The Norfolk Admirals have made their second signing of the offseason and welcome Pavel Padakin for the 2024-25 season. Padakin will be a big veteran presence to the Admirals as he is heading into his 10th season of professional hockey.
“I’m very proud to sign a contract with Norfolk Admirals,” Padakin said. “I. want to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to come play for the team and find a new home. My family and I lost our house and peaceful life that we had in Ukraine due to Russian invasion. I will give my best on and off the ice to make all Admirals fans happy and proud of their team.”
Padakin via the Norfolk Admirals press release
Padakin’s road to playing pro hockey began with the Ukraine U18 National Team, which he played for in 2009-10 and 2010-11 at the U18 World Junior Championships D2B tournament. In nine games between the two tournaments, Padakin tallied seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points and was stellar with a +13 goal differential rating. Padakin helped Ukraine win silver at the 2009-10 tournament and gold at the 2010-11 tournament. He would land in the North American Hockey League for the 2011-12 season with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. He played 51 games for the Ice Dogs, notching 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points, and went a +12 goal differential. He would represent his country once again, this time at the U20 World Junior Championships D2A tournament. The Kyiv, Ukraine native tallied six points (3g-3a) in the tournament and continued to be a plus goal differential player having a +3 for the tournament and helped the team to a gold medal.
In the 2012 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, Padakin was selected 50th overall by the Calgary Hitmen in the Western Hockey League. Padakin would play for the Hitmen for two full seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14, playing 136 regular season games, collecting 50 goals and 42 assists for 92 points and a +47 player. During the postseason, Padakin played 18 games, scoring one goal and collecting five assists. He would start the 2014-15 season with the Hitmen, playing in one game and notching an assist, but would be traded to the Regina Pats for the remainder of the season. Padakin continued his strong play in Regina, getting 54 points (26g-28a) in 69 games with Regina. He tallied another seven points (3g-4a) in nine playoff games.
In 2015-16, Padakin got his shot at the pro level with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. He would split the 2015-16 season between the Phantoms and the Reading Royals. He played 41 games with the Phantoms, notching two goals and seven assists, and played 26 with the Royals, collecting eight goals and nine assists. That would be his only season playing pro hockey in North America as he played in the Kontinental Hockey League for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and HK Sochi, the ICEHL for Dornbirner EC, and Poland for Unia Oswiecim and GKS Tychy.
Padakin played five seasons in the KHL, tallying 26 goals and 49 assists in 201 games. Padakin was selected to the 2017-18 KHL All-Star Game. In 2022-23 and 2023-24, Padakin won Bronze medals in Poland with both Unia Oswiecim and GKS Tychy. In two seasons in Poland, he played 74 games in the regular season, scoring 24 goals and 40 assists. During the playoffs, he played 18 games in two seasons, collecting seven goals and 10 assists.
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