Where are they now?
Former Toronto Maple Leaf forward - Igor Korolev
By Jon Yaneff

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Igor Korolev skates at the Vaughan Sports Village. He could sometimes be found training and skating with Jim Vitale and the Vital Hockey Skills school. Photos by Jon Yaneff

For the past few summers, former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Igor Korolev could be found skating and training with Jim Vitale of Bolton at the Vital Hockey Skills school out of the Vaughan Sports Village.

Korolev, who retired from the National Hockey League during the league's 2004-'05 lockout season, is now a player/coach for Atlant Mytischy of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia.

"I consider myself more a player than a coach because I still have the passion of playing," explained the 37-year-old Russian.

Vitale was recently appointed the head coach of the Canada Deaflympic Hockey Team, but while training young hockey players with his hockey school camps has had some help via some Russian/NHL flavour.

"Interacting on the ice with these kids has been fun," said Korolev, who spends two to three hours skating with Vitale at his hockey school. "Jim and his coaches have been doing a great job training these young hockey players. His camp gets kids off the couch during the summer, as they train to get to the next level instead of lying around."

Korolev grew up during the CCCP Sports scoreboard (Central Committee of the Communist Party) Russia era, where he was driven to play hockey and his commitment to improve.

"I traveled two hours to get to school, woke up at 5 a.m. and didn't get home until 9 p.m.," stated Korolev. "All I did was homework and play hockey, so I was very committed."

His commitment led him to 12 NHL seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto and the Chicago Blackhawks Korolev has 346 points (119 goals and 227 assists) in 795 games.

Korolev played with the Leafs for four seasons and had some of his best NHL seasons of his career. He had 161 points (60 goals and 101 assists) in 297 games for Toronto.

Greatest Leaf memory: Helping the Leafs to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Buffalo Sabres, where the eventually lost the series four games to one.

Igor's favourites Favourite NHL city: Toronto Favourite coach: Pat Quinn Favourite player growing up: Alexander Maltsev of Russia. The forward played on the Dynamo Moscow of the KHL, as well as with the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in the 1972 Summit Series against Canada.
One-on-one with former Leaf
playmaker Igor Korolev
Born: Sept. 6 1970 in Moscow, Russia
Drafted: Second round (38th overall) by the St. Louis Blues in the 1992
NHL Entry Draft
How would you want to be remembered as a person?
As a quiet family guy.
Igor currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Vera, and their two daughters,
Kristina, 15, and Anastasia, 12. His kids don't play hockey, but they are
committed to dance and ballet.
Do you stay in touch with any former NHL teammates?
I grew up with Alexei Zhamnov and we later played together with the Jets
then the Blackhawks. I am also the Godfather of Nic Antropov's son.