Sergei Berezin #94

From Hockey Night in Canada
 Game 4 vs pens

Height: 5-10
    Weight: 200 lbs
    Position: Right Wing
    Born: November 5, 1971, Voskresensk, USSR
    Drafted: Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 8th round (256nd overall) of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.
Last Amateur Club: (1996) Played for the Cologne Sharks in Germany's top league, he led
the league in goals with 49 and placed fourth in scoring with 90 points.  He added 13
 goals and nine assists in 14 playoff games.
Shoots: Right

Won silver medal at the 1991 World Junior Championships.

His seven goals led all scorers at the 1995 World Championships.
Tied with teammate Alexei Yashin as Russia's top scorer at the 1996 World Championships.

In 1996 Sergei played 2 games with team Russia at the World Cup where he scored a goal.  He was the only player on Russia without previous NHL experience.

 He also played in his first N.H.L. game
in 96-97 vs Anaheim.  Sergei scored his first N.H.L. goal on Oct. 12 at home vs the
Lightning.  Sergei the fastest skater on with the Leafs placed seventh in voting for N.H.L. rookie of the year and he led all league
rookies with 25 goals but finished second among rookies in shots, powerplay goals
and points.
 

Personal:
Married, wife's name is Natalia...Son Justin is six years of age...Off-season
 residence is Boca Raton, Florida...Coached in Germany by former NHL bench boss
  Bob Murdoch...Born in a factory city of 100,000 approximately 100 kilometres south
  of Moscow...Began playing hockey at age five...Most memorable hockey moment
 was winning German League Finals in 1994.
 

Favorites:
PRO SPORTS TEAM: Toronto Maple Leafs MUSICIAN: Tchiakovsky.
 

   1997-98 Season
   Second NHL season. Tied for second on team in plus-minus. Third on team in shots.

   The Finesse Game
   Berezin was in and out of the Toronto lineup and did not handle the benchings well. Every time he got back in
   he would hang on to the puck as if he were afraid no one would ever give it back. Bluntly put, he can be a
   puck hog. Berezin is strictly an offensive player, and a pure goal scorer. He knows where the net is, and while
   he is less reluctant to shoot than a lot of Russian players, sometimes he has to see the whites of the goalie's
   eyes before he will let it go. He shoots one-timers and he knows he's a sniper. He's very creative. Berezin is a
   deceptive, quick skater with good balance. He is aware of his defensive shortcomings and showed
   improvement in that facet of his game near the end of the season. He realizes what it means to his team to
   pick up his wing and watch his point man.

   The Physical Game
   Berezin is small but stocky, and he has to be willing to pay more of a price instead of hanging around the
   perimeter. He must work harder to get into the scoring areas and to stay there. He isn't intimidated by
   physical play, but he also doesn't initiate.
 

Sergei's Playoff Stats