Like most Russians, his name is often spelled differently, and he is Alexei when he is on the Russian national team.
Age: 25
Shoots: Right
Height: 189 cm / 6'2"
Weight: 95 kg / 209 lb
Drafted: 205th overall
Cap hit: $1,450,000
Contract: RFA in 2018
He grew up in Moscow and played his entire youth career for CSKA Moscow, aka the storied Red Army team. He was then drafted by the Detroit Red Wings, which put him on a path to follow in the footsteps of the great pioneers of Russian hockey in the NHL such as Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Fedorov, CSKA’s current general manager.