Alexei Ponikarovsky

Oleksiy Volodymyrovych "Alexei" Ponikarovsky (Ukrainian: Олексій Володимирович Понікаровський; born 9 April 1980) is a Ukrainian-Canadian[1] former professional ice hockey left winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils, having originally been drafted in the third round, 87th overall, by the Maple Leafs at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Alexei Ponikarovsky
Born (1980-04-09) 9 April 1980
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR,
Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Krylya Sovetov
Dynamo Moscow
Toronto Maple Leafs
Khimik Moscow Oblast
Pittsburgh Penguins
Los Angeles Kings
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils
Donbass Donetsk
Winnipeg Jets
SKA Saint Petersburg
Kunlun Red Star
National team  Ukraine
NHL Draft 87th overall, 1998
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1998–2018

Playing career
Ponikarovsky with the Penguins

As a youth, Ponikarovsky played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Kiev.[2]

Ponikarovsky began his career with the Dynamo Moscow organization, playing with the team's affiliates, Dynamo-2 and Dynamo Jr., from 1995 to 1999 campaigns, seeing a little action with the main club during the 1998–99 season before becoming a regular fixture on the team during the 1999–2000 season when Dynamo won the Russian Superleague (RSL) championship.

In 1997–98, Ponikarovsky played 24 games for Dynamo in the First Division of the Russian Hockey League, collecting three points. He then played 13 games for Krylya Sovetov of the Russian Elite League in 1998–99 and played three playoff games for Dynamo.

In 1999–2000, Ponikarovsky played 19 games for Dynamo of the Russian Elite League and played 29 games for THK Tver in the First Division of the Russian Hockey League, collecting 22 points (eight goals and 14 assists).

In the 2005–06 season, Ponikarovsky put up career-highs in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes. He saw added responsibility and was given more ice-time, often with former Dynamo Moscow teammate Nik Antropov or Mats Sundin, and became one of the team's regular penalty-killers. Ponikarovsky finished the season with four shorthanded goals and one assist. His four shorthanded goals tied ten players, including teammate Matt Stajan, for eighth in the NHL.[3]

On 16 December 2006, Ponikarovsky notched a career-high five points in Toronto's 9–2 victory of the New York Rangers, scoring two goals and assisting on three others. He is commonly referred to by his teammates as "The Poni Express", "The Ukraine Train" or simply "Poni". On 10 May 2007, the Maple Leafs re-signed Ponikarovsky to a three-year, $6.315 million contract extension.[4]

Ponikarovsky with the Devils

On 2 March 2010, Ponikarovsky was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Luca Caputi and Martin Škoula.[5] Following the trade, he remained optimistic he would resume contract talks with Toronto in the off-season.[6] In his debut game with the Penguins on 6 March 2010, against the Dallas Stars, he scored his first goal with his new team.

On 27 July 2010, Ponikarovsky signed with the Los Angeles Kings, receiving a signing bonus of $200,000 and a one-year contract for $3 million.

On 1 July 2011, Ponikarovsky signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes reportedly worth $1.5 million.[7]

On January 20, 2012, Ponikarovsky was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenceman Joe Sova and a fourth-round pick in 2012. In 33 games, he scored 18 points before helping the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, scoring an overtime game winner in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

On July 1, 2012, Ponikarovsky signed as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets on a one-year, $1.8 million contract. However, due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Ponikarovsky signed a temporary contract with the Ukrainian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club HC Donbass for the 2012–13 season.[8] In Donetsk, he had scored 18 points in 32 games, after which he returned to start the shortened NHL season with the Jets. After scoring only 2 goals in 12 games, Ponikarovsky was traded back to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for fourth- and seventh-round picks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft on 13 February 2013.[9]

Ponikarovsky with Kunlun Red Star in 2017

Upon the conclusion of the 2012–13 season, with limited NHL interest in free agency, Ponikarovsky decided to return to the KHL, signing a two-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg on 5 August 2013.[10] The move reunited him with former New Jersey Devils teammate Ilya Kovalchuk, who also just signed with SKA.

