Alexander Alexeyev
Alexeyev in 2021
Born (1999-11-15) 15 November 1999
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Washington Capitals
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
NHL Draft 31st overall, 2018
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2019–present

Alexander Alexandrovich Alexeyev (Russian: Александр Александрович Алексеев; born 15 November 1999) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 31st overall by the Capitals in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life

Alexeyev was born on 15 November 1999 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[1]

Playing career

Junior

Alexeyev was drafted in the first round, third overall, by the Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the 2016 Kontinental Hockey League draft. He was later selected by the Red Deer Rebels in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft and chose to move to North America to play hockey.[2]

Upon joining the Red Deer Rebels for the 2016–17 season, Alexeyev quickly began playing top minutes for the team.[3] He was identified as a B prospect by Central Scouting in October and named as a prospect to watch for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[4] Alexeyev was the most productive rookie on the team before he suffered an upper body injury in October.[3] He subsequently missed nearly an entire month of games before returning on 22 November.[5] He then suffered another injury in January and missed the remainder of the season while recovering from the surgery. During his time recovering, he also graduated from high school and worked on his English language skills. Prior to the injury, Alexeyev had tallied nine points through 10 games and ended with a total of 21 points in 41 games.[6]

Alexeyev returned to the Rebels lineup for the 2017–18 season but missed significant time due to personal matters and a shoulder injury. He suffered the shoulder injury early in October and was quickly listed as week-to-week following an MRI.[7] He returned to the Rebels lineup and broke out offensively, quickly surpassing his previous season's totals. However, his output slowed down when he missed three weeks of games due to his mother's death.[8] As a result of another injury, Alexeyev was limited to three post-season games during the WHL playoffs but he tallied two goals and three assists during this time against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.[9] Alexeyev finished the season with seven goals and 30 assists through 45 games but was wary of his draft position due to his missed time.[10]

Leading up to the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Alexeyev was ranked 30th amongst all eligible players by The Sports Network.[11] He earned a higher ranking from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, who listed him as 22nd overall after originally ranking him as 26th.[12] Alexeyev drew comparisons to Jonas Brodin and was praised by Craig Button for being a "smart, effective defenceman who moves the puck, plays with a calm and doesn't make things complicated for himself."[13] Alexeyev was eventually drafted by the Washington Capitals 31st overall, the final selection of the first round.[14] Following the draft, Alexeyev signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Capitals on 24 September.[15]

Following the NHL Entry Draft, Alexeyev attended the Capitals training camp but was returned to the Rebels for the 2018–19 season.[16] Upon re-joining the team, Alexeyev recorded eight points through four games and was named the WHL On the Run Player of the Week for the week ending on 28 October.[17] His continued output help the team earn early success and placed first in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference. He was subsequently selected to play for Team Russia in the 2018 CHL Canada/Russia Series after he tallied 20 points through 15 games, including two power-play goals and two game-winning goals.[18] Following the series, Alexeyev continued his breakout season by accumulating 10 goals and 43 points through 49 games before suffering another injury. The injury was a result of a knee-on-knee collision during a game and resulted in Alexeyev being stretchered off the ice.[19] This subsequently concluded his major junior career as he missed the final four games of the regular season and four more in the playoffs.[9] Alexeyev finished his Rebels career with 21 goals and 80 assists for 101 points through 135 games in three WHL seasons.[20]

Professional

Martin Fehérváry (left) and Alexeyev (right) following the Hershey Bears' Teddy Bear Toss Game in 2019

Following his major junior season, Alexeyev rehabbed his knee off the ice with the Capitals American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He then returned to his home in Russia before joining the Washington Capitals for their 2019 development camp.[20] It was originally suggested that Alexeyev could replace Michal Kempný in the Capitals lineup before he suffered an injury during the NHL's Prospect Showcase.[21] He was subsequently assigned to the Bears for the 2019–20 season where he scored his first professional goal in his AHL debut.[22] Alexeyev then tallied a goal and nine assists through 23 games to start the season with Hershey.[23] Making developmental strides he completed his rookie season with 3 goals and 21 points in 58 games with the Hershey Bears. Alexeyev ranked third among Hershey defensemen and 12th among all AHL rookie defensemen in points. Alexeyev led Hershey defensemen in games played and ranked third in plus/minus with +8.

