Pavel Buchnevich

Pavel Andreyevich Buchnevich (Павел Андреевич Бучневич; born 17 April 1995) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Buchnevich was born on 17 April 1995 in Cherepovets, Russia.

He was born into an athletic family; his mother Yelena Razumova is a former competitive skier while his father Andrey is a youth soccer coach who formerly worked at a steel factory.

A native of Cherepovets, Buchnevich played 102 games with the Almaz Cherepovets of the Junior Hockey League where he tallied 40 goals and 70 assists for 110 points.

During this time, he was ranked 10th amongst international skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.

While he split the season between Almaz and Severstal, Buchnevich tallied 23 points through 24 games.

He made his international debut at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge where he won a gold medal.

Despite a shortened 2011–12 season due to an injury, Buchnevich signed a three year contract to play professional ice hockey at his hometown team Severstal Cherepovets during the 2012–13 season.

Born and raised in Russia, Buchnevich started playing professional ice hockey at his hometown team Severstal Cherepovets of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) during the 2012–13 season.

He was shortly thereafter drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round, 75th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft but chose to remain in Russia.

In his final KHL season, he was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg before moving to the United States and joining the NHL.

Following the conclusion of the season, Buchnevich was drafted in the third round, 75th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

However, he chose to stay in the KHL because he did not feel he was ready to come to North America.

As such, he returned to the KHL for the 2013–14 season, where he had a breakout season and registered 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points through 48 games.

His assist total second-most a KHL player younger than 20 years old had ever posted in one season.

In his final KHL season, he was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for financial compensation.

At the time of the trade, he had recorded 29 points through 40 games.

Upon joining the team, Buchnevich changed his jersey number from 89 to 88.

He finished the regular season with 16 goals and 37 points as he helped Petersburg qualify for the playoffs.

Upon being eliminated, Buchnevich underwent bursa sac surgery on his left elbow, which required a two-to-three week rehabilitation.

Before aging out of the junior levels, Buchnevich medaled again at the 2014 and 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Upon joining the Rangers, Buchnevich made his rookie debut during the 2016–17 season and played on their first line alongside Mika Zibanejad with Chris Kreider.

He remained with the team for five seasons before being traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Samuel Blais and a 2022 second-round pick.

As a citizen of Russia, Buchnevich has represented his home country at both the junior and senior levels in international tournaments.

On 13 May 2016, Buchnevich signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers.

Following the signing, he participated in their 2016 Development Camp in July and the Traverse City Tournament in September.

While training in New York with the Rangers’ strength and conditioning coach, Buchnevich requested he be placed with an English speaking family to learn the language.

Buchnevich made the Rangers' final lineup for the 2016–17 season and played on their first line alongside Mika Zibanejad with Chris Kreider.

During his debut on 13 October 2016, Buchnevich recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, in a 5–3 win over the New York Islanders.

Following his debut, Buchnevich began to suffer from back spasms and missed the majority of October.

Upon returning to the lineup, Buchnevich scored his first career NHL goal in a 5–2 win over the Boston Bruins on 5 November.

However, Buchnevich missed significant time during his rookie season with back spasms, including a stretch of nearly two months from November 2016 to January 2017.

After being cleared to return, Buchnevich was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack for a four-game conditioning stint, before finally returning to the Rangers on 13 January in a 4–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Following a two-month absence, Buchnevich recorded five points in three games, including three in a 7–6 loss to the Dallas Stars.

While playing alongside playing Zibanejad and Rick Nash, he also averaged 2:38 per game on the second power-play unit.

He was returned to the AHL on 28 February 2017 but played one game before being recalled to the NHL level.

As the Rangers qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, Buchnevich was a healthy scratch until Game 4 when he replaced Tanner Glass.

Upon joining the lineup, he helped the Rangers win both Game 4 and Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Following his rookie season, Buchnevich was moved throughout the lineup by coach Alain Vigneault in favor of older, more experienced players.

He began the 2018–19 season playing in a fourth line role alongside Boo Nieves and Michael Grabner.