Sergei
Samsonov was just 18 years old when he left his native Moscow, Russia,
to pursue his hockey dreams in the United States. And it didn't take
long for it to pay off - that first year, with the Detroit Vipers of
the International Hockey League, the teenaged Samsonov used his slick
skating and smooth stickhandling to lead the Vipers to the league championship.
"It was my first year in North America and we won the [Turner]
Cup," Samsonov once said. "It was one of my best years ever.
I made a lot of friends during that time and it was a real big learning
process for me."
Though his jump across an ocean was something of a leap of faith,
Samsonov didn't take long to achieve success. After the year in Detroit,
"The Magical Muscovite," as he's been called, was selected
with the eighth overall pick of the NHL draft by the Boston Bruins.
At age 19, and standing just 5-foot-8, 188 pounds, Samsonov immediately
had an impact on hockey much larger than his size and experience.
He scored at least 45 points in each of his first five years in Boston,
including a rookie of the year season in 1997-98 and 70-point seasons
in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. But aside from his prolific scoring,
Samsonov is also known for an impressive ability to avoid penalties.
He's only spent 119 minutes in the penalty box in 596 career games.
Last year, Samsonov's value was never more apparent when, after a
midseason trade from Boston, he helped to lead the eighth-seeded Edmonton
Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals and within one game of the championship,
before the Cinderella run ended at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes
in a game 7 showdown. During the run, Samsonov had 15 points in 24
games.
In addition to hockey, the 28-year-old Samsonov also finds time to
be a family man. He met his wife, Megan, in his first year in the
United States, and the couple still lives outside Detroit with daughters
Natasha and Anya. Now with the Montreal Canadiens, Samsonov has also
remained active in the community. While playing for Boston, he hosted
a golf tournament to benefit Mike's
Wish , a local charitable foundation.
