Anton Anatoliiovych Babchuk (, ; born May 6, 1984) is a Ukrainian-Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Babchuk was a first round selection, 21st overall, of the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2002 NHL entry draft, and played for the Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Calgary Flames in his NHL career. He also played with Ak Bars Kazan, SKA Saint Petersburg, Avangard Omsk, HC Donbass, Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (formerly the Russian Super League).
Playing career Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, Babchuk began playing hockey at the age of three. He began his training with the Sokil Kyiv junior hockey affiliate, a team which included fellow future Ukrainian NHLer Nikolai Zherdev. He played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a youth team from Kyiv. While participating in the tournament, Babchuk's team found itself competing against a team from Elektrostal, Russia. The rival team's coach, Ravil Iskakhov, took note of both Babchuk and Zherdev, and invited the pair to further their development with the Elemash Elektrostal hockey club of the Russian Major League, to which they accepted together.
He was drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL) 21st overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2002 Entry Draft. Babchuk made his North American debut with the Blackhawks affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL), in the 2003–04 season. Babchuk also made his NHL debut by season's end, appearing in five games with the Blackhawks.
In the 2005–06 season, Babchuk was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Danny Richmond on January 20, 2006. Babchuk scored his first goal for the Hurricanes on January 28, 2006. He was also named second star of the game. Babchuk played in 22 games with the Hurricanes for the season and was a part of the extended squad of the Hurricanes as they became the Stanley Cup Champions. After winning the Cup, Babchuk took it with him to Kyiv, Ukraine, and celebrated with teammate Oleg Tverdovsky. "I wish hockey was as popular as soccer in Ukraine," he told those in attendance. "If it was, I gladly would have played for a team in Kyiv."
In the 2006–07 season, on February 6, 2007, the Hurricanes activated František Kaberle from injury, forcing them to send Babchuk down to the Albany River Rats. Babchuk was the only possible defenceman they could send down because he was the only one on the Hurricanes' roster that was not subject to waiver wire claims. The next day, Carolina announced that they had suspended Babchuk because of his refusal to report to Albany. In 2007–08, Babchuk played in the Russian Superleague (RSL) for Avangard Omsk.On July 1, 2008, Babchuk re-signed with the Hurricanes to a one-year contract for the 2008–09 season. He led all Hurricanes' defensemen with 16 goals in 72 games. Following a contract dispute that lead to him requesting a trade out of Carolina, Babchuk turned back to Russia on 19 September 2009, re-signing with Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club Avangard Omsk. During the very first training day in Omsk, he broke the ice rink glass with a shot at Arena Omsk. Babchuk was chosen to play on Team Yashin at the 2nd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game.
On July 1, 2010, Babchuk re-signed with the Carolina Hurricanes to a one-year contract worth $1.4 million.
On November 17, 2010, Babchuk was traded along with Tom Kostopoulos to the Calgary Flames for Ian White and Brett Sutter.
On July 4, 2011, Babchuk re-signed with the Flames for two years, at $2.5 million per season. Following the 2012 NHL lockout, he signed in his native Ukraine with HC Donbass along with fellow Ukrainian NHL players Ruslan Fedotenko and Alexei Ponikarovsky.
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1999–2000Kristall–2 ElektrostalRUS.3 18 0 1 1 18 — — — — —2000–01Elemash ElektrostalRUS.2700012—————2001–02Elemash ElektrostalRUS.240781590—————2001–02Elemash–2 ElektrostalRUS.3 3 0 0 0 8 — — — — —2002–03Ak Bars KazanRSL100004—————2002–03SKA Saint PetersburgRSL2030310—————2002–03SKA–2 St. Petersburg RUS.3 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — —2003–04Norfolk Admirals AHL738142289802262003–04Chicago BlackhawksNHL50222—————2004–05Norfolk Admirals AHL668162488200022005–06Norfolk AdmiralsAHL24571222—————2005–06Chicago BlackhawksNHL1723516—————2005–06Carolina Hurricanes NHL223256—————2005–06Lowell Lock MonstersAHL51340—————2006–07Carolina Hurricanes NHL522121430—————2006–07Albany River RatsAHL91672—————2007–08Avangard OmskRSL579152430411262008–09Carolina HurricanesNHL72161935161301110 2009–10 Avangard Omsk KHL 49 9 13 22 36 2 0 0 0 0 2010–11Carolina HurricanesNHL1735812————— 2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 65 8 19 27 20————— 2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 32 2 8 10 6—————2012–13HC DonbassKHL3112322—————2012–13Calgary FlamesNHL70110—————2013–14Salavat Yulaev UfaKHL54391224300002014–15Torpedo Nizhny NovgorodKHL1203312—————2014–15Atlant Moscow OblastKHL20641012————— AHL totals 177 23 46 69 201 10 0 2 2 8 NHL totals2893671107108130 1110 KHL totals16619315010650 000
International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2001 Russia U17 7th 5 0 2 2 10 2001 Russia WJC18 6 0 0 0 0 2002 Russia WJC18 8 3 3 6 10 Junior totals 19 3 5 8 20
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