Alexei Marchenko

Alexei Igorevich Marchenko (Алексей Игоревич Марченко; born on January 2, 1992 in Moskva) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL. Marchenko was drafted 205th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Junior
Marchenko made his senior debut in the 2008-09 season playing 46 regular season games and 14 play-off games with the CSKA Moskva-2 of the Pervenstvo VHL.

During the 2009–10 season, Marchenko appeared in 43 games with the CSKA-Krasnaya Armiya Moskva of the MHL, and recorded 11 goals and 23 assists as well as going scoreless in two playoff games for the club. He played this season in the MHL All-Star Game. He also appeared in 10 KHL games for the CSKA Moskva and failed to register a point.

During the 2010–11 season, Marchenko recorded 38 points in 36 games for the CSKA-Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, along with three goals and eight assists in 15 playoff games, to help his club capture the Kharlamov Cup. He was named the defenceman of the month for the September 2010 and later was named the defenceman of the year. He also appeared in 22 KHL games for the CSKA Moskva, where he recorded two assists.

During the 2011–12 season, Marchenko skated in six games for the CSKA Moskva in the KHL and was impressive in the MHL playoffs after missing most of the season, due to a knee injury. He was scoreless in his brief KHL stint. He skated in five regular season games for the CSKA-Krasnaya Armiya Moskva in the MHL, recording two goals and four assists. Marchenko was the leading scorer amongst defencemen for the CSKA-Krasnaya Armiya Moskva in the play-offs, finishing with four goals and 14 assists. The defending Kharlamov Cup champions, CSKA-Krasnaya Armiya Moskva was defeated by Omskie Yastrebi in the MHL finals.

Senior
During the 2012–13 season, Marchenko played 44 games for the CSKA Moskva in his first full KHL season. He recorded four goals and five assists. CSKA finished first in the Tarasov Division and swept Lev Praha before falling to Dynamo Moskva in the Western Conference semifinals. Marchenko saw limited ice time in seven playoff games; finishing with no points nor penalty minutes.

On May 30, 2013, Marchenko signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL.

During the 2013–14 season, Marchenko was assigned to the Red Wings' AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In his rookie season, Marchenko recorded three goals and 15 assists in 49 games. He also played in the 2014 AHL All-Star Game. On January 4, 2014, Marchenko made his NHL debut in a game against the Dallas Stars. On February 23, 2014, in a game against the Milwaukee Admirals, Marchenko went feet-first into the boards, and suffered a severe high ankle sprain. An MRI revealed a fractured bone and a day later he had surgery in Grand Rapids where doctors inserted stabilizing screws into his ankle. As a result, he missed the remainder of the season.

In the 2014-15 season, Marchenko played 13 regular season games and 3 play-off games with the Red Wings and 51 regular season games and 11 play-off games with the Griffins. On 28 February 2015, Marchenko scored his first career NHL goal against Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

In the 2015-16 season, Marchenko appeared in 66 regular season games and 3 play-off games with the Red Wings. He recorded 2 goals and 9 assists in the regular season and was scoreless in the play-offs. He also played another 4 games with the Griffins, but he was scoreless.

On July 1, 2016, Marchenko signed a two-year contract extension with the Red Wings. In the following 2016–17 season, Marchenko appeared in 30 games registering 6 assists, before he was placed on waivers by the Red Wings on February 3, 2017. The following day, he was claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, marking a reunion with former head coach Mike Babcock. In a game against his former team Marchenko scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season on March 7, 2017.

After this season, Marchenko moved back to Europe and signed with his old club CSKA Moskva of the KHL. He stayed there until the end of the 2019-20 season. In the 2018-19 season, Marchenko was selected to the 2019 KHL All-Star Game, but did not play there. Later in the season, he won with the CSKA Moskva the Gagarin Cup.

In 2020, Marchenko signed a two-year contract with the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL.

International career
Marchenko made his international debut for Russia at the 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where he recorded one goal in five games. He later represented Russia at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where he recorded three assists in five games.

Marchenko represented Russia at the 2016 World Championship, where he recorded one goal and two assists in ten games, and won a bronze medal. Marchenko again represented Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but he was scoreless.

In 2018, Marchenko played with the Olympic Athletes from Russia at the 2018 Olympics winning the gold medal.