Hey look, a defenseman!
The Flyers have signed KHL defenseman Yevgeni Medvedev to an unknown contract. Medvedev has never played in the NHL or North America before, but he’s played professionally in what might be the second-best league in the world since 2008, and before that played in the Russian Elite League, which was that nation’s top league before the KHL existed.
He’s 32 years old, so this is no youngster we’re getting here — he’s been a professional hockey player since 2005. He’s played a bunch in the World Championships, the Olympics and other international tournaments for Russia, so he’s definitely played top level hockey before.
That’s really all we know about the guy for now, but we will do some research and share some more info on him later today.
Here’s the team press release:
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed 6-3, 187 lb free-agent defenseman Yevgeni Medvedev, according to general manager Ron Hextall.
Medvedev, 32 (8/27/1982), is a native of Chelyabinsk, Russia. He comes to North America for the first time after a long professional career in his home country. He has played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) since its inception in 2008 and spent three seasons prior to that playing in the KHL’s predecessor, the Russian Elite League.
For the past eight years, Medvedev has played for Ak Bars Kazan, the last seven of which have come as a member of the KHL. He has appeared in 373 career games for the team, recording 37 goals and 128 assists for 165 points, along with 408 PIM and a +100 rating.
During his seven years in the KHL, Medvedev has won two Gagarin Cup league championships with Ak Bars Kazan (2008-09, 2009-10) and has been a three-time KHL All-Star (2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14). He has also represented Russia internationally for the past four years, winning gold medals at the World Championships in 2011-12 and 2013-14 and a silver medal in this year’s World Championships in Prague that ended this past weekend. Medvedev also represented Russia at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
