Evgeni Malkin

Early life

Malkin was born on 31 July 1986, in Magnitogorsk to Vladimir and Natalia Malkin. Vladimir worked for Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the largest iron and steel works in Russia and the city's dominant industry, and played in the Metallurg Magnitogorsk youth and club hockey system. Malkin has one brother, Denis, who is older by one year. Malkin began skating at age three, and joined his first organized hockey league two years later, as he showed an aptitude for the sport at an early age.

Playing career

Early career

Malkin is a product of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk hockey program. Prior to being drafted, he made his Russian Superleague debut in the 2003–04 season as a 17-year-old. He also made his international debut for Russia during the 2003 U-18 World Championships, where he skated on the top line with Alexander Ovechkin. The team went on to claim the bronze medal.

After his first professional season in Russia, Malkin was drafted second overall (behind national teammate Alexander Ovechkin) in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, a transfer dispute between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) delayed his Pittsburgh debut; though he would have stayed in Russia for what would have been his rookie season with the Penguins in any event due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. On 7 August 2006, it appeared the 20-year-old Malkin had come to a compromise with Metallurg and signed a deal that would have kept him in Russia until May 2007. However, Malkin stated he signed the one-year contract not as a compromise, but because of the immense "psychological pressure" his former club exerted on him. Desiring to play in the NHL, he left Metallurg Magnitogorsk's training camp in Helsinki before it began on 12 August. It would later appear the team had taken Malkin's passport away to prevent him from leaving, but it was eventually given back to him, and Malkin was allowed to pass through Finnish customs. Meeting with his agent, J. P. Barry, the two quickly departed and waited for Malkin's visa clearance from the U.S. Embassy.

In order to legally leave the team, on 15 August, Malkin invoked via fax a law allowing him to cancel his one-year contract by giving his employer two weeks' notice. Having untied himself of obligations in Russia, he was able to sign an entry-level contract with the Penguins on 5 September 2006.

Following his first NHL game with Pittsburgh, on 19 October 2006, Malkin's former Russian hockey club filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NHL and the Penguins in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit claimed Malkin should not be permitted to play in the NHL because he is still under contract in Russia. The claim also sought unspecified damages as well. The motion for an injunction was denied on 15 November 2006, ensuring Malkin would continue to play in the NHL that season. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed on its merits by the District Court on 1 February 2007.

Pittsburgh Penguins (2006–present)

In his first pre-season game with the Penguins, on 20 September 2006, Malkin collided with teammate John LeClair and dislocated his own shoulder, which forced him to miss the start of the season. Subsequently, his NHL debut would be delayed until 18 October, against the New Jersey Devils, in which he scored his first goal against Martin Brodeur. Malkin set a modern NHL record when he scored a goal in each of his first six games. No player had achieved this feat since the NHL's inaugural 1917–18 season, when Montreal Canadiens forward Joe Malone scored at least one goal in 14 consecutive games to start his NHL career (Malone, however, had played in the National Hockey Association, the predecessor league to the NHL). Malkin's streak was eventually stopped on 4 November in his seventh game by the San Jose Sharks. Playing on a team with another highly touted prospect, sophomore forward and generational talent Sidney Crosby, Malkin finished his rookie season with 33 goals, 52 assists and 85 points in 78 games played, leading all first-year players and capturing the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie, the second Penguin to win the award after Mario Lemieux in 1985. Malkin was named alternate captain for the Penguins shortly after. When Malkin arrived in the United States, he spoke little English, but with the help of fellow Russian teammate Sergei Gonchar, he eventually started to give short, simple interviews in the language.

Halfway into the 2007–08 season, his sophomore season in the NHL, Malkin recorded his first NHL hat-trick, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, on 3 January 2008. He earned another three-goal performance several games later, on 14 January, against the New York Rangers. Midway through the season, when more heralded teammate and captain Sidney Crosby went down with an ankle injury, Malkin seized the opportunity to lead the Penguins, scoring 44 points in the 28 games Crosby was absent. In total, Malkin completed the season second in NHL scoring with 106 points, six points behind Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for the Art Ross Trophy. Malkin continued to dominate into the Stanley Cup playoffs as the Penguins made it to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. He scored three points against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings in the finals, totalling 22 points overall (10 goals, 12 assists) in all 20 games, but the Penguins were defeated by Detroit in six games. Malkin's sophomore season culminated in a Hart Memorial Trophy nomination as NHL MVP—the award was given to Ovechkin—and First team All-Star honours.

On 2 July 2008, with one year left in his entry-level contract, he signed a five-year, $43.5 million contract extension with Pittsburgh. Malkin began the 2008–09 season by scoring his 200th NHL point with an assist to Sidney Crosby on 18 October 2008, in just the sixth game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The goal was also Crosby's 100th career goal and 300th career point. Crosby had a team trainer cut the puck in half so both players could commemorate the moment. Voted as a starter to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game later in the season, Malkin won the shooting accuracy segment of the Skills Competition, initially shooting four-for-four before beating Dany Heatley three-for-four in a tie-breaker. After having finished runner-up to Alexander Ovechkin the previous season for the Art Ross Trophy, Malkin captured the scoring championship with 113 points. He became the second Russian-born player to win it, after Ovechkin, and the fourth Penguin, after Mario Lemieux, Jaromír Jágr and Crosby. However, he would once again be runner-up to Ovechkin for the Hart Trophy, although this time garnering a few more first-place votes. In 2008, he had just one first-place vote (out of 134 votes) and 659 points to Ovechkin's 128 first-place votes and 1,313 points. In 2009, Malkin had 12 first-place votes (out of 133 votes) and 787 points to Ovechkin's 115 first-place votes and 1,264 points. On 12 June 2009, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2–1 in game seven of the Final. Malkin tallied 36 points (14 goals and 22 assists) to become the first player to lead both the regular season and playoffs in scoring since Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat in 1992. His 36 points were the highest playoff total of any player since Wayne Gretzky amassed 40 points in 1993. Malkin received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, becoming the first Russian-born player to do so. He is also just the second player in franchise history to win both the Art Ross and Conn Smythe trophies in the same year. The other Penguin to accomplish this feat was Hockey Hall of Famer and team co-owner/president Mario Lemieux (1992).

