Konstantin Koltsov

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size = 230px
team =Salavat Yulaev Ufa
former_teams = "BHL"
Dynamo Minsk
"NHL"
Pittsburgh Penguins
"RSL"
Severstal Cherepovets
Spartak Moscow
Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Ak-Bars Kazan
league = KHL
position = Right Wing
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 190
nickname = The Russian Rocket II

The Speedy Express
nationality = BLR
birth_date = Birth date and age|1981|4|17|mf=y
birth_place = Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, USSR
draft = Round 1, Pick 18
draft_year = 1999
draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins
career_start = 1998

Konstantin Koltsov was born on 17 April 1981 in Minsk, BSSR (now Belarus) and is a professional ice hockey player.

Playing career

Koltsov started out playing for Junactva Miensk in the Belarusian 1st division during the 1997–98 season, and moved to Russian Severstal Cherepovets for the next season. Due to his incredible speed and stick handling, he was often referred to as the "Russian Rocket II" due to his similar playing style to that of Russian great Pavel Bure.

He was drafted to the NHL in the 1999 entry draft as the Pittsburgh Penguins' first round pick, making him the 18th player overall in the draft. He played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL in the 2002–03 season, and started playing full-time for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003–04 season, playing 82 games and scoring nine goals and twenty assists.

During the NHL lockout, Koltsov played for the Spartak Moscow hockey team.

The following season, Koltsov moved between Wilkes-Barre and Pittsburgh until January where he stayed in the NHL until the end of the season finishing with 3 goals and 6 assists. However, as a result of the Penguins not extending a qualifying offer, Koltsov became an unrestricted free agent on June 26, 2006. In August of that year he returned to Russia, signing a contact to play for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Russian Super League.

During the 2007-2008 RSL season, Koltsov would be a part of a Salavat Yulaev Ufa squad that would defeat Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to capture the RSL League Title. With the absorption of the RSL into the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) at the start of the 2008-2009 season, Salavat Yulaev Ufa would become the last standing RSL champion.

Honours

*Kubok Spartaka : 2001
*Kubok Presidenta Respubliki Bashkortostan : 2006
*Kubok Romazana : 2006
*Kubok Polesya : 2007
*Russian Super League : 2008

International career

Koltsov has played on the Belarus national team in the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Championships.

Career statistics

ources

* [http://www.hockeydb.com Hockeydb.com]
* [http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com Pittsburgh Penguins official website]