Egor Vitalievich Chinakhov (Russian: Егор Витальевич Чинахов; born 1 February 2001) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 21st overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020 NHL entry draft, for whom he played the first five seasons of his NHL career. Prior to his time in North America, he played in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for Avangard Omsk for one season. He was a Gagarin Cup champion with the team in 2021.
| Egor Chinakhov | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Chinakhov in 2021 | |||
| Born |
1 February 2001 Omsk, Russia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Pittsburgh Penguins Avangard Omsk Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| NHL draft |
21st overall, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| Playing career | 2020–present | ||
Playing career
editAvangard Omsk
editChinakhov played as a youth with his hometown club, Avangard Omsk. Following the 2018–19 MHL season, spent mainly with Omsk's Junior Hockey League (MHL) affiliate, he went undrafted in the 2019 NHL entry draft. He remained in the MHL for the 2019–20 season, improving his point totals tremendously.[1]
At the 2020 NHL entry draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets made the surprising decision to select Chinakhov in the first round, 21st overall. While the consensus among scouts was that Chinakhov would be selected in the second or third round, there were very few public rankings that ranked him in the top 100, with many lists excluding him entirely.[1][2] In their coverage of the draft, NBC Sports did not have any footage to share of Chinakhov as they did for every other first round selection and many in the following rounds.[3]
Chinakhov made his professional debut in the 2020–21 season with Omsk's senior club, in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was named the Rookie of the Month for the month of September 2020, during which he recorded three goals and two assists in nine games, averaging 11 minutes and nine seconds of ice time.[4] He finished with 10 goals and 7 assists for 17 points in 32 regular season games, leading all KHL players 20 years or younger in points-per-game (0.53).[5] In the postseason, he added 5 goals and 7 points in 21 games to help the club win the Gagarin Cup for the first time in franchise history.[5][6] He won the Alexei Cherepanov Award as the KHL Rookie of the Year Award for the 2020–21 season.[7]
Columbus Blue Jackets
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Chinakhov was signed by Columbus to a three-year, entry-level contract on 2 May 2021.[5] On 15 November 2021, Chinakhov scored his first NHL goal, against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss in a 5–3 Columbus win.[8] He finished the 2021–22 season with 14 points in 62 games for the Blue Jackets.[9]
Chinakhov played the beginning of the 2022–23 season with the Blue Jackets, improving his scoring rate to 13 points in 30 games, before suffering a high ankle sprain on 19 December 2022 and being placed on injured reserve (IR).[10][11] After missing 29 games, he was activated from IR on 27 February 2023 and assigned to the Jackets' minor league affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL).[12] He finished the season with 8 points in 7 AHL games.[9] On 4 April 2023, Chinakhov signed a one-year contract extension with Columbus.[9]
Chinakhov suffered a back injury in September 2023.[13] He began the 2023–24 season on IR and was assigned to the AHL on 25 October 2023.[14] He was recalled to Columbus on 3 November 2023.[15] He suffered another back injury on 12 March 2024, and would miss the final 17 games of the 2023–24 season.[16][17]
On 21 June 2024, Columbus signed Chinakhov to a two-year, $4.2 million contract extension.[18] He suffered a back injury on 27 November 2024, and returned to the line-up on 4 March 2025 after missing 39 games.[19][17][20]
During the 2025 offseason, Chinakhov requested a trade from the Blue Jackets, citing disagreements with head coach Dean Evason.[21]
Pittsburgh Penguins
editOn 29 December 2025, Chinakhov was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Danton Heinen, a 2nd-round pick in 2026, and a 3rd-round pick in 2027.[22]
International play
editChinakhov represented Russia at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he recorded one goal and two assists in five games, and won a bronze medal.[5]
He represented Russia at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded two goals and one assist in seven games, and won a silver medal.[23]
Chinakhov made his World Junior Championship debut at the 2021 championship, playing five games as Russia finished fourth.[24][5]
Personal life
editChinakhov is the son of former ice hockey player Vitali Chinakhov. Vitali was selected in the 11th round, 235th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 1991 NHL entry draft, but never played in the NHL.[25]
