Ilya Proskuryakov is the Russian goalkeeper, who played his entire career in the KHL teams. This hockey player, thanks to his diligence, has become one of the most reliable goalkeepers of the championship. Many teams would like to see Ilya in their squad.
The beginning of a sports career
Ilya Proskuryakov was born on February 21, 1987 in the city of Surgut. In childhood, he was a sports child. He went to many different sports sections. At eight years old, he was taken to hockey at a local children's sports school. At that time, when Ilya Proskuryakov came to the hockey section, there was no professional team in the city. In Surgut, hockey is not very developed, so this team has few of its pupils. The team from Surgut was much inferior to other hockey schools. When at the age of 14 Ilya was invited to play in Magnitogorsk, his parents understood that he needed to go to gain hockey skills. It was difficult for them to let their child go, but they understood that after Magnitogorsk school he could become a professional hockey player.
Life in Magnitogorsk and debut for the main team
At that time, even in Russia, clubs did not have large sports facilities in which children lived. At first, Ilya Proskuryakov lived in the family of one of the players on the team, and after him, parents began to rent an apartment with Nikita Gorbunov. After some time, the guys moved to the hostel. At school, Ilya studied only for good grades. Only after he began to be connected to the second team, he abandoned his studies.
Debut for the main team
Ilya began to connect rather early to the second team of “Metallurg”. And already in the 2004-2005 season he made his debut for Metallurg in the Russian Super League. But then this goalkeeper only connected to the main team. He finally managed to gain a foothold in the club from Magnitogorsk only in the 2008-2009 season. The season for Proskuryakov and the team as a whole was very successful. The team played in the Champions League final and became the bronze medalist of the KHL. Ilya's merits were noticed by hockey experts. In his first full season, Proskuryakov received a prize named after Alexei Cherepanov, which is given to the best newcomer to the KHL. Proskuryakov was the first goalkeeper in the KHL who scored a goal. It happened in Kazan on January 26, 2009. This goalkeeper scored the second goal against “AK Bars”, thereby forever entering his name into history.
Career continuation
The beginning of the 2010-2011 season Ilya Proskuryakov (hockey player) started in the Metallurg team, but after the first round he was exchanged to CSKA. The next season, this goalkeeper signed a contract with the Tractor club. At the end of the season, he returned to CSKA. Ilya played two years in this Moscow team. At the beginning of the 2014-2015 season, Proskuryakov was exchanged for the Admiral team. But in a team from the city of Vladivostok, his game did not work out. A year later, he was again exchanged to the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo. It is in this club that Ilya performs at the moment.
Athlete's personal life
Ilya Proskuryakov is married and has a child. He met his wife back in school. Then this goalkeeper was still renting an apartment with teammate Nikita Gorbunov. Ilya's wife is Gorbunov’s sister. She often came with her parents to visit her brother in Magnitogorsk. It was there that the future spouses met. Then Gorbunov left, and Ilya and Zhenya stopped seeing each other. Later, fate brought them to Chelyabinsk, where Ilya played for the local Tractor club. After the meeting, they began to communicate and eventually realized that they wanted to be together. By education, Zhenya is a lawyer and employee in the field of tourism. Proskuryakov spends all his free time from games with his family. But his family is well aware that Ilya is a professional athlete and often travels.
Helmet Proskuryakova
Goalkeepers, unlike players, often paint their helmets. In the season when Ilya played for CSKA, this goalkeeper entered the game in a specially painted headdress. The helmet of Ilya Proskuryakov after the game was the main topic of discussion, the drawings on it were associated not only with hockey, but also with other sports.
Ilya Proskuryakov quite early began to play in the most prestigious Russian league. Already in the first season, he announced himself throughout Europe. Ilya Proskuryakov, whose photo often appears in sports magazines, does not cease to please his fans with a reliable game.