With the following 2020–21 season set to be delayed due to the ongoing pandemic, Alexeyev remained in Russia and was loaned by the Capitals to KHL club, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, on 4 September 2020.[24] Alexeyev made his NHL debut on 29 December 2021 in a 5–3 win over the Nashville Predators.[25]

Career statistics

Regular Season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2015–16 SKA-Serebryanye Lvy MHL 201128 —————
2016–17 Red Deer Rebels WHL 414172124 —————
2017–18 Red Deer Rebels WHL 457303729 32352
2018–19 Red Deer Rebels WHL 4910334334 —————
2019–20 Hershey Bears AHL 583182116 —————
2020–21 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 55881610 90114
2020–21 Hershey Bears AHL 122794 —————
2021–22 Hershey Bears AHL 681181951 30110
2021–22 Washington Capitals NHL 10002 —————
2022–23 Hershey Bears AHL 40110
2022–23 Washington Capitals NHL 320554 —————
KHL totals 55881610 90114
NHL totals 330556 —————
Medal record
Representing  Russia
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place2019 Canada

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2015 Russia U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 0 4 4 2
2016 Russia U18 6th 5 0 2 2 4
2016 Russia IH18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 0 0 0 2
2019 Russia WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2 4 6 10
Junior totals 23 2 10 12 18

References

  1. ↑ "Alexander Alexeyev". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Rebels Take Alexander Alexeyev In CHL Import Draft". reddeerrebels.com. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 Meachem, Greg (7 November 2016). "Rookie defencemen playing solid minutes for Rebels". Red Deer Rebels. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Meachem, Greg (5 October 2016). "Rebels dip into depth with temporary loss of Alexeyev". Red Deer Rebels. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "WHL Weekly Report, November 22, 2016" (PDF). Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Hackett, Byron (24 August 2017). "Rebels' Alexeyev thrilled to be back on the ice". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  7. ↑ @Troy_Gillard (3 October 2017). "The results are in. Alexeyev is out "week to week"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "Alexeyev the latest addition to Capitals' Russian contingent". Canadian Hockey League. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  9. 1 2 Hackett, Byron (31 March 2019). "Alexeyev's future still to be determined by Washington Capitals". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Hackett, Byron (29 June 2018). "Rebels' Alexeyev soaking up the pro hockey life at Washington Capitals Development Camp". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  11. ↑ McKenzie, Bob (18 June 2018). "Kotkaniemi surges into top five of TSN Draft Ranking". The Sports Network. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  12. ↑ Gillard, Troy (16 April 2018). "Five Rebels crack final rankings for 2018 NHL Draft". rdnewsnow.com. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Alexander Alexeyev: Defence". The Sports Network. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Vogel, Mike (23 June 2018). "Caps Cap Off Busy Friday by Landing Alexeyev in First Round". National Hockey League. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Capitals Sign Alexander Alexeyev". National Hockey League. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Meachem, Greg (18 September 2018). "With return of Alexeyev, Barteaux, Rebels have full roster to open regular season". Red Deer Rebels. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Rebels' Alexeyev named WHL On the Run Player of the Week". Red Deer Rebels. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  18. ↑ "Rebels' defenceman Alexander Alexeyev named to Team Russia roster for 2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series". Red Deer Rebels. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Alex Alexeyev considered 'week-to-week' after scary looking injury". NBC Sports. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  20. 1 2 Valentine, Harvey (5 August 2019). "Alexeyev vows to maintain focus, won't buy into praise from Capitals". National Hockey League. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Alex Alexeyev says player who knocked him out of the Prospects Showcase 'shouldn't play hockey'". NBC Sports. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  22. ↑ Regan, J.J. (11 October 2019). "Capitals Prospect Report: Welcome to the pros, Alex Alexeyev". Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  23. ↑ Sumner, Ben (2 December 2019). "Capitals defensive prospect Alex Alexeyev is playing beyond his years". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  24. ↑ "Capitals loan Alexander Alexeyev to Salavat Yulaev Ufa". Washington Capitals. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  25. ↑ Valentine, Harvey (29 December 2021). "Capitals use shorthanded goal to end Predators win streak at seven". National Hockey League. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
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