey player permitted to play in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL), and the second Soviet player to appear in an NHL game, following Victor Nechayev. He joined the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in 1989 and played parts of three seasons in the NHL. Pryakhin returned to Europe in 1991 where he spent three seasons in Switzerland with

Zürcher SC The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the D ...

, then four in Finland with

Kiekko-Espoo Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...

. He also played with the Oji Eagles in Japan for one year before returning to Kryla for a final season before retiring in 2000. Internationally, Pryakhin was a member of the Soviet national team. He appeared in two World Junior Championships and won a gold medal in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. He was a member of two

World Championship 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 ...

teams, winning a silver medal in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and gold in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. Pryakhin was also a member of the second-place Soviet team at the

1987 Canada Cup The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team ...

Playing career

Pryakhin's top-level career began in 1980 when he appeared in one Soviet League for

(better known in North America as the Soviet Wings). He joined the team full-time in 1981–82 as a 17-year-old, appearing in 43 games for the Wings. Pryakhin's debut with the Soviet national team came the 1982 World Junior Hockey Championship in a fourth-place finish. He returned for the 1983 tournament and scored six points in seven games to help the Soviets win the gold medal. A mid-level player on both the Wings and the national team, Pryakhin's best seasons in the Soviet league came in 1983–84 when he scored 18 goals, and 1986–87 when he had 32 points. He ultimately rose to become

of the Wings. He was a member of a Soviet squad that won a silver medal at the 1987 World Championship and finished as runners-up to Canada at the

. The

(NHL)'s

, anticipating that it would be easier to convince the Soviet Hockey Federation to release a non-star member of their national team to play in North America, opted to select Pryakhin with the 252nd, and last, pick in the

1988 NHL Entry Draft The 1988 NHL entry draft was the 26th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Teemu Selanne, who retired after the 2013–14 season. Selections by round Be ...

. The Soviets began negotiations with the Flames in February 1989, and he signed a contract with Calgary on March 29. He became the first Soviet player permitted by his national federation to play in the NHL. Pryakhin made his NHL debut on March 31 against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

. He was the second Soviet player to appear in an NHL game, following Victor Nechayev. Pryahkin appeared in the Flames' final two games of the regular season, and one game of the 1989 playoffs as the Flames went on to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. He did not play enough games or in the finals so his name was left off the Cup. Calgary did give Pryakhin a Stanley Cup ring and included him in the team picture. Pryahkin scored his first NHL goal on October 10, 1989, against the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a 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 Conference. The club w ...

. He appeared in 20 games with the Flames in 1989–90 and scored 2 goals and 4 points. He added 1 goal and 6 assists in 24 games in 1990–91 and made appearances with the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

, Calgary's International Hockey League affiliate in both seasons. Internationally, Pryahkin appeared in three games and won a gold medal with the Soviet team at the 1990 World Championship. Returning to Europe in 1991–92, Pryahkin joined

of the Swiss top division. He was a member of the team for three seasons, splitting 1992–93 with Krylya Sovetov in his Russian home, before moving on to the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

for four seasons with

. Pryahkin spent a season in Japan in 1998–99 before closing out his career with Krylya Sovetov in the Russian second division in 2000.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pryakhin, Sergei 1963 births Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Espoo Blues players Expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Expatriate ice hockey players in Japan Expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Ice hockey people from Moscow Krylya Sovetov Moscow players Living people Oji Eagles players Russian expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Russian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Russian expatriate sportspeople in Finland Russian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Russian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Russian ice hockey right wingers Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Soviet expatriate ice hockey players Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Canada Soviet expatriate sportspeople in the United States Soviet ice hockey right wingers Stanley Cup champions ZSC Lions players