Ilya Kovalchuk was no stranger to the spotlight in the NHL. He's now the first president of China's KHL team, which is currently playing home games in St-Petersburg, Russia.
Former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk joined the KHL's Shanghai Dragons.
The Dragons announced Kovalchuk is their first president in a restructuring of the organization on Tuesday.
"Hello to all Shanghai Dragons fans!" Kovalchuk said in a statement. "I'm excited to become part of the Dragons family! We have an exciting journey ahead of us. There will be significant changes in our sporting approach, and we will continue to actively engage with our fans."
This is Kovalchuk's first major executive role with a professional hockey club, according to eliteprospects.com.
In the past, Kovalchuk was the GM for the Russian Olympic Committee at the 2022 Games in Beijing. His team went on to win the silver medal, falling to Finland in the gold medal game.
As a player, Kovalchuk spent 13 seasons in the NHL, beginning in 2001-02 after the Atlanta Thrashers drafted him first overall.
He played 926 regular-season games for five different teams, scoring 443 goals and 876 points.
He recorded at least 80 points in a season five times, including a career-high 98 points with the Thrashers in 2005-06.
He also won the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for most goals in 2003-04 with 41, although he exceeded that total in four other seasons. Kovalchuk scored 52 times in 2005-06 and 2007-08.
Kovalchuk made headlines in 2010 when the NHL rejected a 17-year, $102-million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils. He then signed a 15-year, $100-million contract, only to walk away from it three years later to return to Russia to play in the KHL.
Kovalchuk returned to the NHL in 2018 and played until 2020 before finishing his playing career in the KHL.
Along with the introduction of Kovalchuk as the Dragons' president, the organization hired former NHL player Evgeny Artyukhin as the team's GM. Artyukhin has spent the past three seasons as a European scout for the Vegas Golden Knights.
"Evgeny knows the game from the inside and brings a wealth of experience," Kovalchuk said. "The Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the most successful organizations in recent years, and his time there allowed him not only to gain valuable insight into the North American market, but also to learn best practices in team building and management. He has built strong relationships both in Russia and across North America."
This past regular season in the KHL, the Dragons finished in the bottom five of the overall standings and wound up last in their division. It was their first season as the Shanghai Dragons after originally being called Kunlun Red Star.
That said, they've been playing in St-Petersburg, Russia, while preparing to eventually play in Shanghai.
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