IGOR
KRAVCHUK

An excellent puck-handling defenceman with a good shot from the point, defenceman Igor Kravchuk peaked in the early 1990s. Late in the decade he was a useful role player, but overall his big league career was not as rewarding as many scouts had anticipated.

Kravchuk played with the Yulajev club in both the second and first division over a five year period. Internationally, he played for the USSR at the World Junior Championships, winning bronze in 1985 and gold in 1986. After joining the senior national team he played at the 1987 Canada Cup when the USSR lost a dramatic three game final to the hosts and captured a gold medal at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

During the 1987-88 season he joined the prestigious Central Red Army team. He won a gold medal with the Soviet Union at the 1990 World Championships and a bronze the next year. Kravchuk played a major role on the 1991 Canada Cup and on the CIS team that won gold at the Albertville Olympics in 1992.

Chosen 71st overall by the Chicago Black Hawks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, Kravchuk joined the NHL after Albertville. He scored eight points in 18 playoff games as the Hawks reached the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 19 years. He played 38 games in 1992-93 then was traded to Edmonton with Dean McAmmond for Joe Murphy.

Kravchuk's mobility suited the speedy Oilers and he scored 50 points in 81 games in 1993-94 to lead all Edmonton defencemen. Much of his work was done on the club's improved power play. Kravchuk's play dropped off a bit in the lockout-shortened season and he was traded to the St. Louis Blues early the next year. He performed solidly if unspectacularly while playing all 82 games for the Blues in 1996-97. Following that season he was traded to the Ottawa Senators for veteran Steve Duchesne.

The fast skating game of the Sens suited Kravchuk and he scored 35 points for Ottawa in 1997-98 and was chosen to play for the World Team in the 1998 All-Star Game. He took a regular turn on the Sens' blueline in 1998-99 and helped the club set a franchise record with 103 points. His play tailed off the next year but he was still chosen to represent Russia at the 2000 World Championships. During the 2000-01 season, the veteran blueliner was sent to the Calgary Flames where his playmaking savvy helped the team battle for a playoff spot.