Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov (born Ilya Nikolayevich Bryzgalov on June 22, 1980) is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was selected in the second round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft (44th overall) by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

In the 2006–07 NHL season, Ilya won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks. Internationally, he has earned a Bronze Medal with Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and a Silver Medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships. He also competed in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and is a 3-time Olympian.

Ilya helped Team Russia as starting goaltender win back to back Gold Medals at the 2009 World Ice Hockey Championships, making them ranked number one in the world. He was also runner-up for the Vezina Trophy and a top 5 finalist for the Hart Trophy in the 2009–10 NHL season.

Early Playing Career & tenure with Anaheim Ducks
Ilya started his professional career in his native Russia, splitting the 1999–2000 season between Spartak Moscow of the Russian Supreme League (RSL-2) and Lada Togliatti of the Russian Superleague (RSL).

Ilya played two seasons with Lada Togliatti before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who had drafted him in the second round (44th overall) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

However, with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Martin Gerber ahead of him in the club's depth chart, Bryzgalov spent the better part of his first four seasons in North America with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League (AHL). He made his Mighty Ducks debut in 2001–02, playing in his first of two games during that four-season stretch.

With the departure of backup Gerber, Ilya took over behind Giguere in 2005–06 season. However, injuries to the Ducks starter allowed him to play more games than he otherwise would have and he responded to the challenge with a 13–12–1 record with a 2.51 goals against average (GAA) and .910 save percentage.

In the subsequent playoffs, Ilya made three starts and one relief appearance for the Ducks in their first-round series against the Calgary Flames. In Game One, he filled in for an injured Giguere, taking a 2–1 overtime loss.

Ilya relieved Giguere once more in Game 5 and stopped all 19 shots he faced in a 3–2 loss. Then, he took over the starting job for Games 6 and 7 of the series, winning 2–1 in Game 6 and recording a shutout in the decisive Game 7.

Moving past the Flames, Ilya then recorded 5–0 and 3–0 shutouts in the first two games of the second series against the Colorado Avalanche for three consecutive shutouts.

Ilya tied Frank McCool's 1945 playoff record for most consecutive shutouts by a rookie and passed Giguere, who had recorded consecutive shutouts in 2003 for the third longest playoff shutout streak of all time.

Despite his success in the first two rounds, Ilya struggled in the semi-finals against the Edmonton Oilers and was eventually replaced by Giguere for the rest of the series as the Ducks were eliminated in five games.

Ilya continued to play backup to Giguere the following season and into the 2007 playoffs.

Ilya made comments regarding Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, saying he believed that Carlyle has no confidence in him. However, he briefly took over as the starter for the first four games of the Western Conference quarter-finals, winning three games as Giguere took a leave of absence with personal issues.

Ilya came in for relief in the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but remained on the bench as the Ducks went on to defeat the Ottawa Senators in the Finals in five games to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup.

Phoenix Coyotes
With the re-signing of Giguere to a four-year contract in the off-season and the acquisition of Jonas Hiller from Switzerland, the Ducks attempted to trade Ilya, but they were unable to.

General manager Brian Burke claimed he had a deal worked out at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, but he could not finish it and as a result on November 16, 2007, Ilya was placed on waivers and claimed by the Phoenix Coyotes the following day on November 17, 2007.

In his first game with the team that same day, Ilya made 27 saves for his 3rd career shutout in a 1–0 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Phoenix promptly signed him to a three-year contract extension and Ilya went on to record 26 wins in 55 games for the Coyotes as they battled for a playoff spot, establishing himself as the club's starting goaltender.

Again, Ilya recorded 26 wins for the Coyotes during the 2008–09 NHL season though the Coyotes did not qualify for the playoffs, but the 2009-10 NHL season would be a different story for him and the Coyotes, who would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2002 on the back of Ilya's 42 victories.

The fourth seeded Coyotes would face-off against the veteran Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarter Finals.

The series proved to be a see-saw battle that eventually saw Detroit prevail in seven games. Bryzgalov averaged 3.43 goals against per game during the series.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Coyotes during the 2010–11 NHL season, Ilya's 36 wins helped them to the 6th seed in the Western Conference and a return trip to the playoffs.

Once again, the Coyotes faced the Red Wings. Despite Ilya's strong play throughout the regular season, he struggled in the playoff rematch with Detroit, averaging 4.36 goals against per game as the Red Wings swept the Coyotes in four straight games.

Set to become an unrestricted free agent in the off-season, the Coyotes did not meet Ilya's asking price for a contract extension.

On June 6, 2011, Ilya's negotiation rights were traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a third-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft forward Matt Clackson and future considerations. He averaged 33 victories a season the past four seasons with the Coyotes.

Philadelphia Flyers
During the previous two seasons, the Flyers had lacked a player who consistently filled the starting goaltender position. The duo of Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher were able to help the team to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals in place of the injured starter Ray Emery, but neither goaltender held onto the starting position for an extended period of time.

Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky was the Flyers starter in the 2010–11 season, but he and Boucher formed another tandem with similar inconsistency which included a dismal playoff for both.

On June 23, 2011, the Flyers signed Ilya to be their new starter, and signed him to a nine-year, $51 million contract.

