American-born former NHL first-round draft pick Alex Galchenyuk is now a dual citizen. Amur Khabarovsk, the KHL team that he currently plays for, announced on Wednesday that the 31-year-old center and winger has received a Russian passport.
“I am pleased to announce that one of the leaders of our hockey team, Alexander Galchenyuk, received a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation today,” Sergei Abramov, the Amur club’s chairman and also a local politician, is quoted on the club’s website. “I am sure that this will benefit both the player himself and Russian hockey. We have communicated with Alexander a lot this season, and I can say that in spirit and mentality he is ours, a Russian guy. He loves Russia, the Khabarovsk region, HC Amur, and our fans. Therefore, we can say that today Alexander simply returned home.”
As a Russian citizen, Galchenyuk no longer uses up an import roster spot for a KHL team.
Galchenyuk was born in Milwaukee, Wis. While his father, Belarusian Alexander Galchenyuk Sr., played for the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL. The elder Galchenyuk never played in the NHL but played six seasons of minor-league hockey in the United States. He also played professionally in Russia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Belarus, retiring in 2007.
Internationally, Galchenyuk Sr. represented Belarus at four IIHF World Championships and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. He previously represented the Soviet Union in the 1991 Canada Cup and in two World Junior Championships, including 1987 in Czechoslovakia where the Soviets and Canadians were both disqualified for a bench-clearing brawl.
Galchenyuk Jr. spent his childhood in all the countries where his father played, then played junior hockey for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting and was drafted third overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012. He played 11 seasons in the NHL with the Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. In 692 regular-season and playoff games combined, he recorded 371 points. He recorded career highs in goals (30) and points (56) in 2015-16 for the Canadiens.
His contract with the Coyotes was terminated in July 2023 after he was arrested and charged with multiple offenses related to impaired driving and uttering threats to police.
In two KHL seasons with SKA St. Petersburg and Amur, Galchenyuk has 83 points in 123 regular-season and playoff games combined. Amur sits 11th out of 12 teams in the KHL’s Eastern Conference and will miss the playoffs.
Internationally, the younger Galchenyuk represented the USA at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Russia, where he won a gold medal, and at two World Championships. He scored the shootout-winning goal against Finland in the bronze-medal game at the 2013 Worlds.
Alex Galchenyuk signs with Amur Khabarovsk Alex Galchenyuk has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk,
the club announced on its website.
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