Anton Volchenkov

Anton Volchenkov
Born	Anton Alexeyevich Volchenkov (1982-02-25) February 25, 1982 Moscow, Russia
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenceman
Years active	2002–present
Known for	Playing in the NHL and KHL as a defenceman

Anton Alexeyevich Volchenkov (; born 25 February 1982) is a professional ice hockey defenceman from Russia, currently an unrestricted free agent. His most recent team was Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Playing career

Born and raised in Moscow, Volchenkov began his hockey journey at the CSKA hockey academy at age six. During his fourth-grade year, his family relocated to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he trained at the Sokil Kyiv hockey school under the guidance of his uncle before returning to CSKA Moscow.

Selected 21st overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Volchenkov moved to North America for the 2002–03 NHL season, spending the entire season with Ottawa. Renowned for his fearless approach and physicality, he sustained a shoulder injury on 8 December 2003 while facing the Boston Bruins, which caused him to miss a significant portion of the 2003–04 campaign.

Originally playing as a goaltender during his early European career, his coach transitioned him to a defensive role, leading to his status as a league leader in blocked shots during the 2006–07 season. He consistently ranked among the top players in shot blocking and physical play, earning a fifth-place ranking as best defensive defenceman by The Hockey News in June 2007. Alongside Chris Phillips, he was a cornerstone of Ottawa’s defense during their run to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, ultimately falling to the Anaheim Ducks. He also led all players in blocked shots throughout the 2007 postseason.

Volchenkov became a mainstay on Ottawa’s blue line, recognized as one of their two premier defensemen. On 9 April 2007, he secured a three-year contract extension with the Senators. Ottawa’s general manager John Muckler lauded him as "one of our top defencemen all season."

On 29 November 2007, he suffered a broken finger blocking a shot versus the Nashville Predators, causing him to miss fifteen games. During the 2008 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he endured a facial cut from a puck but returned swiftly to complete the series, contributing one assist.

On 1 July 2010, Volchenkov signed a six-year contract worth $25.5 million with the New Jersey Devils. After four seasons with New Jersey, he was placed on unconditional waivers for buyout on 30 June 2014. Subsequently, as an unrestricted free agent, he agreed to a one-year $1 million contract with the Nashville Predators on 7 July 2014.

International play

Early in his career, Volchenkov captained Russia's team at the 2001 World Junior Championships, securing the title by netting the decisive goal against Team Canada and drawing attention from professional scouts. Between 2001 and 2003, he received mentorship from James "JP" Kunda.

He represented Russia at both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games and participated in the 2009 IIHF World Championship.

Personal life

Initially trained as a goaltender in childhood, Volchenkov was shifted to defense by his coach. Since the start of the 2005–06 NHL season, he has consistently ranked among league leaders in blocked shots. His father, Alexei, played defense for the Red Army hockey team during the historic 1975 Super Series.

Volchenkov is father to three children: son Anton Jr., born in October 2003, and twins Milan and Milena, born in February 2011.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999–2000	CSKA Moscow	RUS.2		31	2	9	11	38		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	CSKA–2 Moscow	RUS.3		6	0	1	1	10		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Krylia Sovetov Moscow	RUS.2		34	3	4	7	56		14	0	1	1	6
2001–02	Krylia Sovetov Moscow	RSL		47	4	15	19	48		3	0	0	0	29
2002–03	Ottawa Senators	NHL		57	3	13	16	40		17	1	1	2	4
Ottawa Senators	NHL	19		1	2	3	8	5		0	0	0	6
2004–05	(Binghamton Senators)	(AHL)		69	10	35	45	62		6	0	3	3	0
(Ottawa Senators)	(NHL)	75		4	'13	'17	'53	'9		'0	'4	'4	'8
'06–07	(Ottawa Senators)	(NHL)		'78	'1	'18	'19	'67		'20	'2	'4	'6	'24
(Ottawa Senators)	(NHL)	'67		'1	'14	'15	'55	'4		'0	'1	'1	'2
'08–09	(Ottawa Senators)	(NHL)		'68	'2	'8	'10	'36		'—	'—	'—	'—	'—
(Ottawa Senators)	(NHL)	'64		'4	'10	'14	'38	'6		'0	'2	'2	'4
'10–11	(New Jersey Devils)	(NHL)		'57	'0	'8	'8	'36		'—	'—	'—	'—	'—
(New Jersey Devils)	(NHL)	'72		'2	'9	'11	'34	'24		'1	'1	'2	'10
"12–13"	(Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)	(KHL)		"11"	"0"	"1"	"1"	"16"		"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
(New Jersey Devils)	(NHL)	"37"		"1"	"4"	"5"	"37"	"—"		"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
"13–14"	(New Jersey Devils)	(NHL)		"56"	"0"	"8"	"8"	"20"		"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
(Nashville Predators)	(NHL)	"46"		"0"	"7"	"7"	"14"	"1"		"0"	"0"	"0"	"2"
"16–17"	(Admiral Vladivostok)	(KHL)		"42"	"1"	"6"	"7"	"30"		"6"	"0"	"1"	"1"	"4"
(Admiral Vladivostok)	(KHL)	"28"		"1"	"2"	"3"	"12"
"18–19"	(Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)	(KHL)		"31"	"1"	"4"	"5"	"6"		"7"	"3" "0" "3" "6"
(Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)	(KHL)	\37\		\00\	\02\	\02\	\41\	\—		\—	\—	\—	\—
NHL totals !696 !19 !114 !133 !438 !86 !4 !13 !17 !60 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"				KHL totals !149 !3 !15 !18 !105 !13 !3 !1 !4 !10 |} International Year Team Event Outcome GP G A Pts PIM 2000 Russia WJC18 Template:Silver2 6 1 0 1 6 2001 Russia WJC 7th place 7 0 4 4 6 2002 Russia WJC Template:Gold1 7 1 3 4 6 2002 Russia WC Template:Silver2 9 0 0 0 0 2004 Russia WCH Quarterfinals 1 0 0 0 0 2006 Russia OG Fourth place 8 0 0 0 2 2009 Russia WC Template:Gold1 1 0 1 1 0 2010 Russia OG Sixth place 4 0 1 1 2 Junior career totals 20 2 7 9 18 Senior career totals 23 0 2 2 4 External links