Alex Semin’s hockey career will continue for another season. Saturday, the former Capitals forward signed a one-year contract extension with HC Vityaz, which plays near Moscow.
Last season, the 35-year-old winger had 41 points in 54 games (19 goals and 22 assists). He served as one of the team’s alternate captains.
Александр Сёмин подписал новый контракт с "Витязем".
В сезоне 2018/2019 35-летний нападающий забил 19 голов (делит 1-е место в команде) и набрал 41 очко (2-й) в 54 играх. pic.twitter.com/XMCmeHwMqj
— КХЛ (@khl) May 4, 2019
“I was planning to stay at Vityaz, and the new agreement was only a matter of time,” Semin said in a release from the Vityaz site. “We had a difficult season, and mixed feelings remained, especially after our unsuccessful performance in the playoffs. The task of the team is not just to perform well in the regular season, but to impose a fight in the playoffs. I hope that we will succeed with the new team and the new coaching staff.”
In an interview in March, head coach Valery Belov called Semin one of the leaders of the team.
“Miracles do not happen, for him there was a little difficult beginning,” Belov said. “Yes, he played in the VHL (KHL minor leagues) and even said that, in comparison with the KHL, there was a slight difference for him. But, in fact, at first Semin was not easy. He had to get into condition, after all, in the KHL, it’s a different speed and power. But he showed character and became a leader, on which we counted. He had a good season.”
Since leaving the NHL during the 2015–16 season, Semin has spent the last four years in Russia playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, HC Vityaz, and the VHL’s Sokol Krasnoyarsk.
In 2017, Semin also was accepted into a graduate program at Siberian Federal University in an attempt to get his master’s.
Headline photo: Chris Gordon
