Andrei Nazarov

Andrei Viktorovich Nazarov (Андрей Викторович Назаров; born May 22, 1974) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and head coach of HC Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has formerly managed the Kazakh team Barys Astana (of the Kontinental Hockey League's Chernyshev Division), the Ukrainian national team and been joint coach of the Russian National Hockey Team. He has been nicknamed "the Russian Bear", and in his coaching career, "the Russian Keenan".

Career
Nazarov was drafted 10th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild. In his NHL career, Nazarov played 571 regular season games, scoring 53 goals and 71 assists for 124 points. He also collected 1,409 penalty minutes.

Nazarov served only one season (2013-2014) as the coach of HC Donbass before moving to Barys.

In 2021, without any evidence, Nazarov accused NHL star Artemi Panarin of assaulting a woman. Nazarov, a known supporter of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly and publicly criticized Panarin for his outspoken beliefs regarding Putin’s regime.