About Alexei Kovalev
Alexei Vyacheslavovich Kovalev (Russian: Алексей Вячеславович Ковалёв, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕ kəvɐˈlʲɵf]; born 24 February 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey coach, executive and former professional player. During his career, he played in over 1,300 National Hockey League (NHL) games over 18 seasons for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers between 1992 and 2013. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and won a Stanley Cup with them in 1994. Kovalev also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Atlant Moscow Oblast, and was last active with EHC Visp of Switzerland's National League B. Kovalev was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round, 15th overall, of the 1991 NHL entry draft. Kovalev, Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov were the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. He became the first Russian-born player to be drafted in the first round in the history of the NHL as well as the first Soviet player to be drafted in the first round.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.