Valeri Zelepukin
Valeri Zelepukin | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 17, 1968 Voskresensk, Russia |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey player (retired) |
| Years active | 1984–2006 |
| Known for | NHL career with New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks; scoring pivotal goal in 1994 Eastern Conference Finals; 1995 Stanley Cup champion |
Valeri Mikhailovich Zelepukin (; born September 17, 1968) is a retired Russian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks during the period from 1991 to 2001. Hailing from Voskresensk, he was selected by the Devils as the 221st overall pick in the 11th round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Throughout his NHL career, Zelepukin participated in 595 regular season matches, amassing 117 goals and 177 assists for a total of 294 points, while accumulating 527 penalty minutes.
Zelepukin is particularly remembered for a pivotal goal he scored for New Jersey in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against their rivals, the New York Rangers. With just 7.7 seconds left on the clock and the Rangers ahead 1-0, teammate Claude Lemieux passed to Zelepukin, who managed to score and equalize despite claims of goaltender interference. Although the Devils eventually fell in double overtime when Stéphane Matteau netted the winning goal for New York, this play has become legendary. The Rangers captured their first Stanley Cup in 54 years that season; however, Zelepukin and the Devils secured their inaugural championship the following year by sweeping the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
Following his playing days, Zelepukin took on a coaching role with KHL club Metallurg Novokuznetsk for the 2016-17 campaign but was relieved of his duties after a disappointing 1-8-0 start.
Regular season and playoffs
1993–94 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 82 26 31 57 70 20 5 2 7 14 |- 1994–95 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 4 1 2 3 6 18 1 2 3 12 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 1995–96 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 61 6 9 15 107 — — — — — |- 1996–97 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 71 14 24 38 36 8 3 2 5 2 1997–98 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 35 2 8 10 32 — — — — — 1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 33 2 10 12 57 8 1 2 3 2 1998–99 NHL seasonPhiladelphia Flyers NHL 74 16 9 25 48 4 1 0 1 4 1999–2000 NHL season Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 11 21 32 55 18 1 2 3 12 2000–01 NHL seasonChicago Blackhawks NHL 36 3 4 7 18 — — — — — 2000–01 AHL seasonNorfolk Admirals AHL 29 10 9 19 28 9 5 3 8 6 2001–02 AHL season Norfolk Admirals AHL 27 8 10 18 29 4 0 1 1 2 2002–03 Russian Superleague seasonAk Bars Kazan RSL 27 5 8 13 72 5 1 1 2 4 2003–04 Russian Superleague seasonSKA St. Petersburg RSL 58 19 15 34 92 — — — — — 2004–05 Russian Superleague season SKA St. Petersburg RSL 48 4 6 10 102 — — — — — 2005–06 Russian Superleague season Khimik Moscow Oblast RSL 33 3 8 11 28 4 1 0 1 2| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984–85 | Khimik Voskresensk | USSR | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Khimik Voskresensk | USSR | 33 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Khimik Voskresensk | USSR | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 19 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | SKA MVO Kalinin | USSR II | 45 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Khimik Voskresensk | USSR | 46 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 26 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1990–91 | Khimik Voskresensk | USSR | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 44 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 AHL season | Utica Devils | AHL | 22 | 20 | 9 | 29 | 8 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1992–93 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 78 | 23 | 41 | 64 | 70 | 5 | 0
2 2 0 | |||||
| USSR totals | 173 !36 !26 !62 !78 !— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| NHL totals | 595 !117 !177 !294 !527 !85 !13 !13 !26 !48 | |||||||||||||
| RSL totals | 166 !31 !37 !68 !294 !9 !2 !1 !3 !6 | |||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Result | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Penalty Minutes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Soviet Union | EJC | 4th place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1987 | Soviet Union | WJC | Disqualified | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1988 | Soviet Union | WJC | Silver medalist | 7 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1991 | Soviet Union | WC | Bronze medalist | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1996 | Russia | WCH | Semifinalist | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| 1998 | Russia | OG | Silver medalist | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Russia | WC | 10th place | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior career totals | 18 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 12 | ||||
| Senior career totals | 24 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 29 | ||||