{{Short description|Russian ice hockey player (born 1999)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox ice hockey biography | name = Alexey Toropchenko | image = {{CSS image crop |Image=Yanni Gourde and Alexei Toropchenko.jpg|bSize=500 |cWidth=230|cHeight=300 |oTop=0 |oLeft=270 |Location=center}} | image_size = | caption = Toropchenko with the St. Louis Blues in 2022 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|6|25|df=y}} | birth_place = Moscow, Russia | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 6 | weight_lb = 222 | position = Forward | shoots = Left | league = NHL | team = St. Louis Blues | prospect_league = AHL | prospect_team = <!--Springfield Thunderbirds--> | former_teams = Kunlun Red Star | draft = 113th overall | draft_year = 2017 | draft_team = St. Louis Blues | career_start = 2017 | career_end = }} '''Alexey Leonidovich Toropchenko''' ({{langx|ru|Алексей Леонидович Торопченко}}; born 25 June 1999) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the <!--Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the--> St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 113th overall by the Blues in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft.
== Playing career ==
=== Junior === Toropchenko was an alternate captain for the HK MVD Balashikha in the Junior Hockey League (MHL) before being drafted fourth overall by the Guelph Storm for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 2017 CHL Import Draft.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Alexei Toropchenko at eliteprospects.com|url=https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/312825/alexei-toropchenko|access-date=2021-11-12|website=www.eliteprospects.com|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Storm select Alexei Toropchenko fourth overall – Guelph Storm|url=https://guelphstorm.com/article/storm-select-alexei-toropchenko-fourth-overall|access-date=2021-11-12|language=en-CA}}</ref>
In his OHL debut on 22 September 2017, Toropchenko made his first OHL goal and assist in a 4–3 shootout loss against the Sarnia Sting.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Game log: Sarnia Sting – Guelph Storm, 22 September 2017|url=https://ontariohockeyleague.com/gamecentre/22384/boxscore|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926151038/http://ontariohockeyleague.com/gamecentre/22384/boxscore|archive-date=26 September 2017|access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> Overall, he played 66 games with 17 goals and 22 assists in the 2017–18 OHL season. In his sophomore season, he played 62 games with 17 goals and 26 assists, helping the Storm win their fourth J. Ross Robertson Cup in the 2019 OHL playoffs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Toropchenko, Guelph win OHL Championship|url=https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/toropchenko-guelph-win-ohl-championship/c-307393542|access-date=2021-11-12|website=NHL.com|date=14 May 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Professional ===
After being drafted 113th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft, the Blues signed Toropchenko to a three-year entry-level contract on 13 December 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guelph Storm's Alexei Toropchenko signs with St. Louis Blues - Guelph {{!}} Globalnews.ca|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4762657/guelph-storm-toropchenko-blues/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Toropchenko agrees to entry-level contract with Blues|url=https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/toropchenko-agrees-to-entry-level-contract-with-blues/c-302895402|access-date=2021-11-12|website=NHL.com|date=13 December 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>
On 13 April 2018, Toropchenko made his professional debut with the Blues' then AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, in a 4–2 loss against the Texas Stars.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Game summary: Texas Stars – San Antonio Rampage, 13 April 2018|url=https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1018213|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112011702/https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1018213 |archive-date=2021-11-12 }}</ref> On 1 November 2019, he made his first professional goal in a 4–2 win against the Stars, ultimately playing 59 games with five goals and four assists in the 2019–20 AHL season.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Game summary: Texas Stars – San Antonio Rampage, 1 November 2019|url=https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1019764|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112011704/https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1019764 |archive-date=2021-11-12 }}</ref>
