Oleg Tverdovsky
Born (1976-05-18) 18 May 1976
Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 211 lb (96 kg; 15 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Krylya Sovetov Moscow
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Winnipeg Jets
Phoenix Coyotes
New Jersey Devils
Avangard Omsk
Carolina Hurricanes
Los Angeles Kings
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
National team  Russia
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1994
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career 1992–2013

Oleg Fedorovych Tverdovsky (Russian: Олег Федорович Твердовский; born 18 May 1976) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman[1] who played professionally from 1994 to 2013. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, and Los Angeles Kings and in the Russian Superleague (RSL)/Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Avangard Omsk, Salavat Yulayev Ufa, and Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Playing career

NHL and Superleague

Tverdovsky was drafted second overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Due to the 1994–95 lockout delaying the season, Tverdovsky was assigned to the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League, where he played seven games. When he debuted for the Mighty Ducks, he set a franchise record for being the youngest player to suit up for a game, at 18 years, eight months and 13 days.[2] Despite being considered one of the cornerstones for the young Mighty Ducks franchise, Tverdovsky was traded to the Winnipeg Jets on 7 February 1996 with Chad Kilger and a 1996 third-round pick in exchange for Teemu Selänne, Marc Chouinard and a 1996 fourth-round pick.[3] In 1996, Tverdovsky represented Russia at the World Cup of Hockey.[4]

Tverdovsky's stay in Winnipeg would be short-lived, as the Jets franchise relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and was rebranded as the Phoenix Coyotes. In 1997, Tverdovsky was selected to the All-Star Game representing the Coyotes.[4] While establishing himself as a fixture on the Coyotes blueline for his tenure with the club, Tverdovsky was traded back to the Mighty Ducks at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Travis Green and a 1999 first-round pick (Scott Kelman).[5] In 2002, he represented Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics.[4]

He was then sent to the Devils in the summer of 2002 along with teammate Jeff Friesen in a seven player trade that sent Petr Sykora to Anaheim.[6] The two teams would battle one another in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals nearly a year later. Following the 2003 season, Tverdovsky returned to Russia to play in the Russian Superleague with Avangard Omsk.[7] While with Avangard, he won the league championship.[8] Tverdovsky represented Russia at the World Cup of Hockey. He returned to the NHL as a free agent, signing with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005.[4]

Tverdovsky has won the Stanley Cup twice in his career — once while a member of the New Jersey Devils in 2003 and once as a member of the Hurricanes in 2006.[6] On 29 September 2006, Tverdovsky and Jack Johnson were traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Éric Bélanger and Tim Gleason.[9]

Return to Russia

Tverdovsky played the 2007–08 season in Russia for Salavat Yulayev Ufa, where he played for the next five seasons. When he left the NHL, Tverdovsky was still under contract with the Los Angeles Kings. This was able to happen because there was no transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation.

He was also selected as a reserve by Team Russia for the 2010 Winter Olympics should an injury occur during the tournament.[10]

He was traded to Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the 2011–12 season, and played part of the next season with that club before retiring.

Personal life

Tverdovsky lives with his second wife Mia in the United States. Together they are raising five kids.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1992–93 Krylya Sovetov Moscow IHL 21 0 1 1 6 6 0 0 0 0
1992–93 Krylya Sovetov–2 Moscow RUS.2 29 11 14 25 28 — — — — —
1993–94 Krylya Sovetov Moscow IHL 46 4 10 14 22 3 1 0 1 2
1994–95 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 7 1 4 5 4 — — — — —
1994–95 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 36 3 9 12 14 — — — — —
1995–96 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 51 7 15 22 35 — — — — —
1995–96 Winnipeg Jets NHL 31 0 8 8 6 6 0 1 1 0
1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 10 45 55 30 7 0 1 1 0
1997–98 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 9 8 6 14 2 — — — — —
1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 46 7 12 19 12 6 0 7 7 0
1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 7 18 25 32 6 0 2 2 6
1999–2000 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 82 15 36 51 30 — — — — —
2000–01 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 82 14 39 53 32 — — — — —
2001–02 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 73 6 26 32 31 — — — — —
2002–03 New Jersey Devils NHL 50 5 8 13 22 15 0 3 3 0
2003–04 Avangard Omsk RSL 57 16 17 33 58 11 0 2 2 2
2004–05 Avangard Omsk RSL 48 5 15 20 65 11 0 3 3 35
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 72 3 20 23 37 5 0 0 0 0
2006–07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 26 0 4 4 10 — — — — —
2006–07 Manchester Monarchs AHL 14 5 8 13 2 14 2 9 11 14
2007–08 Salavat Yulaev Ufa RSL 43 6 11 17 58 16 2 6 8 10
2008–09 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 48 8 19 27 30 2 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 42 8 13 21 38 16 1 4 5 4
2010–11 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 40 7 9 16 20 7 1 0 1 12
2011–12 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 12 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
2011–12 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 24 6 5 11 18 4 0 1 1 2
2011–12 Toros Neftekamsk VHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2012–13 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 25 0 5 5 18 3 0 0 0 0
RSL totals 148 27 43 70 181 38 2 11 13 47
NHL totals 713 77 240 317 291 45 0 14 14 6
KHL totals 191 29 51 80 132 32 2 5 7 18

International

Medal record
Representing Russia Russia
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Salt Lake City
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2009 Switzerland
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place1994 Ostrava
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Russia EJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 1 2 3 0
1994 Russia WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 5 6 6
1994 Russia EJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1 9 10 22
1996 Russia WC 4th 3 0 1 1 0
1996 Russia WCH SF 4 1 0 1 0
2001 Russia WC 6th 7 2 2 4 2
2002 Russia OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 0
2004 Russia WC 10th 6 0 1 1 6
2004 Russia WCH QF 3 0 0 0 0
2009 Russia WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 9 2 2 4 6
Junior totals 18 3 16 19 28
Senior totals 38 6 7 13 14

Note:

  • 2010 - Winter Olympics (reserve)

Awards and achievements

Award Year
NHL
All-Star Game 1997
Stanley Cup (New Jersey Devils) 2003
Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes) 2006
RSL
Champion (Avangard Omsk) 2004
MVP 2004
Champion (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) 2008
KHL
Gagarin Cup (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) 2011

References

  1. ↑ "Stanley Cup Journal". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007.
  2. ↑ Shohara, Kyle (31 October 2018). "Toyo Tires Ducks Alumni Spotlight: Oleg Tverdovsky". Anaheim Ducks. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Flashback Friday: Teemu Selanne Traded to Ducks". thehockeywriters.com. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Hurricanes Agree to Terms With Oleg Tverdovsky". Carolina Hurricanes. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Tverdovsky Comes Full Circle". Los Angeles Times. 27 June 1999. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. 1 2 Diamos, Jason (7 July 2002). "Devils trade Sykora to Ducks for 3 players". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2002.
  7. ↑ "Plus: Hockey; Devils' Tverdovsky Returns to Russia". The New York Times. Associated Press. 31 August 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Baker, Peter; La Canfora, Jason (23 April 2004). "The Russian Evolution". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Canes trade top prospect Johnson in multiplayer deal". ESPN. Associated Press. 29 September 2006. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Olympics » Kovalev, Frolov, Zubov and Kulemin added to Olympics squad". russianhockeyfans.com. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010.
  11. ↑ "Твердовський завершив ігрову кар'єру". XSPORT.ua. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
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