Anton Volchenkov

Anton Alekseyevich Volchenkov (Russian: Антон Алексеевич Волченков; born February 25, 1982), also known as the A-Train and the Russian Bear, is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career
Volchenkov grew up in Moscow and began attending the CSKA hockey school at the age of six. Around time when he was in fourth grade, his family moved to Kiev, Ukraine and he began attending the Sokil Kyiv hockey school, as his uncle became the director of that school. After a year in Kiev, Volchenkov returned to the CSKA program in Moscow. Volchenkov was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round as the 21st overall selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2002–03 NHL season, he came to North America and played the entire season with the Senators. He is known for his fearless attitude towards other players and the puck, and is generally considered to be amongst the toughest players in the league. In his early days playing in Europe, he played goaltender. However, his coach instructed him to play defence, which may help explain why he led the NHL in blocked shots in 2006–07 by a large margin. He is consistently amongst the top shot blockers and hitters.

NHL career
After his first stint in Ottawa, he became a regular in the Senators' starting line-up. As a "stay-at-home" defenceman, he is known primarily for his blocked shots and massive hits. He also played in the 2006 Olympic Games for the Russian national ice hockey team and was considered to be among Ottawa's top two defenders, along with Chris Phillips.

On April 9, 2007, Volchenkov announced he would be staying with the Senators, signing a three-year deal. Ottawa's General Manager John Muckler said, "Anton has been one of our top defencemen all season."

He was usually paired with fellow stay-at-home defenceman Chris Phillips. Volchenkov was voted as the fifth-best defensive defenceman by The Hockey News in June 2007. With the defensive help of Volchenkov and Phillips, the Senators made their 2007 Stanley Cup run to the finals, where they were defeated by the Anaheim Ducks in another five-game series. Volchenkov also led the league in shots blocked during the 2007 playoffs.

On July 1, 2010, Volchenkov signed a 6 year, $25.5 million dollar contract with the New Jersey Devils.

International play
In the early days of his hockey career, he captained the 2001 Russian World Junior Hockey team to a championship in which he scored the winning goal against Team Canada, catching the attention of many pro scouts. Throughout 2001-2003, he was mentored by James "JP" Kunda.

Volchenkov has also played for team Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 2010 Winter Olympics, and in the 2009 IIHF World Championship.

Injuries
In a game against the Boston Bruins, on December 8, 2003, he suffered a shoulder injury and took the majority of the 2003–04 season to recover. In a regular season game against the Nashville Predators, on November 29, 2007, he suffered a broken finger in an attempt to block a shot. He would come back after missing 15 games.

In the 2008 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Volchenkov fell in front of the net and was struck in the face by a puck, suffering a laceration. He returned the following game, and finished the series with one assist, one penalty, and one shot in four games.

Personal life
After playing as a goaltender when he began playing hockey as a child, Volchenkov was switched to defence by his coach. He has been among the NHL league leaders in blocked shots since the 2005–06 season.

Volchenkov has been married for five years. He and his wife have a son, Anton Jr. and on February 20, 2011 he and his wife welcomed twins, a boy and a girl.

Volchenkov's father Alexei was a defenceman on the Red Army hockey team during the 1975 Super Series.