Former Penguins first-rounder passes away at 42-years-old

We have some sad news to report on in the hockey world on Monday evening as according to Belarusian media, former Pittsburgh Penguins first-round pick Konstantin Koltsov has passed away at the age of 42.

Note: the following was translated from Russian.




The Minsk, Belarus native was selected 18th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and went on to appear in 144 games with them between the 2002-03 and 2005-06 seasons where he had 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists), 50 penalty minutes and was a minus-42.

After the 2005-06 season, Koltsov would return overseas and spend the remainder of his professional career in the Russian Super League/KHL before retiring following the 2015-16 campaign.

Koltsov would turn his attention to coaching once his playing career came to a close and on Monday morning, just hours before his passing was announced, it was revealed that he was not going to be brought back as an assistant coach with Salavat.

The thoughts of everyone here at BladeOfSteel is with Koltsov's family and friends at this extremely difficult time.

Unfortunately, Belarus Hockey has verified his passing.https://t.co/IrmZ8enD70— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) March 18, 2024