Egor Chinakhov

Egor Chinakhov
Chinakhov in 2021
Born (2001-02-01) 1 February 2001
Omsk, Russia
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 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

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.

Playing career

Chinakhov 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][2]

At the 2020 NHL entry draft, Columbus 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.[2][3] 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.[4]

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.[5] 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).[1] 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.[6]

Chinakhov was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets to a three-year, entry-level contract on 2 May 2021.[7] He played most of the 2021–22 season for the Blue Jackets, scoring 14 points in 62 games.[1]

Chinakhov played the beginning of the 2022–23 season with the Blue Jackets, improving his scoring rate to 13 points in 30 games, before being placed on injured reserve (IR) with an ankle injury on 20 December 2022.[8] On 27 February 2023, he was activated from IR and assigned to the Jackets' minor league affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), finishing the season with 8 points in 7 AHL games.[9]

Following another injury, sustained just one day before the 2023–24 season, Chinakhov was again assigned to the AHL on 25 October 2023.[9]

During the 2025 offseason, Chinakhov requested a trade from the Blue Jackets, citing disagreements with head coach Dean Evason.[10] Several months later, on 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.[11]

International play

Chinakhov represented Russia at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he recorded one goal and two assists in five games, and won a bronze medal.[1]

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.[12]

Chinakhov made his World Junior Championship debut at the 2021 championship, playing 5 games as Russia finished fourth.[1]

Personal life

Chinakhov 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.[13]

Chinakhov married his wife, Zlata, in 2024.[14] His wife gave birth to a daughter on 25 February 2026.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

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
KHL totals 32 10 7 17 6 21 5 2 7 24
NHL totals 204 37 40 77 42

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Russia HG18 5 1 2 3 0
2019 Russia U18 7 2 1 3 4
2021 Russia WJC 4th 5 1 0 1 0
Junior totals 17 4 3 7 4

Awards and honors

Award Year
KHL
Gagarin Cup (Avangard Omsk) 2021 [16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Egor Chinakhov at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b Forbes, Andrew (24 June 2020). "Yegor Chinakhov - 2020 NHL Draft Prospect Profile". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  3. ^ Pronman, Corey. "Pronman's scouting report: What the Blue Jackets are getting in Yegor Chinakhov". The Athletic. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  4. ^ NHL Draft 2020 First Round - YouTube (Television production). NBC Sports. Event occurs at 2:37:08. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Seren Rosso, Alessandro (1 October 2020). "Players of the Month: Garipov, Genoway, Makeyev, and Chinakhov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Elite Prospects - KHL Stats 2020-2021". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ^ "CBJ sign 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov". Columbus Blue Jackets. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Yegor Chinakhov Injury Updates - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps". CapFriendly. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Yegor Chinakhov Transactions - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps". CapFriendly. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov requests trade". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Chinakhov traded to Penguins by Blue Jackets for Heinen". NHL.com. 29 December 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Yegor Chinakhov Draft Prospect". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Vitali Chinakhov at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. ^ Hedger, Brian (16 October 2025). "Chinakhov excited for season debut with Columbus Blue Jackets after sitting out". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Avangard is crowned 2021 Gagarin Cup Champions" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.