In order to accommodate his contract under the team's salary cap, the Flyers made two high-profile trades an hour before Ilya's signing was first reported, sending Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets (for Jakub Voracek as well as first and third-round picks in the 2011 draft) and captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings (for Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a second-round pick).

On October 27, 2011, following a 9–8 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, Ilya commented on his own play, saying: "I have zero confidence in myself right now." He also likened himself to somebody "lost in the woods" and that "if you probably throw a ball instead of the puck, I'm not gonna stop it." However, Ilya would quickly rebound by winning six of his next eight games.

Ilya would become well known for his comments regarding the universe during the filming of HBO's 24/7 series: "Solar system is so humongous big, right? But if you see, the like, our solar system and our galaxy on the like on the side, you know, like, and we’re so small — you can never see it — our galaxy is like huge, but if you see the big picture, our galaxy (is like a) small tiny like dot in universe. Like, and I think like, ‘And we have some problems here on the earth we worry about?’ Compared to like ... nothing. Just ... be happy. Don’t worry, be happy right now."

His comments have resulted in some good fun, including how when requesting information about the universe, siri instead returns information about Bryzgalov.

Ilya made news when he said he believed that [Sergei Bobrovsky would be the starter for the 2012 NHL Winter Classic: "I have great news and even better news. Okay, great news is I'm not playing, and better news is we have a chance to win the game.... (I'll) make sure I don't forget my thermos with some nice tea and enjoy the bench," he said.

Bobrovsky then started the Winter Classic on January 2, 2012, a 3–2 Flyers loss to the New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park.

Following a 6–4 loss to Pittsburgh on February 18, 2012, Ilya was quoted as saying, "I know I was frustrated in my game today and I know I have to be better and I will continue to work on this, but ... I will try to find peace in my soul to play in this city."

From March 4, 2012 to March 13, 2012, Ilya recorded 4 shutouts and allowed just 2 goals over a five game span.

On March 15, 2012, Ilya set the Flyers all-time record for longest shutout streak, in a game against the New York Islanders. He was named the NHL's First Star of the Month for March 2012.

On May 8, 2012, the Flyers and Ilya recorded a 3–1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, and were eliminated in the second round of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. He recorded a 3.46 goals-against-average combined with an 88.7% save percentage during the playoffs.

On March 2, 2013, Ilya won his 200th career game, in a 2–1 win against Ottawa.

On June 25, 2013, Ilya was informed that the Flyers would use a compliance buyout to buy the remaining seven years on his contract.

Las Vegas Wranglers
On October 2, 2013, Ilya signed a try out contract with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. This is only to attend the camp and nothing has been confirmed about signing a contract yet.

According to the ECHL website, Ilya was signed as an emergency backup goaltender by the Las Vegas Wranglers on October 17, 2013.

Edmonton Oilers
On November 8, 2013, Ilya entered a verbal agreement to sign a one year contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

He began on a conditioning assignment with the AHL affiliate of Edmonton, the Oklahoma City Barons, but he was finally called up to the Oilers on November 17, 2013 and will wear the number 80.

On November 28, 2013, Ilya made his first start of the season with a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators, stopping 33 shots.

After coming in a relief role the previous night, Bryzgalov posted his 31st career shutout. Coach Dallas Eakins stated after the game, "And he picked up right where he left off last game. I thought he was solid. He looked big in the net, everything. Check marks right across the page for him."

Starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk sat in as his backup for the night. However, Ilya was injured only two games later, temporarily halting his bid to supplant Dubnyk to become the Oilers starter.

Career Transactions

 * June 24, 2000: Drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the second round, 44th overall.
 * November 17, 2007: Claimed off waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes from the Anaheim Ducks.
 * June 7, 2011: Traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Matt Clackson, a third-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick.
 * June 23, 2011: Signed a nine-year, $51 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.
 * June 26, 2013: Remaining seven years on his contract bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers.

International Play
Ilya competed for Russia in the 2000 World Junior Championships in Umeå. He recorded a 0.77 GAA in 4 games to help Russia to a silver medal. Later that year, he was named to the Russia's senior team for the 2000 World Championships where he played in 4 games, but failed to reach the podium.

Two years later, Ilya competed for Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City earning bronze. Playing in a backup position, he did not appear in any games.

However, Ilya played in a more expanded role at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, playing in 240 minutes and recording a 2.34 GAA in 3 games.

Ilya received his first international gold medal at the 2009 World Championships, beating Canada in the final.

Personal Life
Ilya and his wife Yevgeniya have two children: a daughter named Valery and a son named Vladislav. The family lived in Yorba Linda during Ilya's tenure with the Ducks.

Ilya spent five summers attending college in Russia where he earned his degree which allowed him to teach and coach in Russian school. He reads books and enjoys studying philosophy.

Ilya did not emulate anyone in particular as a young goalie, instead focusing on being the best he could be.

Having been known to have a somewhat odd personality, Ilya earned a lot of attention for his appearance in the first episode of "24/7: Road to the Winter Classic" in which he famously describes the Solar System as "humongous big" while explaining the absurdity of human problems in comparison to the enormousness of the universe which is similar to the views expressed by Carl Sagan about the Pale Blue Dot picture.

Ilya's interview on YouTube became viral after he said, "It's only game, why you heff to be mad?" The original video has 1.5 million views on YouTube.