2022 Cover Athlete of the Year

13-Year-Old Forward From Russia Named 2022 Cover Athlete of the Year

World Hockey Hub held its annual search for youth hockey’s next Cover Athlete, on a quest to find a young player capable of being the face of the sport for the next 12 months. After receiving hundreds of submissions from around the world, WHH is happy to announce Vladimir Provorov as the 2022 Cover Athlete of the Year.

Provorov is a 2008-born forward from Yaroslavl, Russia, who currently plays for RUSS Moscow. He has competed in several international competitions during his young career, while also being a standout in his home country.

In 2018, he traveled abroad to Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame Future Legends Invitational. Provorov was a captain on the Golden Ring Selects squad, and led his team to a championship victory over the Czech Knights.

More recently, his winter club RUSS Moscow competed at the Sweden Hockey Trophy in Moskroken, Sweden. Provorov dominated the tournament, leading all participants with 25 points in just seven games. Again, his team would win the championship with a 4-1 victory and again, Provorov was a major contributor with a goal and an assist.

RUSS maintains a 19-14-1 record against fellow Russian youth hockey teams this season. Complete stats were not available on the team site, but partial numbers indicate Provorov has scored five goals and 14 points in just a fraction of the schedule. The 5-foot-5 forward — a captain on the squad — also represented Team Moscow in Russia’s U14 Districts Cup, where he was also a captain.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Vladimir is the younger brother of 2015 first-round NHL Draft pick and current Philadelphia Flyers defenseman, Ivan Provorov. While Ivan has built an impressive hockey résumé at just 24 years old, his younger brother is certainly trailblazing a path of his own. Between Vladimir’s accomplishments in international youth hockey tournaments and being named World Hockey Hub’s Cover Athlete, the younger Provorov is well on his way to a decorated career of his own.

Vladimir will join the likes of previous Cover Athlete honoree, C.J. Kier, as well as other recent standout youth hockey players such as Shane Wright, Aron Kiviharju, Rutger McGroarty and fellow countryman Ivan Miroshnichenko. He will be featured on WorldHockeyHub.com and across all of its social channels, and the team at WHH will do check-ins with the young Provorov throughout the calendar year.

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