The NHL Alumni Affiliation introduced on Wednesday that former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Sergei Berezin died at 52.
The Russian native was a tenth spherical decide of the 1994 NHL Draft to Toronto, making his debut within the league two years later.
He made an instantaneous impression, scoring 25 objectives and being named to the NHL All-Rookie Crew.
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Sergei Berezin of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates towards the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 9, 1999, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. (Graig Abel/Getty Photos)
His finest season was the 1998-99 marketing campaign, when he lit the lamp 37 occasions whereas handing out 22 assists and totaling 59 factors, all of which had been profession bests.
In that season, he scored six objectives and had six assists within the playoffs, serving to the Leafs get to the Japanese Convention Finals, the place they misplaced to the Buffalo Sabres, who finally fell to the Dallas Stars within the Stanley Cup Finals.
Maybe his most memorable second got here in that playoff run when he scored the series-winning aim with nearly a minute left within the first spherical towards the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sergei Berezin has died at 52. (Al Bello/Allsport)
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In 2001, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes after which to the Montreal Canadiens. The next season, he cut up time with the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals.
Berezin scored 126 objectives and had 94 assists in his profession.
He received a silver medal for the Soviet Union within the 1991 World Juniors.
Submit-retirement, he “loved teaching minor hockey, taking part in tennis, and most significantly, spending time along with his household,” the league’s alumni affiliation wrote.
Sergei Berezin scored 126 objectives and had 94 assists in his profession. (Graig Abel/Getty Photos)
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“We’re extremely saddened to study of the sudden passing of Sergei Berezin,” the Leafs mentioned in an announcement on X. “Our ideas are along with his household and buddies throughout this troublesome time.”
No reason behind demise has been revealed.
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