1. Early Life and Background
Ivan Nikolaevich Nepryaev was born on 4 February 1982 in Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. He began his ice hockey journey in his hometown, joining the youth team of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 1998. His dedication and skill at the youth level paved the way for his professional career, as he was promoted to the senior team in 2000.
2. Club Career
Nepryaev's club career began in Russia, where he played for several top-tier teams in the Russian Superleague (RSL) and later the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
2.1. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Nepryaev started his professional career with his hometown club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, joining the senior team in 2000. In the same year, he was selected by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the fifth round, 163rd overall, of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
During his tenure with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Nepryaev contributed to significant team successes. He helped the team win the Russian Superleague championship in both 2002 and 2003. In the 2002-03 IIHF Continental Cup, he played a role in Lokomotiv reaching the final, where they finished as runners-up. The team also secured a third-place finish in the 2005 Russian Superleague, behind HC Dynamo Moscow and HC Lada Togliatti, and was the runner-up in the 2008 Russian Superleague. Nepryaev played a total of eight seasons for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl before moving to HC Dynamo Moscow.
2.2. Other Clubs
Following his successful period with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Nepryaev continued his career with several other prominent clubs in Russia.
In 2008, he transferred to HC Dynamo Moscow, where he played for two seasons, appearing in 96 games. In 2010, Nepryaev moved to Atlant Mytishchi. During his season with Atlant, he played in 54 games, scoring 5 goals and providing 10 assists. He was instrumental in helping Atlant reach the KHL playoff finals that season.
In June 2011, Nepryaev joined SKA St. Petersburg. In his first season with the team, he played 53 games, recording 11 goals and 9 assists. In the subsequent 2012-13 season, he appeared in 43 games, scoring 3 goals and adding 3 assists. In 2013, he did not extend his contract with SKA St. Petersburg and subsequently moved to HC CSKA Moscow. Shortly after joining CSKA, he transferred to Avangard Omsk, where he played until his retirement in 2015.
3. International Career
Ivan Nepryaev represented Russia in various international ice hockey tournaments at both junior and senior levels.
3.1. Junior National Team
Nepryaev made his debut for the Russian U-20 national team at the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, which was held in Russia. He played in 7 games, scoring 1 goal and providing 5 assists. The following year, in 2002, he participated in the 2002 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic. In that tournament, he played 7 games, recording 2 assists, and contributed to Russia's gold medal victory.
3.2. Senior National Team
Nepryaev was first called up to the senior national team in 2003, participating in the 2003 Euro Hockey Tour, where he played 6 games and registered 1 assist. In 2005, he was part of the Russian squad at the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria, playing in 6 games and scoring 1 goal, as Russia secured a bronze medal.
He also represented Russia at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, appearing in 2 games. In the same year, he participated in the 2006 Euro Hockey Tour, playing 6 games. In 2007, he competed in the 2007 IIHF World Championship, hosted in Russia, where he played 9 games and recorded 3 assists, contributing to another bronze medal for Russia. Nepryaev also participated in the Euro Hockey Tour in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012. Throughout his senior national team career, Nepryaev played a total of 63 games, scoring 7 goals and providing 14 assists.
4. Achievements and Awards
Ivan Nepryaev achieved several significant honors throughout his ice hockey career.
- Russian Superleague Championship: 2002, 2003 (with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
- IIHF Continental Cup Runner-up: 2002-03 (with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
- Russian Superleague 3rd Place: 2005 (with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
- Russian Superleague Runner-up: 2008 (with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
- World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Gold Medal: 2002 (with Russia U-20)
- Ice Hockey World Championships Bronze Medal: 2005, 2007 (with Russia)
- Kontinental Hockey League Playoff Finalist: 2010-11 (with Atlant Mytishchi)
5. Career Statistics
5.1. Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998-99 | Torpedo-2 Yaroslavl | RUS.2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1999-2000 | Torpedo-2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 43 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 38 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2000-01 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2000-01 | Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2001-02 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 37 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 30 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2001-02 | Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2002-03 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 26 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002-03 | Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 42 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2003-04 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 29 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2003-04 | Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2004-05 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 56 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 73 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | ||
| 2005-06 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 43 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 70 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2006-07 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 52 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 66 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2007-08 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 56 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 84 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 41 | ||
| 2008-09 | Dynamo Moscow | KHL | 52 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 48 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 2009-10 | Dynamo Moscow | KHL | 44 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2010-11 | Atlant Mytishchi | KHL | 54 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 50 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 49 | ||
| 2011-12 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 55 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 58 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 2012-13 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 43 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 2013-14 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 39 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2014-15 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| RSL totals | 311 | 53 | 72 | 125 | 365 | 51 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 73 | ||||
| KHL totals | 322 | 41 | 50 | 91 | 294 | 73 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 90 | ||||
5.2. International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Russia | WJC | 7th | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | |
| 2002 | Russia | WJC | - | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |
| 2005 | Russia | WC | - | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | Russia | OG | 4th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Russia | WC | - | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | |
| Junior totals | 14 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 26 | ||||
| Senior totals | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||||