Every Russian to play for the Canucks, ranked from worst to best

Jun 24 2022, 2:00 pm

The Vancouver Canucks have had a complicated history with Russian players.

The Iron Curtain prevented most Russians from playing in the NHL until 1989. That was the year that two stars made the move from Moscow to Vancouver: Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov.

A pair of legends in their home country, they went on to have very different NHL careers. Larionov played 14 NHL seasons and is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Krutov, on the other hand, played just 61 games.

With Andrei Kuzmenko set to become the 19th Russian to play for Vancouver, here’s a look at the 18 Russian Canucks that came before him — ranked from worst to best.

18. Fedor Fedorov

  • Canucks career stats: 15 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS

With loads of skill and a 6-foot-3 frame, to go with a flashy number (81) and superstar name on his back, there was a lot of excitement when Fedor Fedorov won a spot on the Canucks’ opening night roster in 2002.

“When he has the puck he’s very creative,” Trevor Linden said at the time. “He sure reminds me of the guy in Detroit. He may look a little slower [than Sergei] because he’s so big, but he’s not. He’s handled himself very well.”

The younger brother of Sergei Fedorov, the Canucks hoped Fedor would be a star too.

But Fedor never panned out, criticized for a lack of work effort and a poor attitude, he played just seven games for the Canucks in 2002-03 and eight in 2003-04 before he was finally traded — but not before Kevin Bieksa punched him out while they were AHL teammates in Manitoba.

17. Sergei Shirokov

  • Canucks career stats: 8 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS

Selected in the sixth round in 2006, Sergei Shirokov wasn’t a high draft pick, but he did briefly turn heads in 2009, leading the Canucks in preseason scoring. Shirokov was a surprise addition to the season-opening roster, and even received power-play time.

But he lasted just three games before being sent to the minors. He played eight games over two years, before going back to Russia where he went on to have a reasonably successful career in the KHL.

16. Vadim Sharifijanov

  • Canucks career stats: 17 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Brian Burke has identified a 2000 trade between the Canucks and New Jersey Devils, which saw Vadim Sharifijanov head to Vancouver for a third-round pick, as the most regrettable deal he made in his career.

He was that unimpressed with Sharifijanov.

Sharifijanov played 17 games for the Canucks in the second half of the 1999-2000 season, scoring three points. He never played in the NHL again after that.

15. Alexei Tezikov

  • Canucks career stats: 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS

We’re cutting defenceman the late Alexei Tezikov a break here. He only played two games for the Canucks, but it’s not like much was expected of him as a 2001 waiver claim.

14. Alexander Semak

  • Canucks career stats: 18 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Vancouver was Alexander Semak’s last NHL stop, however briefly, with just 18 games in 1996-97. A decade earlier he was a star with Moscow Dynamo, and he did have a 79-point season with the New Jersey Devils in 1992-93.

13. Alexander Burmistrov

  • Canucks career stats: 24 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS

After ending up in Travis Green’s doghouse in 2017, Alexander Burmistrov decided to retire from the NHL after just 24 games. An eighth overall draft pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010, he went back to Russia to play in the KHL where he has had limited success.

12. Evgeny Namestnikov

  • Canucks career stats: 35 GP, 0 G, 8 A, 8 PTS

Most of Evgeny Namestnikov’s time playing in North America was spent in the AHL, but the undersized defenceman proved to be a valuable call-up option on a number of occasions. He even got to play in a couple of playoff games for the Canucks in 1995 and 1996.

11. Sergei Nemchinov

  • Canucks career stats: 6 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS

Sergei Nemchinov wasn’t in Vancouver for a long time, but he certainly made the most of it. Small sample size, but with five points in six games, he’s top 30 in Canucks history in points per game.

10. Nikita Tryamkin

  • Canucks career stats: 79 GP, 3 G, 8 A, 11 PTS

Nikita Tryamkin had fans and media talking before, during, and after his 79-game stint with the Canucks in 2016 and 2017. A raw talent, Tryamkin showed up out of shape and wasn’t a favourite of head coach Willie Desjardins. The towering 6-foot-7 blueliner did provide some fun moments though, whether it be a big hit or an epic fight with Jamie Benn.

9. Vladimir Krutov

  • Canucks career stats: 61 GP, 11 G, 23 A, 34 PTS

Krutov, who died in 2012, was one of the best players in the world during the 1980s.

But when he arrived in North America in 1989, he was a shadow of his former self on the ice.

ā€œI think Kruts was the proverbial fish out of water,ā€ said Paul Reinhart, Krutov’s former Canucks teammate, in a 2012 interview with Postmedia. ā€œHe just never really got adjusted or acclimatized to the North American world and, therefore, he was never able to produce.”

He did score 34 points in 61 games though, which is good enough to put him at No. 9 on this list.

8. Nikolay Goldobin

  • Canucks career stats: 114 GP, 18 G, 26 A, 44 PTS

Nikolay Goldobin scored the game winner and was benched during his Canucks debut in 2017, and that was a pretty good sign of things to come for him in Vancouver. He scored a career-high 27 points in 63 games in 2018-19.

7. Vasily Podkolzin

  • Canucks career stats: 79 GP, 14 G, 12 A, 26 PTS

Vasily Podkolzin will undoubtedly end up higher on this list in the coming years, but with 26 points in 79 games during his rookie season, he remains in seventh spot.

6. Roman Oksiuta

  • Canucks career stats: 68 GP, 21 G, 25 A, 46 PTS

Playing parts of two seasons with the Canucks in 1995 and 1996, 6-foot-4 winger Roman Oksiuta produced well offensively with 46 points in 68 games. He finished second in rookie goal-scoring during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, behind only Paul Kariya, with 16 goals.

5. Anatoli Semenov

  • Canucks career stats: 62 GP, 10 G, 34 A, 44 PTS

The Canucks were one of six NHL teams Anatoli Semenov played for, after making the move to North America following a successful career in Russia. His lone season in Vancouver with 44 points in 62 games ranks as one of the best “one-year wonders” in Canucks history.

4. Artem Chubarov

  • Canucks career stats: 228 GP, 25 G, 33 A, 58 PTS

Artem Chubarov ranks high on this list for his longevity and defensive play. The two-way centre was one of the Canucks’ top penalty killers in the early 2000s. He was also remarkably clutch, as eight of his 25 goals in the NHL were game-winners.

3. Igor Larionov

  • Canucks career stats: 210 GP, 51 G, 92 A, 143 PTS

Nicknamed “the Professor” for his intelligence on and off the ice, Larionov had a 65-point season for the Canucks in 1991-92, centring Pavel Bure during the Russian Rocket’s rookie season. He likely would have played in Vancouver longer, if not for a pact that guaranteed money going to what he saw as a corrupt Russian hockey federation if he re-signed with the Canucks.

2. Alexander Mogilny

  • Canucks career stats: 312 GP, 139 G, 169 A, 308 PTS

Alexander Mogilny is one of two players ever to score 50 goals in a season for the Canucks, potting 55 in 1995-96. He added 107 points that year, which has only been bested by two Canucks — Bure and Henrik Sedin.

1. Pavel Bure

  • Canucks career stats: 428 GP, 254 G, 224 A, 478 PTS

Was there ever a doubt who would finish first on this list? The Russian Rocket scored more than 50 goals three times, and netted 60 twice during his time in Vancouver. Bure is one of the best players in franchise history, and is without a doubt the most electrifying player ever to slip on a Canucks jersey.

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