Personal

On 7 June 2007, Ponikarovsky became a Canadian citizen during a ceremony in Etobicoke, Ontario. Ponikarovsky lives in Miami with his wife Inna, daughter Jessica, and sons Alex and Maxim, while still owning a house in Toronto.[11][12] He has favoured wearing the number 23 as two of his grandparents were born on the 23rd, along with his wife. After signing with SKA Saint Petersburg, Ponikarovsky obtained additional Russian citizenship, as many Ukrainians in the KHL do.[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1996–97 Dynamo Moscow II RUS III 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1997–98 Dynamo Moscow II RUS II 24 1 2 3 30 — — — — —
1998–99 Dynamo Moscow II RUS II 28 12 3 15 32 — — — — —
1998–99 Krylya Sovetov Moscow RSL 13 2 1 3 2 — — — — —
1999–2000 THK Tver RUS II 29 8 14 22 26 — — — — —
1999–2000 Dynamo Moscow RSL 19 1 0 1 8 1 0 0 0 0
2000–01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 22 1 3 4 14 — — — — —
2000–01 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 49 12 24 36 44 4 0 0 0 4
2001–02 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 72 21 27 48 19 5 2 1 3 8
2001–02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 8 2 0 2 0 10 0 0 0 4
2002–03 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 63 24 22 46 68 — — — — —
2002–03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 13 0 3 3 11 — — — — —
2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 9 19 28 44 13 1 3 4 8
2004–05 Khimik Voskresensk RSL 19 1 5 6 16 — — — — —
2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 81 21 17 38 68 — — — — —
2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 71 21 24 45 63 — — — — —
2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 18 17 35 36 — — — — —
2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 23 38 61 38 — — — — —
2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 19 22 41 44 — — — — —
2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 16 2 7 9 17 11 1 4 5 4
2010–11 Los Angeles Kings NHL 61 5 10 15 36 4 1 0 1 0
2011–12 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 49 7 8 15 26 — — — — —
2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 33 7 11 18 8 24 1 8 9 12
2012–13 Donbass Donetsk KHL 32 5 13 18 16 — — — — —
2012–13 Winnipeg Jets NHL 12 2 0 2 6 — — — — —
2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 30 2 5 7 8 — — — — —
2013–14 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 51 6 9 15 38 10 1 1 2 4
2014–15 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 32 2 6 8 24 9 1 0 1 4
2015–16 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 40 3 1 4 30 3 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Kunlun Red Star KHL 52 7 7 14 34 5 0 1 1 0
2017–18 Kunlun Red Star KHL 51 6 7 13 20 — — — — —
NHL totals 678 139 184 323 419 52 4 15 19 28
AHL totals 184 57 73 130 186 9 2 1 3 12
KHL totals 256 29 43 72 162 27 2 2 4 8

International
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Ukraine OG 10th 4 1 1 2 6
2013 Ukraine OGQ DNQ 3 2 3 5 0
Senior totals 7 3 4 7 6
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References
  1. Tom, Godfrey (8 June 2007). "Leaf now a Canadian". CANOE sports. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
  2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  3. "2005-2006 - Regular season - All Skaters - Short Handed Scoring - SHORT HANDED GOALS". NHL.com. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
  4. "Leafs' Ponikarovsky signs extension". Canadian Press. 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
  5. "Leafs trade Ponikarovsky to Penguins for Skoula, Caputi". TSN. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  6. "Alexei Ponikarovsky: "Fedotenko said:" Ready to win the Stanley Cup? "". 5 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  7. "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  8. "HC Donbass reach agreement on contract with Ruslan Fedotenko, Alexei Ponikarovsky" (in Russian). HC Donbass. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  9. "Ponikarovsky reacquired from Winnipeg". New Jersey Devils. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  10. "Alexei Ponikarovsky joins SKA!". SKA St. Petersburg. 5 August 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  11. "2010 Kings Media Guide". Los Angeles Kings. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  12. "ГНЕЗДО — Руслан Федотенко: "Я следил за сборной"".
  13. "Борис Колесников: "Бюджет "Донбасса" значительно больше, чем в прошлом году"".
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Janne Jalasvaara		 Kunlun Red Star captain
2017–18		 Succeeded by
Brandon Yip
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