Born	April 13, 1974 (1974-04-13) (age 35), Chelyabinsk, U.S.S.R.
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team F. teams	Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Boston Bruins
Ntl. team	Russia
NHL Draft	14th overall, 1992 Washington Capitals
Pro career	1991 – present

Sergei Viktorovich Gonchar (Russian: Сергей Викторович Гончар; born April 13, 1974) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman and an alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. Fans of him and his team affectionately refer to him as "Gonch".

[edit] Playing career

Sergei Gonchar began his professional career in 1991 with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Russian Super League. He also played two seasons for Dynamo Moscow.

Gonchar was the 1st round pick, 14th overall, of the Washington Capitals in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He began his North American career in 1994, suiting up in two playoff games for the Capitals' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates. He continued with Portland in 1994–95, before making his NHL debut, with the Capitals, on February 7, 1995 against the Buffalo Sabres.^[1] He would appear in 31 games total during the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season. The following year, in his first full-length campaign in the NHL, Gonchar would tally 41 points, showing his potential as an effective offensive defenceman.

Sergei Gonchar in action with Pittsburgh

After 57 and 67-point (tied for a career high) seasons in 2000–01 and 2002–03 respectively, Gonchar was named to the Second All-Star Team both seasons.

On March 3, 2004, in his ninth season with the Capitals, Gonchar was traded to the Boston Bruins for Shaone Morrisonn and two draft picks in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Finishing the season with Boston, he would tally 58 points, leading all league defencemen.^[1] Between 2000 and 2004, Gonchar recorded more points than any other defenceman, with 74 goals and 241 points. ^[2]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Gonchar returned to Russia to play for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he played with future teammates Petr Sýkora and Evgeni Malkin.^[1] After the lockout, Gonchar signed a 5-year, $25 million deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on August 4, 2005.^[3]

In 2006–07, his second season with Pittsburgh, Gonchar tied a career-high with 67 points. In addition to his on-ice duties for the Penguins, Gonchar housed rookie Evgeni Malkin when he arrived from Russia in October 2006.^[4]

The following season, Gonchar helped lead the Penguins with offensive superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals – the franchise's first finals appearance since 1992. After a 65-point regular season (the eighth 50-plus point season of his career), Gonchar added 14 points in 20 playoff games en route to a match-up against the Detroit Red Wings. Despite staving off elimination in a game five overtime win, the Penguins were defeated in game six.

During the first game of the 2008–09 pre-season, Gonchar was hit into the boards by David Kočí in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, dislocating his shoulder. It was reported that he would miss 4–6 months after opting for arthroscopic surgery.^[5] While both Gonchar and defensive partner Brooks Orpik claimed the hit was late, well after Gonchar had completed a pass, it was asserted by coach Michel Therrien as a clean hit and that Koci had simply "finished his check".^[6][7] With the Penguins struggling to make the playoffs, Gonchar returned to play his first game of the season for the February 14 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs after being sidelined for 21 weeks.^[8] He played in the final 25 games of the regular season and tallied 19 points, helping the Penguins into the 2009 playoffs as the fourth seed. However, playing in game four of the Conference Semi-Finals against the Washington Capitals, Gonchar suffered a knee injury after receiving a knee-on-knee hit from Alexander Ovechkin. Despite being initially expected to be out for several weeks and possibly the remainder of the playoffs,^[9] Gonchar returned for game seven of the series.^[10] Gonchar and the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup in seven games, facing the Detroit Red Wings for the second consecutive year. After winning, he revealed he had been playing with a partially torn medial collateral ligament, due to the earlier hit from Alexander Ovechkin in the second round.^[11]

[edit] Awards

• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008
• Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 2001 and 2003
• Won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] International play

Gonchar is a two-time Olympic medal-winner with Team Russia. He earned a silver medal at the 1998 Games, and a bronze medal at the 2002 Games.

In addition, Gonchar also competed in the 1993 World Junior Championship, two World Cups and two World Championships.

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	Place		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Russia	WJC	6th		7	0	2	2	10
1996	Russia	WCH	SF		4	2	2	4	2
1998	Russia	Oly	2 		6	0	2	2	0
2000	Russia	WC	11th		6	1	0	1	2
2002	Russia	Oly	3 		6	0	0	0	2
2004	Russia	WCH	5th		4	1	2	3	6
2006	Russia	Oly	4th		8	0	2	2	8
2007	Russia	WC	3 		9	1	4	5	4
Senior int'l totals					43	5	12	17	24

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Sergei Gonchar at ESPN.com

• Sergei Gonchar's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

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