Born	February 18, 1980 (1980-02-18) (age 29), Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakh SSR, USSR
Height Weight	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg; 16 st 6 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team F. teams	Atlanta Thrashers New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs
Ntl. team	Kazakhstan
NHL Draft	10th overall, 1998 Toronto Maple Leafs
Pro career	1998 – present

Nikolai "Nik" Aleksandrovich Antropov (Russian: Николай Александрович Антропов; born February 18, 1980) is a professional ice hockey forward, currently playing for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League.

[edit] Playing career

Antropov was expected to be drafted early in the 2nd round, but following a dominant season with Kaztsink-Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk in the second-tier of the Russian Hockey Super League, including an international match against Iceland in which he scored eleven goals and twenty-six points, he was drafted 10th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.^[1] Before going overseas to play hockey in North America, Antropov also played in the Russian Super Liga with Dynamo Moscow.

When Owen Nolan joined the Maple Leafs in March 2003, Antropov changed his number from #11 (Nolan's number in San Jose) to #80, the year of his birth. In 2003–04 Leaf coach Pat Quinn formed a line with Joe Nieuwendyk, Alexei Ponikarovsky, and Antropov. This line was dubbed the "Skyline" because of the players' height.

Antropov scores in the 2009 playoffs while a member of the New York Rangers.

During the NHL lock-out of the 2004–05 season he returned to the Russian league and played 36 games split between Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

Injuries felled the Kazakhstani power forward however, and he missed significant time during the 2005–06 season. Antropov managed to produce 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 57 games.

Upon Antropov's return from injury, he added 15 points in the final ten regular-season games of the 2005–06 NHL season. Antropov finished third on the team in even-strength scoring and also led the Leafs in +/- with a +13 rating.

In 2006–07, Antropov typically played alongside team captain Mats Sundin and Ponikarovsky on the top line.

On June 6, 2007, the Maple Leafs announced they had signed Antropov to a two-year contract extension. During a game with the New York Rangers on December 6, 2007, Antropov scored his second career hat-trick and was named the game's first star. In December 2007, a campaign was launched to encourage fans to vote Antropov as a write-in Candidate the 56th National Hockey League All-Star Game in Atlanta.^{[citation needed]}

On February 9, 2008 Antropov set a new career high in goals with 19 when he scored in overtime to give the Leafs a 3-2 win, tipping in an Anton Stralman slapshot. He finished the season with 26 goals.

On March 4, 2009 Antopov was traded to the New York Rangers for a second round draft pick and conditional draft pick.^[2] During his tenure with the Leafs he even became a Canadian citizen.^[3]

On July 2, 2009 Antropov signed a four-year, $16.25 million deal with the Atlanta Thrashers as a free agent. He is expected to make 3.5 million dollars the first year, 3.75 million the second, 4.25 million the third and 4.75 millions dollars for the final year of the deal, for a cap hit of 4.0625 million dollars each year. ^[4]

[edit] International play

Internationally he represented Kazakhstan in the 1999 World Junior Championships (earning 8 points in 6 games) and in the recent 2006 Winter Olympics where he scored one goal. Antropov captained the Kazakhstan squad on both occasions. Antropov and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik were the lone NHL players on the team.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season and playoffs

[edit] International

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nik Antropov at TSN.ca
• Nik Antropov's NHL player profile
• Nik Antropov's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Nik Antropov – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net