Traktor signees. Igor Mirnov

Mirnov was born on September 19, 1984 in Chita, Russia. He was coached by his father Sergey. When Igor was 12, his family moved to Moscow, and this was the time when Igor began his journey into the world of hockey.

Igor debuted in the Russian Superleague during the 2001/2002 season. He even had a chance to tag along Alex Ovechkin – they were linemates at one point. Mirnov was drafted in the second round but never decided to try his fare over the pond.

In 2005, Mirnov became the Superleague champion with Dynamo Moscow. The next year, he scored the tournament-winning penalty shot, and Dynamo won the IIHF European Champions Cup. Throughout the 2006/2007 season he was a fixture in the national team.

Circumstances made Mirnov leave Dynamo during the 2007/2008. However, his unemployment would not last long as Magnitka signed him in exchange for Igor Yeremeyev. With Magnitka, Mirnov became two-time Superleague bronze medalist and once again claimed the IIHF European Champions Cup.

After plying his trade in other teams like Atlant and HC MVD, Mirnov became the best goalscorer for Sibir in the 2010/2011 season. He fondly remembers his tenure in Novosibirsk, particularly for the atmosphere in the local arena.

Up next was the Ufa stage of Mirnov’s career. He became team’s best goalscorer in the 2012/2013 season with 37 points. The Kaigorodov-Pihlstrom-Mirnov line wreaked havoc in the defensive zones of Salavat Yulaev’s opponent.

After failing to capture the Gagarin Cup, Igor went on to join with Ak Bars, Salavat’s rival team. In Kazan team, he became one of the best goalscorer, but fell just short of winning the Cup. After a rather unsuccessful last season, Mirnov became a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the black-and-white.