Oleg Petrov's physical dimensions and attributes appear perfectly suited to the New York Rangers of the year 1940. He has a low centre of gravity upon which he can turn on a dime, make lightning quick shifts in direction and feather passes like an artist. He's also hard to knock off the puck, reads the ice well, and is a great set-up man from the point.
Petrov's problem, however, is that he's a little magician skating in a land of giants that is the NHL of today. As such, he's had difficulty surmounting the challenges of working his magic in a tough, hard-hitting environment.
A member of Russia's World Junior team in 1991, Petrov skated for three season with CSKA Moscow, before joining the Montreal Canadiens organization where, in the early going, he struggled to crack the Habs' lineup with any degree of consistency. He did, however, arrive just in time to play one playoff game en route to the Canadiens' Stanley Cup victory in 1993.
Coming off a Stanley Cup victory in 1993, Petrov entered his first full season with Montreal in 1993-94, and finished with 27 points and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. In the ensuing years, he was bounced between Montreal and Fredericton of the AHL. Having grown tired of the circular train, he opted to take his game to Switzerland where he skated for three seasons with Ambri-Piotta.
After competing at the 1998 World Championships, Petrov decided to give the NHL another go in 1999-00. This time around he experienced a renaissance when teamed with Habs' captain Saku Koivu. Following his second appearance at the World Hockey Championships in 2000, the speedy forward, netted a career-high 17 goals and 30 assists during the 2000-01 campaign. Coming off a career year in points 2000-01, Petrov scored a career high 24 goals the following year, however, after a slow start to the 2002-03 season he was traded to the Nashville Predators.
