Free agent Nikita Zadorov, born in Moscow, Russia, signed with the Boston Bruins on July 1. When he pulls on the Spoked B sweater on opening night, he’ll become the 17th skater from the country to be a part of the organization.
Initially a first-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 Draft, Zadorov has played for several franchises in his 11-year NHL career, including the Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, and most recently the Vancouver Canucks. In 642 games, he’s scored 47 goals with 99 assists for 146 points.
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As a defenseman who isn’t afraid to rough up his opponents, Zadorov has 701 penalty minutes with 1,768 hits on his resume. His best campaigns came with the Flames, where he had 22 points in 2021-22 and 14 goals in 2022-23. Zadorov averages 18:05 in ice time a game.
With Zadorov on the Bruins books for the next six seasons, there’s a chance he will become one of the best Russian players in team history. Considering it’s a small list, he’ll have no trouble jumping into the top five in his first season. Who are some names he has to chase down?
Andrei Kovalenko (Balakovo, USSR)
Andrei Kovalenko was a Quebec Nordiques eighth-round draft pick (148th overall) in the 1990 Draft. During his rookie season, he scored 27 goals and finished his career with 173 lamplighters. He relocated with the Nordiques to Denver in 1996 but was traded to Montreal right before the team would win the Stanley Cup.
Outside of his rookie campaign, Kovalenko’s best seasons came with the Edmonton Oilers. He played in Philadelphia and Carolina before signing with the Bruins as a free agent on July 25, 2000. During his single season in Boston, he netted 16 goals and 37 points but was minus-14. At age 30, he did not play in the NHL after his final game with the Bruins on April 7, 2001.
Andrei Nazarov (Chelyabinsk, USSR)
The San Jose Sharks drafted Andrei Nazarov as the 10th overall pick in the 1992 Draft. He would play in the NHL for 12 seasons with seven franchises and five seasons spent in the Bay Area. Nazarov was not an offensively gifted defenseman, with 53 goals and 124 points, but was tough against opponents with 1,409 career penalty minutes.
In November 2000, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks traded him with Patrick Traverse to the Bruins in exchange for Samuel Pählsson. During his 110 games with Boston, he tallied only one goal and seven points but compiled 364 penalty minutes, the second-highest total of his career with a single team. As of 2024, he remains the most penalized Russian in Bruins history, ranking ninth in scoring with seven points.
Anton Khudobin (Ust-Kamenogorsk, USSR)
Anton Khubdobin is the only Russian-born netminder in Bruins history, and he’s one of the few goalies to have to have two stints with the club. Initially a Minnesota Wild draft pick from the seventh-round (206th overall) in the 2004 Draft, he played six games with the Wild before a trade for Mikko Lehtonen and Jeff Penner brought him to Boston in February 2011.
In limited action, 15 games, he was 10-4-1 as Tuukka Rask’s partner before pursuing an opportunity in Carolina in 2013-14. Khudobin then moved on to Anaheim before rejoining the Bruins in 2016-17 to team up with Rask again. This time, he skated in 47 games and compiled a 23-12-8 record with a .910 SV% and 2.58 GAA over two seasons. Even though he was getting older, Boston continued with Rask as their number one, and Khudobin signed with the Dallas Stars, leading them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.
Dimitri Kvartalnov (Voskresensk, USSR)
Before Sergei Samsonov came to Boston via the 1997 Draft, Dimitri Kvartalnov was undoubtedly the best Russian-born player in team history. He came to the organization as the 16th overall pick from the 1992 Draft and collected 91 points in just 112 games, playing alongside names like Adam Oates, Cam Neely, and Joe Juneau from 1992 to 1994.
At 26, Kvartalnov finally came to North America as a rookie, instantly becoming a 30-goal scorer and collecting 72 points in 73 games. Unfortunately, he was ineligible for the Calder Trophy because the NHL adjusted the qualifications after fellow Russian Sergei Makarov (Calgary) won the award at 31 in 1990.
After a spectacular first campaign, Kvartalnov did not recapture the magic and underperformed in 1993-94, scoring just 12 goals and 19 points with a minus-9 rating in 39 games. He missed over two months of NHL action by skating with the Providence Bruins on reassignment and played his last North American game on March 31, 1994, opting to pursue hockey opportunities in Europe.
Sergei Samsonov (Moscow, USSR)
At the 1997 Draft, the Bruins selected future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton with the top pick. Because the club was winding down one of its most successful periods, they also maintained the eighth overall pick, which turned out to be Samsonov.
Despite sharing a draft class and locker room with Thornton, the future Bruins captain only skated in 55 games and collected seven points. Out of his shadow, Samsonov won the Calder Trophy thanks to 22 goals and 47 points to be Boston’s fourth-best scorer behind Jason Allison (83 points), Dmitri Khristich (66 points), and Ray Bourque (48 points).
In eight seasons, Samsonov became a four-time 20-goal scorer and racked up 376 points in 514 games thanks to 164 goals and 212 assists. As of 2024, he remains the only Russian-born skater to tally more than 100 points with the Bruins, meaning it will take a special talent to come in and break all of Samsonov’s milestones.
Eventually, Boston traded him to the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick in the 2006 Draft, which turned out to be Milan Lucic, along with Marty Reasoner and Yan Stastny. Samsonov finished his 13-year career with 235 goals and 571 points while skating with six clubs.
Historical Perspective
Because Russia is the former USSR, there are players who were born in the “USSR” but hail from now-free countries like Ukraine. This explains why Dmitri Khristich didn’t appear on this list despite scoring 137 points in 161 games with the Bruins. According to NHL.com, he is a Ukrainian-born skater and doesn’t fall under the Russia search options.
However, Hockey Reference lists him as a USSR/Russian skater, which means he should be in the top three of this list. Unfortunately, that’s not how these particular rankings went, and that means we may have missed someone else worthy of insertion into the top five.
