Oleg Tverdovsky

Oleg Tverdovsky
Born	Oleg Fedorovych Tverdovsky (1976-05-18) May 18, 1976 Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenseman
Years active	1994–2013
Known for	Two-time Stanley Cup champion (2003, 2006)

Oleg Fedorovych Tverdovsky (; born 18 May 1976) is a retired Russian professional ice hockey defenseman whose career spanned from 1994 to 2013. Selected second overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, he participated in 713 NHL contests representing Anaheim, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, and Los Angeles Kings. He earned two Stanley Cup titles: first with the Devils in 2003 and later with the Hurricanes in 2006.

In addition to his NHL tenure, Tverdovsky competed in Russia’s Superleague (RSL) and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), playing for Avangard Omsk, Salavat Yulayev Ufa, and Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He captured two RSL championships (2004 with Avangard Omsk and 2008 with Salavat Yulayev Ufa) as well as the Gagarin Cup in 2011 while with Salavat Yulayev Ufa.

NHL and Russian Superleague

Chosen second overall by Anaheim in the 1994 draft, Tverdovsky commenced his North American journey with the Brandon Wheat Kings during the 1994–95 NHL lockout. At just 18, he became the youngest player to debut for the Ducks franchise, setting a team record. Recognized as a promising young defender, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in February 1996.

When the Jets franchise relocated and became the Phoenix Coyotes, Tverdovsky solidified his role on their defensive unit and earned selection to the 1997 NHL All-Star Game. In 1999, he was traded back to Anaheim. Internationally, he represented Russia at the World Cup of Hockey in both 1996 and 2004, as well as at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

During the summer of 2002, Tverdovsky was involved in a seven-player trade sending him to the New Jersey Devils. With New Jersey, he secured his first Stanley Cup championship in 2003 before returning to Russia to join Avangard Omsk, where he won an RSL title. He returned to the NHL in 2005 as a free agent signing with Carolina and achieved a second Stanley Cup victory in 2006.

On September 29, 2006, Tverdovsky was traded alongside Jack Johnson to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Éric Bélanger and Tim Gleason.

Return to Russian leagues

For the 2007–08 season, Tverdovsky returned to Russia to play for Salavat Yulayev Ufa, where he remained for five seasons. Although still under contract with Los Angeles upon his departure from the NHL, he was able to compete in Russia due to the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation.

He was designated as a reserve player for Team Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics, available to replace injured teammates if necessary during the competition.

In the course of the 2011–12 season, Tverdovsky was traded to Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he played part of that season before deciding to retire from professional hockey.

Personal life

Tverdovsky currently lives in the United States with his second wife Mia; together they are raising five children.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	IHL		21	0	1	1	6		6	0	0	0	0
1992–93	Krylya Sovetov–2 Moscow	RUS.2		29	11	14	25	28		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	IHL		46	4	10	14	22		3	1	0	1	2
1994–95	Brandon Wheat Kings	WHL		7	1	4	5	4		—	—	—	—	—
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL	36		3	9	12	14	—		—	—	—	—
1995–96	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		51	7	15	22	35		—	—	—	—	—
NHL 31 0 8 8 6 6 0 1 1 0
NHL 82 10 45 55 30 7 0 1 1 0
AHL 9 8 6 14 2 — — — — — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	NHL 46 7 12 19 12 6 0 7 7 0
NHL 82 7 18 25 32 6 0 2 2 6
NHL 82 15 36 51 30 — — — — — |- |2000–01 NHL season|	NHL 82 14 39 53 32 — — — — — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	NHL 73 6 26 32 31 — — — — — |- |2002–03 NHL season|		NHL 50 5 8 13 22 15 0 3 3 0 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	RSL 57 16 17 33 58 11 0 2 2 2 |- |2004–05 Russian Superleague season|	RSL 48 5 15 20 65 11 0 3 3 35 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	NHL 72 3 20 23 37 5 0 0 0 0 |- |2006–07 NHL season|	NHL 26 0 4 4 10 — — — — — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"		AHL 14 5 8 13 2 14 2 9 11 14 |- |2007–08 Russian Superleague season|	RSL 43 6 11 17 58 16 2 6 8 10 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	KHL 48 8 19 27 30 2 0 0 0 0 |- |2009–10 KHL season|	KHL 42 8 13 21 38 16 1 4 5 4 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	KHL 40 7 9 16 20 7 1 0 1 12 |- |2011–12 KHL season|	KHL 12 0 0 0 8 — — — — — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	KHL 24 6 5 11 18 4 0 1 1 2 |- |2011–12 VHL season|	VHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	KHL 25 0 5 5 18 3 0 0 0 0 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"	RSL totals ! 148 ! 27 ! 43 ! 70 ! 181 ! 38 ! 2 ! 11 ! 13 ! 47 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"			NHL totals ! 713 ! 77 ! 240 ! 317 ! 291 ! 45 ! 00 ! 14 ! 14 ! 06 |- bgcolor="#e000e000"			KHL totals ! 191 ! 29 ! 51 ! 80 ! 132 ! 32 ! 02 ! 05 ! 07 ! 18 | } International Year Nation Tournament Outcome   GP G A Pts PIM 1993 Russia EJC 6 1 2 3 0 1994 Russia WJC 7 1 5 6 6 1994 Russia EJC 5 1 9 10 22 1996 Russia WC Fourth place 3 0 1 1 0 1996 Russia WCH Semifinals (SF) 4 1 0 1 0 2001 Russia WC Sixth place 7 2 2 4 2 2002 Russia OG 6 1 1 2 0 2004 Russia WC Tenth place 6 0 1 1 6 2004 Russia WCH Quarterfinals (QF) 3 0 0 0 0 2009 Russia WC 2 |2 |4 |6 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" Junior career totals !18 !3 !16 !19 !28 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" Senior career totals !38 !6 !7 !13 !14 |} Note: 2010 Winter Olympics – designated as reserve Awards and achievements Award Year - ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" NHL |- | All-Star Game 1997 - | Stanley Cup 2003 - | Stanley Cup 2006 - ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" Russian Superleague |- | Champion 2004 - | Most Valuable Player 2004 - | Champion 2008 - ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" KHL |- | Gagarin Cup 2011 } External links