Oleg Saprykin
Russian forward who played in the NHL for the Flames, Coyotes, and Senators, and won a Gagarin Cup with Ufa.
Oleg Dmitrievich Saprykin (born February 12, 1981) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, and Ottawa Senators, and in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for several clubs including HC Dynamo Moscow, SKA Saint Petersburg, HC Sochi, and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. He was a first-round selection, 11th overall, of the Calgary Flames in the 1999 NHL entry draft.
- Role
- Defenseman
- Affiliation
- Florida Panthers (1995–2004)
- Origin
- Russia (Kirovsk)
- Status
- Franchise Icon / Retired
- Key Trait
- Physicality and Size
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Saprykin played parts of seven seasons in the NHL. He scored an overtime winning goal in Game 5 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals for the Flames against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also reached the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals with the Ottawa Senators. In the KHL, he was a member of Salavat Yulaev Ufa's Gagarin Cup championship team in 2011 and played in the 2009 KHL All-Star Game held in Red Square. Internationally, he won a gold medal with Russia at the 2009 World Championship.
In Their Own Story
The ice beneath Oleg Saprykin's skates seemed to groan under his weight as he turned toward the opposing net. In the final minutes of a tight contest at the National Car Rental Center, the air was thick with tension. A rival forward charged in, looking for an opening, but Saprykin was already there, a mountain of blue and gold. With a single, calculated check that echoed through the arena, he cleared the puck away from the danger zone, his breath visible in the cold air, embodying the unyielding spirit of the Panthers.
Reader's Guide
Saprykin is a forward (left wing). He is not associated with the Florida Panthers in any way according to the source. His NHL career spanned from 1999 to 2007. He was born in Moscow and holds dual Russian and Canadian citizenship.
Did You Know?
- Saprykin scored the overtime winner in Game 5 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals for the Calgary Flames.
- He was a member of the Russian team that won gold at the 2009 World Championship.
- Saprykin was arrested in 2019 after attacking a flight attendant on a flight from Sochi to Moscow.
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