| Igor Korolev | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 6, 1970 Zelenograd, Soviet Union |
| Died | September 7, 2011 (aged 41) Yaroslav, Russia |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| Played for | HC Dynamo Moscow St. Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Blackhawks Metallurg Magnitogorsk Atlant Moscow Oblast Lokomotiv Yaroslavl |
| National team | Template:Country data Soviet Union |
| NHL Draft | 38th overall, 1992 St. Louis Blues |
| Playing career | 1988–2010 |
Igor Korolev (born Igor Borisovich Korolev on September 6, 1970) was a professional ice hockey player and coach.
He played over 700 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1992 until 2004.
Igor returned to Russia, and played a further seven seasons in the Russian Super League (RSL) and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) before retiring from active play in 2010.
In 2011, he accepted an assistant coach position with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Igor was killed in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster along with nearly the entire roster of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for whom he was coaching.
A native of the Russian Republic of the Soviet Union, Igor became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 2000.
Playing Career[]
Igor began his professional playing career with HC Dynamo Moscow in the 1988–89 season appearing once.
The following season, he became a full member of the team, playing 17 games. He played two further full seasons with Dynamo. In all three seasons, Dynamo won the league championship.
Igor was drafted by the St. Louis Blues (38th overall) in the second round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.
After five games with Dynamo in the 1992–93 season, he left to join the Blues. Igor played for the Blues for two seasons.
Igor was unsigned in the 1994–95 season and he returned to Dynamo. On January 18, 1995, he was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets on waivers and stayed with the team as it moved to Phoenix and later became the Phoenix Coyotes.
On September 29, 1997, Igor signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On June 23, 2001, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Philadelphia's third-round choice (which was previously acquired & Toronto selected Nicolas Corbeil) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
On July 13, 2004, Igor signed as a free agent with Lokomotiv Yaroslav. After one season, he transferred to Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he played three seasons.
Igor played one season with Atlant Moscow Oblast and one final season with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl where he retired after the 2009–10 season.
Later Career\Death[]
Igor became an assistant coach with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
On September 7, 2011, he was killed (along with the entire Lokomotiv team) after their passenger plane crashed outside of Yaroslavl, Russia.
Igor was 41 years old at the time of his death and was still an assistant coach with Lokomotiv.
Career Statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | HC Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | HC Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | HC Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 38 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | HC Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 33 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | HC Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 74 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 73 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 45 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | HC Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 73 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 41 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Michigan K-Wings | IHL | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 78 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 73 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 82 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 48 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 62 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 60 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | RSL | 51 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | RSL | 54 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 28 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | RSL | 57 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 58 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Atlant Mytishchi | KHL | 56 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 46 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2009–10 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | KHL | 48 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 28 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 795 | 119 | 227 | 346 | 330 | 41 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 6 | ||||
International Statistics[]
| Year | Team | Event | Place | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Soviet Union | CC | 5th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1992 | CIS | WC | 5th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Awards & Achievements[]
- Soviet championship: 1990 (with Dynamo)
- Soviet championship: 1991 (with Dynamo)
- Championship of SNG: 1992 (with Dynamo)
- International Hockey League: 1993 (with Dynamo)
- International Hockey League: 1995 (with Dynamo)
- Russian Super League: 2007 (with Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Personal Life[]
Igor and Vera Korolev married in June of 1990. They have two daughters: Kristina and Anastasia.
His family has a permanent home in the North York district of Toronto, Canada. In 2000, the Korolevs obtained Canadian citizenship.
After a funeral on September 18, 2011, Igor was buried in Toronto at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Igor was the godfather of the son of fellow NHL player Nik Antropov. He and Nik both played the 2000–01 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.