Andrei Borisovich Skopintsev (born September 28, 1971) is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenceman

Defenceman (ice hockey)

Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

 who currently plays for UHC Dynamo

UHC Dynamo

Unified Hockey Club Dynamo , or simply Dynamo Moscow, is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. They are members of the Kontinental Hockey League. The team was created in 2010 after the merger of HC Dynamo and HC MVD...

 of the KHL

Kontinental Hockey League

The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....

.

Skopintsev began his career with Elektrostal Kristall before moving to Krylja Sovetov, where he spent six seasons. In 1995, he moved to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

's Deutsche Eishockey Liga where he spent one season with the Augsburger Panther

Augsburger Panther

The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion....

. There, he pulled out his best scoring numbers of his career. Despite his reputation as a stay-at-home defenceman, Skopintsev scored 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 46 games.

He moved on to Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

's SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

 in 1996 and played for TPS Turku

TPS (ice hockey)

TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 11-time champion of SM-liiga. They play in Turku, Finland at the HK Arena. In terms of championships, TPS is the most successful team in SM-liiga history.-Team history:...

 for two seasons. During that time, Skopintsev was drafted 153rd overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft

1997 NHL Entry Draft

The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 21 June 1997.-Selections by round:Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.- Round one :-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...

 by the Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...

.

In spite of his strong reputation he built in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Skopintsev never managed to emulate his performances, bouncing between the NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 and the International Hockey League. He played for the Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...

 and then the Atlanta Thrashers

Atlanta Thrashers

The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...

, playing 40 regular season games, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points, collecting 32 penalty minutes. After three mediocre season in the American league, Skopintsev returned in Russia in 2001 and spent five seasons with HC Dynamo Moscow

HC Dynamo Moscow

HC Dynamo Moscow was a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. They were members of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League...

 and in 2006 he signed with Vityaz Chekhov

Vityaz Chekhov

Hockey Club Vityaz is a professional ice hockey team based in Chekhov, Moscow, Russia. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League and are currently coached by former National Hockey League enforcer Andrei Nazarov...

.

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	Place		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995 1995 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 1995 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships was played in Stockholm and Gavle Sweden, from April 23rd to May the 7th, 1995. In the tournament finals, Finland won the gold medal by winning over Sweden 4-1 at the Globen arena in Stockholm. The Finnish goals were scored by Timo Jutila and Ville...	Russia	WC Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...	5th		6	1	1	2	0
1996 1996 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships - Group 2 :- Quarterfinals :- Consolation Round 11-12 Place :Austria was relegated to Group B.- Semifinals :- Match for third place :- Final :-World Championship Group B :...	Russia	WC	4th		8	2	1	3	2
1997 1997 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships - Group 2 :- Second Round 1-6 Place :Teams that had played each other in the first round carried those results forward. First and second place played off for gold, third and fourth for bronze.- Consolation Round 7-12 Place :...	Russia	WC	4th		9	1	0	1	4
2004 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2004 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held April 24-May 9, 2004, in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. Games for this Ice Hockey World Championships tournament were played at Sazka Arena and ČEZ Aréna...	Russia	WC	10th		4	1	0	1	2
Senior Int'l Totals					27	5	2	7	8

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