Alexei Cherepanov

Alexei Andreyevich Cherepanov was a Russian professional ice hockey winger who played for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League . Previously, Cherepanov had played for Avangards lower level teams, and then for the senior mens team in the Russian Super League. Cherepanov was selected in the first round of the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, although he never played professional hockey in North America. Cherepanov represented Russia in international play, and played in several tournaments at the junior level. He won a gold medal at the 2007 World Under18 Championships. While playing at the Under20 level, Cherepanov won silver and bronze medals in 2007 and 2008.

Cherepanov was born in Siberia, and played minor hockey for the Motor Barnaul organization. The remote location of his youth hockey play made Cherepanov an unknown quantity until he left the region to join the Avangard Omsk organization. He made his debut for the team in the Russian third division during the 200506 season, appearing in five games and scoring two goals. During the 200607 season, Cherepanov split time between Avangards club in the Russian Superleague and the Russian third division. While playing with the top level club, Cherepanov scoredgoals and addedassists in 46 games. Hisgoals set a RSL record for players his age, and exceeded the production of his Russian predecessors, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin when they were at the same level. For his play the previous season, Cherepanov was named RSL Newcomer of the Year.

Source: Wikipedia