Chinakhov married his wife, Zlata, in 2024.[26] Their daughter was born on 25 February 2026.[27]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Omskie Yastreby | MHL | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Omskie Yastreby | MHL | 37 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Izhstal Izhevsk | VHL | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Omskie Yastreby | MHL | 56 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 32 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 24 | ||
| 2021–22 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 62 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 30 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 53 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2025–26 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 29 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2025–26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 43 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| KHL totals | 32 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 24 | ||||
| NHL totals | 247 | 55 | 58 | 113 | 46 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
International
edit
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| KHL | ||
| Gagarin Cup (Avangard Omsk) | 2021 | [6] |
| Alexei Cherepanov Award | 2020–21 | [7] |
References
edit- 1 2 Forbes, Andrew (24 June 2020). "Yegor Chinakhov – 2020 NHL Draft Prospect Profile". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ Pronman, Corey. "Pronman's scouting report: What the Blue Jackets are getting in Yegor Chinakhov". The Athletic. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ NHL Draft 2020 First Round – YouTube (Television production). NBC Sports. Event occurs at 2:37:08. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Seren Rosso, Alessandro (1 October 2020). "Players of the Month: Garipov, Genoway, Makeyev, and Chinakhov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "CBJ sign 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov". Columbus Blue Jackets. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- 1 2 "Avangard is crowned 2021 Gagarin Cup Champions" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- 1 2 "Егор Чинахов – обладатель приза имени Алексея Черепанова: Новости | Континентальная Хоккейная Лига (КХЛ)". www.khl.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 June 2023.
- ↑ "Yegor Chinakhov's first NHL goal lifts Blue Jackets to 5-3 win over Red Wings". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021.
- 1 2 3 "CBJ sign Yegor Chinakhov to one-year contract extension for 23–24 season | Columbus Blue Jackets". www.nhl.com. 4 April 2023.
- ↑ "Blue Jackets' Yegor Chinakhov out 'indefinitely' with ankle injury". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022.
- ↑ Lee, Gavin. "Yegor Chinakhov Out Six Weeks". Pro Hockey Rumors.
- ↑ "CBJ activate F Yegor Chinakhov and Carson Meyer, loan both to Monsters | Columbus Blue Jackets". www.nhl.com. 27 February 2023.
- ↑ Hetu, Ethan. "Snapshots: MacDermid, Chinakhov, Penguins Hires". Pro Hockey Rumors.
- ↑ Erickson, Josh. "Blue Jackets Activate, Reassign Yegor Chinakhov". Pro Hockey Rumors.
- ↑ "Columbus Blue Jackets recall Yegor Chinakhov, assign Kent Johnson to AHL". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
- ↑ Portzline, Aaron (13 March 2024). "Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins pulled early in loss to Canadiens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- 1 2 "Columbus Blue Jackets' Yegor Chinakhov on injury status: 'I'm good right now'". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "Yegor Chinakhov signed to two-year extension through 2025–26 season | Columbus Blue Jackets". www.nhl.com. 21 June 2024.
- ↑ Foley, Gabriel (19 December 2024). "Blue Jackets Notes: Fabbro, Johnson, Chinakhov, Greaves". Pro Hockey Rumors.
- ↑ "After missing 39 games, RW Chinakhov returns for Blue Jackets". ESPN.com. 4 March 2025.
- ↑ "Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov requests trade". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ "Chinakhov traded to Penguins by Blue Jackets for Heinen". NHL.com. 29 December 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ "Yegor Chinakhov Draft Prospect". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ↑ "IIHF - Lundell leads Finns to bronze". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
- ↑ "Vitali Chinakhov – Stats, Contract, Salary & More". www.eliteprospects.com.
- ↑ Hedger, Brian (16 October 2025). "Chinakhov excited for season debut with Columbus Blue Jackets after sitting out". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ↑ Rorabaugh, Seth (26 February 2026). "Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs scheduled to start against Devils". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 27 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database