International play

Malkin made his first international appearance with Russia at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships in Yaroslavl. He helped Russia to a bronze medal, scoring nine points in six games. He was named Russia's U18 captain for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships the following year and scored eight points as Russia improved to a gold medal in the tournament.

Several months prior to his second and final U18 tournament, Malkin debuted at the under-20 level with Russia at the 2004 World Junior Championships. In his first of three tournament appearances, he contributed five points in six games but could not help Russia reach the podium. The following year, Malkin finished second in team scoring at the 2005 World Junior Championships to Alexander Ovechkin with ten points. Led by the duo of Malkin and Ovechkin (the two had also played together the previous year), Russia won the silver, losing to Canada in the gold medal game. Later in 2005, Malkin made his debut with the Russian men's team at the 2005 World Championships. Despite failing to score a goal in the tournament, Malkin contributed four assists to help Russia to a bronze medal in Vienna.

In 2006, Malkin did triple duty for Russia, competing in his third World Junior Championships, his first Winter Olympics and his second World Championships. He was named the top forward and MVP of the 2006 World Junior Championships in January, captaining Russia to a second straight silver medal and gold medal game loss to Canada. Less than two months later, Malkin was given one of the final spots on Team Russia for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he helped the team to a fourth-place finish with six points in seven games. Then in May, Malkin played in the 2006 World Championship, where he led Russia in team scoring with nine points.

Following his NHL rookie campaign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Malkin was named to the Russian squad for the 2007 World Championships, where he achieved a personal best for the tournament of ten points. Malkin played in the first line of Team Russia together with Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Frolov. Malkin scored Russia's only goal in a 2-1 loss to Finland in the semifinals, with Russia going on to claim the bronze medal in the third place game.

2010 was an impressive year for Malkin internationally. Malkin was selected to play for the Russian Olympic Team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, where he led all players at the Olympic tournament in points-per-game average with 1.50 points per game, and led Team Russia in points yet again with three goals and six points in four games. Russia ultimately lost to Canada in the quarter-finals, finishing sixth overall. Malkin then joined the Russian team for the 2010 IIHF World Championship. Despite joining the tournament partway through, as his NHL team was not eliminated until the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Malkin scored at a goal-per-game pace and ended up with the distinction of being the player with the fewest games played who made the post-tournament IIHF World Championship All-star team. His 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games secured him a place in the tournament's top 10 point scorers, and he was the only player among the top 10 scorers who played less than 6 games. He captured his first World Championships silver medal.

Playing style

Malkin has been described as a centre with offensive abilities and defensive awareness. He has also been known to play on the wing and on the point during the power play. He is a skater with firm balance and above average top speed and agility at the NHL level. In his early years, Malkin was a physical player who threw big hits. He relies on his hockey IQ and athleticism most times to avoid checks by opponents. He has an arsenal of shots (slap, wrist, backhand, and snap), and has stick-handling ability.

"He's so big and strong and he doesn't mind the physicality. That's what separates him apart from other players that are gifted offensive players. He wants the puck all the time and he'll go through a check or take a check to make a play."

"He's just one of those guys that wants the puck all the time. For me, it was get him the puck as much as possible. With his ability to feed me and my ability to shoot the puck, it worked really well. I just got open as much as I could. I'd just get him the puck as fast as I could because I knew I was going to get it back wherever I was on the ice, it was coming back."

Personal life

In 2006, Malkin opened a restaurant, VIP Zone, in Magnitogorsk, which had been designed to look like the inside of a prison. In 2009, Malkin confirmed VIP Zone had been leased to new owners who had updated it.

Malkin became engaged to Russian television personality Anna Kasterova in November 2015; they married in 2016. On 31 May 2016, their son was born. Malkin has American citizenship, saying Pittsburgh is his "second home" and that his child also has an American passport.

In November 2017, Malkin announced his membership of the PutinTeam social movement, launched by compatriot and fellow NHL player Alexander Ovechkin in support of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin during the 2018 Russian presidential election. Malkin stated, "We just try to offer our support because, in 2018, we have the World Cup in Russia; they have elections, too."

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league

Awards and honours

Records

First player since 1917–18 to score goals in each of his first six NHL games (first accomplished by Joe Malone, Newsy Lalonde and Cy Denneny in inaugural NHL season) (18 October – 1 November 2006)

Longest point streak by a Russian player in the NHL – 15 games (accomplished twice) (surpassed Dmitri Kvartalnov of the Boston Bruins – 14 games in 1992)

Most consecutive postseason games with multiple points for the Pittsburgh Penguins – 6 games ( 9–23 May 2009)

Most playoff points in a single season by a Russian player – 36 (2008–09)

First Russian player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (2009)