Kirill Olegovich Starkov (Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

:Кирилл Олегович Старков, born March 31, 1987 in Sverdlovsk

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...

, USSR

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

), is a professional Danish 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...

 player. He is playing for Rögle BK

Rögle BK

Rögle Bandyklubb is a Swedish professional ice hockey club. They currently play in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second highest league in Sweden. The team has previously played four seasons in Elitserien between 1992–93 and 1995–96 and between 2008–09 and 2009–10....

 in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan. He has previously played for CSKA Moscow

HC CSKA Moscow

HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...

, Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch

The Syracuse Crunch are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter...

, Youngstown Steelhounds

Youngstown Steelhounds

The Youngstown SteelHounds were a professional ice hockey team that participated in the CHL from the 2005-2006 season through the 2007-2008 season. The team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The team played its home games at the Covelli...

, Red Deer Rebels

Red Deer Rebels

The Red Deer Rebels are a Western Hockey League junior ice hockey team based in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. They play their home games at the ENMAX Centrium....

, Frölunda HC

Frölunda HC

Frölunda Hockey Club, also known as the Frölunda Indians, are a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Elitserien, where they have played the majority of the seasons during its existence. The last time they played in the...

, Timrå IK

Timrå IK

Timrå IK is a Swedish ice hockey team from Timrå, who currently plays in the top division, Elitserien. Seasons in the top division include 1956–57 to 1975–76, 1977–78, 1981–82, and 2000–01 until present.-History:...

 and Esbjerg IK.

Playing career

Starkov's father Oleg was also a professional hockey player who played for CSKA Moscow and Sverdlovsk Avtomobilist

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg

Avtomobilist is a professional ice hockey team based in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. They replaced Khimik Voskresensk in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2009.-External links:...

 before moving to Denmark to play for Esbjerg IK. As a result, Kirill was born in Russia to Russian parents but spent most of his childhood in Esbjerg

Esbjerg

Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...

. After turning eighteen, Kirill applied for and received Danish citizenship, making him eligible to play for the Danish national ice hockey team. He first represented Denmark at the 2007 IIHF World Championship

2007 IIHF World Championship

The 2007 IIHF World Championship were held between April 27 and May 13, 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation...

 in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, 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...

.

Kirill Starkov was named Rookie of the Year of the Danish Elite League

Oddset Ligaen

AL-Bank Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The teams are semi-professional with only the best Danish and foreign players being fully professional.- History :The name is a result of a sponsorship deal with a Danish bank Arbejdernes Landsbank...

 for the 2002-03 season. While playing for various junior teams for Frölunda HC, he won the Swedish Junior 18 national championships in 2004 and 2005 as well as the Swedish Junior 20 national title in 2005.

External links