Yegor Chinakhov

Summary

Yegor Vitalievich Chinakhov (Russian: Егор Витальевич Чинахов; born February 1, 2001) is a Russian professional ice hockey right wing currently playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 21st overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Yegor Chinakhov
Chinakhov in 2021
Born (2001-02-01) February 1, 2001 (age 23)
Omsk, Russia
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Columbus Blue Jackets
Avangard Omsk
NHL Draft 21st overall, 2020
Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career 2020–present

Playing career edit

Chinakhov played as a youth with his hometown club, Avangard Omsk. Following the 2018–19 MHL season, spent mainly with Omsk's Junior Hockey League (MHL) affiliate, he went undrafted in the 2019 NHL Draft. He remained in the MHL for the 2019–20 season, improving his point totals tremendously.[1][2]

At the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Columbus made the surprising decision to select Chinakhov in the first round, 21st overall. While the consensus among scouts was that Chinakhov would be selected in the second or third round, there were very few public rankings that ranked him in the top 100, with many lists excluding him entirely.[2][3] In their coverage of the draft, NBC Sports did not have any footage to share of Chinakhov as they did for every other first round selection and many in the following rounds.[4]

Chinakhov made his professional debut in the 2020–21 season with Omsk's senior club, in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was named the Rookie of the Month for the month of September 2020, during which he recorded three goals and two assists in nine games, averaging 11 minutes and nine seconds of ice time.[5] He finished with 10 goals and 7 assists for 17 points in 32 regular season games, leading all KHL players 20 years or younger in points-per-game (0.53).[1] In the postseason, he added 5 goals and 7 points in 21 games to help the club win the Gagarin Cup for the first time in franchise history.[6]

 
Chinakhov (right) battling with Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Seattle Kraken in 2024.

Chinakhov was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets to a three-year, entry-level contract on May 2, 2021.[7] He played most of the 2021–22 season for the Blue Jackets, scoring 14 points in 62 games.[1]

Chinakhov played the beginning of the 2022–23 season with the Blue Jackets, improving his scoring rate to 13 points in 30 games, before being placed on injured reserve (IR) with an ankle injury on December 20, 2022.[8] On February 27, 2023, he was activated from IR and assigned to the Jackets' minor league affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), finishing the season with 8 points in 7 AHL games.[9]

Following another injury, sustained just one day before the 2023–24 season, Chinakhov was again assigned to the AHL on October 25, 2023.[9]

International play edit

Chinakhov represented Russia at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he recorded one goal and two assists in five games, and won a bronze medal.[1]

He represented Russia at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded two goals and one assist in seven games, and won a silver medal.[10]

Chinakhov made his World Junior Championship debut at the 2021 championship, playing 5 games as Russia finished fourth.[1]

Personal life edit

Chinakhov is the son of former ice hockey player Vitali Chinakhov, who was selected in the 11th round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers and never played in the NHL.[11]

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2017–18 Omskie Yastreby MHL 4 1 4 5 2
2018–19 Omskie Yastreby MHL 37 8 8 16 4
2019–20 Izhstal Izhevsk VHL 2 2 1 3 0
2019–20 Omskie Yastreby MHL 56 27 42 69 16
2020–21 Avangard Omsk KHL 32 10 7 17 6 21 5 2 7 24
2021–22 Cleveland Monsters AHL 1 1 0 1 0
2021–22 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 62 7 7 14 16
2022–23 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 30 4 9 13 10
2022–23 Cleveland Monsters AHL 7 3 5 8 0
2023–24 Cleveland Monsters AHL 3 3 1 4 2
2023–24 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 53 16 13 29 6
KHL totals 32 10 7 17 6 21 5 2 7 24
NHL totals 145 27 29 56 32

International edit

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Russia HG18   5 1 2 3 0
2019 Russia U18   7 2 1 3 4
2021 Russia WJC 4th 5 1 0 1 0
Junior totals 17 4 3 7 4

Awards and honors edit

Award Year
KHL
Gagarin Cup (Avangard Omsk) 2021 [12]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Yegor Chinakhov at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  2. ^ a b Forbes, Andrew (2020-06-24). "Yegor Chinakhov - 2020 NHL Draft Prospect Profile". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  3. ^ Pronman, Corey. "Pronman's scouting report: What the Blue Jackets are getting in Yegor Chinakhov". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ^ NHL Draft 2020 First Round - YouTube (Television production). NBC Sports. Event occurs at 2:37:08. Retrieved September 17, 2023 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Seren Rosso, Alessandro (October 1, 2020). "Players of the Month: Garipov, Genoway, Makeyev, and Chinakhov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "Elite Prospects - KHL Stats 2020-2021". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  7. ^ "CBJ sign 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov". Columbus Blue Jackets. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Yegor Chinakhov Injury Updates - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps". CapFriendly. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  9. ^ a b "Yegor Chinakhov Transactions - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps". CapFriendly. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  10. ^ "Yegor Chinakhov Draft Prospect". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  11. ^ "Vitali Chinakhov at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "Avangard is crowned 2021 Gagarin Cup Champions" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

External links edit

  • Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Columbus Blue Jackets first round draft pick
2020
Succeeded by