Sergei Zubov

Full name: Sergei Aleksandrovich Zubov
Last team: SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
Number: 56
Position: Defenseman
Height: 6’1″/185 cm
Weight: 198 lbs/90 kg
Shoots: Right
Born: July 22, 1970 in Moscow, RUS
Drafted: Selected by the New York Rangers in the 5th round (85th overall) of the 1990 Entry Draft

Strengths: Zubov was a talented blueliner and one of the best powerplay specialists in the sport. He had outstanding vision and was a prototypical Russian defenseman – controlled, precise, and patient.

Weaknesses: He occasionally made mistakes in the defensive zone and did not play a very physical game. His speed declined in his last few seasons.

Biography: Born in Moscow, Sergei Zubov began his career in his hometown with the legendary Red Army team under the control of coach Viktor Tikhonov. Although Zubov was often in disagreement with his coach, his list of accomplishments was sizeable before he even joined the NHL. Besides winning the gold and silver medals at the world junior championships (1989 and 1990), Zubov became an Olympic champion in 1992. Zubov continued his career with a short stint in the American Hockey League before joining the rising New York Rangers. In his second NHL season he led his team in scoring with 89 points, making him the second most productive defenseman in the league that year. In 1994, Sergei became one of the first Russians to win the Stanley Cup. Zubov had another point-per-game season with the Pittsburgh Penguins two years later, but it was not enough to be kept on the team, and he was “stolen” by the Dallas Stars. Luck seemed to follow Sergei, and upon his arrival to Dallas, the then-average Stars became a contender. In the Stanley Cup-clinching game of the 1999 playoffs, Zubov played almost an hour of hockey and won the NHL championship for the second time in his career. Zubov has been a remarkably stable player in the NHL: he was the only active defenseman to post eleven consecutive 30-assist and 40-point seasons. In 1994, 1999, and 2000 he played in the NHL All-Star Game. At the age of 35, Zubov had his second-best season ever, justifying his place on that year’s NHL Second All-Star Team. Off the ice, Sergei’s passion is technology – he tries to learn all the latest high-tech gadgets. Zubov is a U.S. citizen and last played for Russia in a major international tournament the 1996 World Cup. A hip injury at the end of 2008 cut short his NHL career and in the next summer Zubov decided to continue his career in Russia, signing with SKA St. Petersburg. On his new team, Zubov excelled and was the KHL’s highest-scoring defenseman in 2009-10. Sergei also joined Team Russia for a couple of EuroTour games. A hip injury then forced Zubov to miss the entire 2010-11 season and in April 2011 he announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Club Stats:

Season	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
1988-89	CSKA Moscow	29	1	4	5		2
1989-90	CSKA Moscow	48	6	2	8		16
1990-91	CSKA Moscow	41	6	5	11		12
1991-92	CSKA Moscow	44	4	7	11		8
1992-93	CSKA Moscow	1	0	1	1		0
1992-93	Binghampton (AHL)	30	7	29	36		14
1992-93	NY Rangers	49	8	23	31	-1	4
1993-94	Binghampton (AHL)	2	1	2	3		0
1993-94	NY Rangers	78	12	77	89	+20	39
1994-95	NY Rangers	38	10	26	36	-2	18
1995-96	Pittsburgh	64	11	55	66	+28	22
1996-97	Dallas	78	13	30	43	+19	24
1997-98	Dallas	73	10	47	57	+16	16
1998-99	Dallas	81	10	41	51	+9	20
1999-00	Dallas	77	9	33	42	-2	18
2000-01	Dallas	79	10	41	51	+22	24
2001-02	Dallas	80	12	32	44	-4	22
2002-03	Dallas	82	11	44	55	+21	26
2003-04	Dallas	77	7	35	42	0	20
2005-06	Dallas	78	13	58	71	+20	46
2006-07	Dallas	78	12	42	54	0	26
2007-08	Dallas	46	4	31	35	+6	12
2008-09	Dallas	10	0	4	4	-4	0
2009-10	SKA St. Petersburg	53	10	32	42	+8	32

Totals	USSR/KHL League	216	27	51	78	+8	78
Totals	KHL Playoffs	4	0	2	2	0	0
Totals	NHL Reg. Season	1068	152	619	771	+148	337
Totals	NHL Playoffs	164	24	93	117	+28	62

National Team Stats:

Year	Tournament	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
1988	European U18	6	0	2	2	2
1989	World U20	7	0	5	5	4
1990	World U20	7	1	3	4	14
1992	Olympic Games	8	0	1	1	0
1996	World Cup	4	1	1	2	0

Totals	U18 Level	6	0	2	2	2
Totals	U20 Level	14	1	8	9	18
Totals	Senior Level	12	1	2	3	0