Sergei Yevgenyevich Berezin

Sergei Beresin
Date of birth	5th November 1971
place of birth	Voskressensk , Russian SFSR
size	178 cm
Weight	88 kg
position	Left wing
number	# 94
Shot hand	Right
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1994 , 10th round, 256th position Toronto Maple Leafs
Career stations
until 1994	Chimik Voskressensk
1994-1996	Cologne Sharks
1996-2001	Toronto Maple Leafs
2001-2002	Phoenix Coyotes
2002	Montréal Canadiens
2002-2003	Chicago Blackhawks
2003	Washington Capitals
2003-2004	HK CSKA Moscow

Sergei Evgenevich Beresin ( Russian Сергей Евгеньевич Березин , scientific transliteration Sergej Evgen'evič Berezin ; born November 5, 1971 in Woskressensk , Russian SFSR ) is a former Russian ice hockey player .

Career

Beresin's professional career began at his hometown club Chimik Voskressensk near Moscow . In 1990 he started playing in the former Soviet Union's ice hockey league. The left winger , who always wore the shirt number 94 in his career, stood out above all for his extremely fair style of play, which he paired with strong technical skills and a precise shot. In 1991 he was appointed to the Soviet team for the Junior World Championship. He played three more years at Voskressensk, where he was able to improve his game and continuously increase his statistics. This is how the Kölner Haie became aware of him, who signed him for the first DEL season 1994/95 . There he surprised all critics, scored 57 scorer points in 43 games and became an absolute darling of the public.

In the National Hockey League , his talent was initially not discovered, it was not until the NHL Entry Draft in 1994 he was drawn by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 256th place. Since the Leafs did not want to sign the right-shooter immediately, he decided to spend a second year in Cologne. He increased the number of points in his first year in Germany, scored 80 points - 49 of which were goals - in 45 games and was elected to the All-Star team. In 1996/97 he made his debut in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He made 25 goals and 16 assists in 73 games, which is a very respectable figure for a rookie. Consequently, he was appointed to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1997 . Until 2001, Beresin always played the entire season with the Leafs, where he was also one of the most popular players with fans thanks to his fair play and his appearance outside the ice rink.

For the 2001/02 season he was transferred to Phoenix , where he could not establish himself in the first team. During the season he was given to the Montréal Canadiens , where he played the remaining games. In the following season he was first transferred to the Chicago Blackhawks and then to the Washington Capitals twice, which meant that he no longer felt comfortable in the NHL. His statistics clearly showed that he could no longer get used to the ever-changing conditions at the new clubs. He left the NHL and returned to Russia. There he played in 2003/04 for HK ZSKA Moscow in the Russian Super League. During the 2004/05 DEL season there were rumors that Beresin would return to the Cologne Sharks, which was not the case. In fact, he ended his active career in 2004 and retired from ice hockey.

International

Beresin played in four world championships for Russia in his career - 1994 , 1995 , 1996 and 1998 . He also represented his country at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer and at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey . However, he could not win any titles or medals. So the German championship title with Cologne in 1995 was his only great success.

Achievements and Awards

• 1995 DEL player of the year
• 1996 DEL player of the year
• 1997 NHL All-Rookie Team

statistics

• NHL: 554 games, 173 goals, 143 assists, 60 penalty minutes
• Super league: 165 games, 57 goals, 23 assists, 58 penalty minutes
• DEL: 88 games, 87 goals, 50 assists, 16 penalty minutes
• National team: 36 games, 23 goals, 11 assists, 12 penalty minutes

Web links

• Sergei Beresin at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Sergei Beresin at hockeydb.com (English)
• Sergei Beresin at eurohockey.com