On 29 September 2020, the Blues assigned Toropchenko to the HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2020–21 KHL season, ultimately playing 45 games with seven goals and four assists. He made his KHL debut on 4 October 2020 in a 6–3 loss against Dynamo Moscow.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Game summary: Dynamo Msk - Kunlun RS : Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)|url=https://en.khl.ru/game/1045/872461/protocol/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=en.khl.ru}}</ref> He scored his first KHL goal on 19 October 2020 in a 3–1 win against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Game summary: Kunlun RS - Torpedo : Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)|url=https://en.khl.ru/game/1045/872522/protocol/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=en.khl.ru}}</ref> On 25 October 2020 in a game against CSKA Moscow, he scored the fastest goal in Kunlun Red Star history, scoring 34 seconds into the first period.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Торопченко о самом быстром голе в истории "Куньлуня": "Приятно такое узнать. Буду стараться бить другие рекорды. Как клуба, так и КХЛ"|url=https://www.sports.ru/hockey/1090395259-toropchenko-o-samom-bystrom-gole-v-istorii-kunlunya-priyatno-takoe-uzn.html|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Sports.ru|date=27 October 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Game summary: Kunlun RS - CSKA : Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)|url=https://en.khl.ru/game/1045/872547/protocol/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=en.khl.ru}}</ref>
He returned to the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, for the 2021–22 season.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-12|title=Meet the 2021-22 Springfield Thunderbirds: Photos, bios for players, coaches|url=https://www.masslive.com/sports/2021/10/meet-the-2021-22-springfield-thunderbirds-photos-bios-for-players-coaches.html|access-date=2021-11-12|website=masslive|language=en}}</ref>
On 14 December 2021, after the Blues suffered a COVID-19 outbreak, Toropchenko made his NHL debut in a 4–1 win against the Dallas Stars.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gordon|first=Jeff|date=14 December 2021|title=Jeff Gordon: Blues build team strength while battling through injuries, illness|url=https://www.stltoday.com/sports/subscriber/gordo-blues-build-team-strength-while-battling-through-injuries-illness/article_aa26b806-c934-5472-8e0d-d8ec72730eec.html|url-status=live|access-date=14 December 2021|website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215020428/https://www.stltoday.com/sports/subscriber/gordo-blues-build-team-strength-while-battling-through-injuries-illness/article_aa26b806-c934-5472-8e0d-d8ec72730eec.html |archive-date=2021-12-15 }}</ref>
== International play ==
Toropchenko represented Russia men's national under-18 ice hockey team at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships, winning a bronze medal in both tournaments.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=The under 18 Russian national team roster for the Ivan Hlinka memorial tournament|url=https://en.fhr.ru/news/item/10369/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=en.fhr.ru}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
His father, Leonid, was the 260th overall pick for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 NHL entry draft and played 14 seasons of professional hockey in Russia and North America. He died of a heart attack in May 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=From the Stands: Hard to not cheer for the Storm's Toropchenko – Guelph Storm|url=https://guelphstorm.com/article/from-the-stands-hard-to-not-cheer-for-the-storms-toropchenko|access-date=2021-11-12|language=en-CA}}</ref>
== Career statistics ==
=== Regular season and playoffs === {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM |- |2015–16 |HK MVD Balashikha |MHL |21 |1 |2 |3 |2 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2016–17 |HK MVD Balashikha |MHL |45 |19 |12 |31 |50 |— |— |— |— |— |- |2016–17 |Dynamo Balashikha |VHL |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2017–18 |Guelph Storm |OHL |66 |17 |22 |29 |31 |6 |1 |1 |2 |4 |- |2018–19 |Guelph Storm |OHL |62 |17 |26 |43 |33 |24 |13 |6 |19 |21 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2019–20 |San Antonio Rampage |AHL |59 |5 |4 |9 |21 |— |— |— |— |— |- |2020–21 |Kunlun Red Star |KHL |45 |7 |4 |11 |39 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2021–22 |Springfield Thunderbirds |AHL |42 |10 |10 |20 |24 |— |— |— |— |— |- |2021–22 |St. Louis Blues |NHL |28 |2 |0 |2 |15 |12 |0 |2 |2 |2 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2022–23 |St. Louis Blues |NHL |69 |10 |9 |19 |12 |— |— |— |— |— |- |2022–23 |Springfield Thunderbirds |AHL |5 |1 |2 |3 |4 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2023–24 |St. Louis Blues |NHL |82 |14 |7 |21 |30 |— |— |— |— |— |- |2024–25 |St. Louis Blues |NHL |80 |4 |14 |18 |25 |7 |2 |2 |4 |10 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2025–26 |St. Louis Blues |NHL |65 |4 |7 |11 |28 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" |NHL totals !324 !34 !37 !71 !110 !19 !2 !4 !6 !12 |}
=== International === {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" id="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" !Year !Team !Event !Result ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | !GP !G !A !Pts !PIM |- |2016 |Russia |IH18 |{{bronze3}} |5 |0 |0 |0 |0 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2017 |Russia |U18 |{{bronze3}} |7 |0 |2 |2 |2 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="4" |Junior totals !12 !0 !2 !2 !2 |}
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Ice hockey stats}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toropchenko, Alexey}} Category:1999 births Category:Living people Category:Guelph Storm players Category:HC Kunlun Red Star players Category:21st-century Russian sportsmen Category:Ice hockey people from Moscow Category:Russian ice hockey right wingers Category:San Antonio Rampage players Category:Springfield Thunderbirds players Category:St. Louis Blues draft picks Category:St. Louis Blues players