Pavel Buchnevich

At 29 years old, Pavel Buchnevich has this physical status:

Pavel Andevich Buchnevich (born 17 April 1995) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

In the third round (75th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers selected him.

Early life

Buchnevich was born in Cherepovets, Russia, on April 17th. He was born into a sporting family; his mother, Yelena Razumova, is a former competitive skier, while his father, Andrey, worked at a steel plant.

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Playing career

Buchnevich, a native of Cherepovets, appeared in 102 games with the Almaz Cherepovets of the Junior Hockey League, where he scored 40 goals and 70 assists for 110 points. Despite a short 2011-2012-13 season due to an injury, Buchnevich signed a three-year deal with his hometown team, Severstal Cherepovets, to play professional ice hockey at his hometown team, Severstal Cherepovets. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked him 10th among the top international skaters at this time. Buchnevich tallied 23 points in 24 games during his split season between Almaz and Severstal.

In the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Buchnevich was drafted in the third round, 75th overall, by the New York Rangers. However, he opted to remain in the KHL because he didn't think he was ready to travel to North America. He returned to the KHL for the 2013–14 season, despite his breakout season and had 30 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 48 games. His assist total was his second highest figure in a KHL player under the age of 20 years old had never been paid in one season. In his last KHL season, he was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for financial compensation. He had scored 29 points in 40 games at the time of the trade. Buchnevich's jersey number went from 89 to 88 when he joined the team. He finished the regular season with 16 goals and 37 points as he helped Petersburg qualify for the playoffs. Buchnevich had bursa sac surgery on his left elbow, requiring a two-to-three week recovery after being excluded.

Buchnevich fulfilled his NHL aspirations by completing a three-year, entry-level deal with the Rangers on May 13, 2016. Following the signing, he appeared in their 2016 Development Camp in July and the Traverse City Tournament in September. Buchnevich, the Rangers' strength and conditioning coach, wanted him to learn the words while training in New York. Buchnevich was in the Rangers' last lineup for the 2016-2017 season and played on their first line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. In a 5–3 victory over the New York Islanders on his first career NHL point, Buchnevich added an assist. Buchnevich began to suffer from back spasms and missed the bulk of October. In a 5–2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Friday, Buchnevich scored his first NHL goal in his career. Buchnevich also missed significant time during his rookie season with back spasms, spanning a stretch of nearly two months from November 2016 to January 2017. After being cleared to return, Buchnevich was sent by the Hartford Wolf Pack for a four-game conditioning stint before the Rangers' return to the Rangers on January 13th in a 4–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Buchnevich played five points in three games, including three in a 7–6 loss to the Dallas Stars, during a two-month absence. On the second power-play unit, he averaged 2:38 per game while playing alongside Zibanejad and Rick Nash. On February 28, 2017, he returned to the AHL but only played one game before being recalled to the NHL level. Buchnevich was a healthy scratch until Game 4 when he replaced Tanner Glass as the Rangers qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. Since being in the lineup, he helped the Rangers win both Game 4 and Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Buchnevich was moved around the lineup by coach Alain Vigneault in favour of younger, more experienced players during his rookie season. He debuted in fourth line with Boo Nieves and Michael Grabner during the 2018–19 season. The line combined for four goals and seven points in the first few games of the season. Buchnevich had scored 20 points in his first 25 games before his offensive production slowed down by the end of November. Buchnevich sustained an upper-body injury during a February game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite having a career-high 32 points in 50 games. He made it back to their lineup against the Ottawa Senators on February 16th. Buchnevich was one of the best Rangers forwards in terms of producing shot attempts in the season, with 1.77 points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play and 1.75 primary assists per game.

David Quinn was hired as the team's new head coach prior to his second season with the Rangers. Buchnevich was still shuffled around the ranks, including time with Chytil and Vinni Lettieri on their fourth line under new head coach Manuel Sanchez, who was also spending time with Chytil and Vinni Lettieri. Buchnevich was a healthy scratch for back-to-back games in early October, and Quinn encouraged him to "play more" in order to return to the lineup. He started the season by scoring nine points in 14 games before breaking his thumb against the Columbus Blue Jackets during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Buchnevich was pushed through the Rangers roster and spent seven games as a right-wing on the fourth line after recuperating. Buchnevich was scratched again by Quinn after losing by 1–0 to the Philadelphia Flyers, who said he wanted to play better. Buchnevich had a career-high 21 goals and 38 points in 64 games. The Rangers avoided arbitration and re-signed Buchnevich to a two-year, $6.5 million contract extension on July 26, 2019.

Buchnevich set career records in points and assists in the 2019–20 season before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Buchnevich was on the Rangers' first line and power-play unit together with the newly acquired Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad at the start of the season. They scored 14 points in their first two games together. Buchnevich appeared alongside Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil after Zibanejad was hospitalized in late October. Buchnevich tied for the team's highest score by 11 November with Ryan Strome. Buchnevich revived his original line after Zibanejad recovered from his injury on November 26th. Buchnevich's offensive output slowed in December, and he went nine games without losing a single point. Buchnevich and his colleague, Igor Shesterkin, were involved in a car crash in Brooklyn in February 2019, resulting in him being listed as day-to-day. Because of the crash, he missed two games and about three weeks later, the NHL was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Buchnevich finished his short season five goals away from tying his career-high and tallying 30 assists. Corsi's 50.82 percent ranked first on the team, despite his 51.85 predicted target for percentage ranked third. Buchnevich played in three playoff games, losing no points as the Rangers were barred from playoff contention by the Carolina Hurricanes.

After spending the off-season in Russia, Buchnevich returned to the Rangers for the 2020–21 season. Buchnevich was on the NHL's COVID protocol list on March 15, 2021, but he was fired two days later and returned to the Rangers' lineup two days later. During a 6–3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on April 17, 2021, Buchnevich earned his first NHL hat-trick. During a back-to-back series, Buchnevich and the Rangers engaged in a back-to-back feud with the Washington Capitals. After Tom Wilson was fined for sucker-punching Buchnevich, he was banned one game for reacting by high-sticking Anthony Mantha. Buchnevich and the Rangers were officially barred from 2021 Stanley Cup contention on May 4th. Buchnevich began working with general manager Chris Drury as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights following his completion of the regular season with a career high 48 points in 54 games.

Buchnevich was sold by the Rangers to the St. Louis Blues on July 23, 2021, as a restricted free agent. Buchnevich signed a four-year, $23.2 million contract extension with the Blues just a few days later. Buchnevich helped the Blues get off to a promising 2021-22 season before being suspended for two games for head-butting Arizona Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse during a game. Buchnevich ranked third in points by March 2022, ranked third on the team in points after 48 games. He missed three games during the month after suffering from a concussion, but the Penguins' game against the Penguins on March 17 was postponed. In a 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier this month, Buchnevich scored his 99th and 100th career NHL goals.

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