The Norfolk Admirals have re-signed their team-leading point getter, Stepan Timofeyev, for the 2024-25 ECHL season. This will be Timofeyev’s third-straight season dawning the navy and gold. Since joining the Admirals, Timofeyev has only gotten better with each season passing.
Heading into his third season, Timofeyev will help the Admirals even more than he has in past seasons. He has shown he can be a great playmaker but can also put the puck in the net in crucial moments. He is not afraid to get to the dirty area in front of the net, nor is he afraid to get fancy at times. Though on the smaller size, listed at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Timofeyev has the ability to explode on the ice and get by defenders, driving to the outside with the high possibility of cutting to the middle of the ice for a great scoring chance.
The St. Petersburg RUS native played a huge part in the Admirals recording their highest goal tally in the 2023-24 season since re-joining the ECHL. In 62 regular season games last season, Timofeyev tallied ECHL career highs in goals (20), assists (33), points (53), and plus/minus (+15). His assists and points led all Admirals’ players, while his goals ranked second behind Danny Katic. With a +15 goal differential rating, Timofeyev was in the top 35 of all ECHL players. Timofyeve was deadly on special teams all season long. He notched four goals and seven assists on the powerplay and collected 2 points shorthanded (1g-1a). His 11 powerplay points tied him for third on the team with Mathieu Roy and Brady Fleurent.
Timofeyev began his North American career in the Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League with the Tottenham Steam. In just nine games with the Steam during the 2015-16 season, Timofeyev put up nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points. On the way to winning the GMHL championship, he played 22 games in the playoffs, putting up a ridiculous 23 goals and 26 assists to dominate the competition. In his last season in the GMHL, he found a home with the Bradford Rattlers and was named team captain. Just like his first season in the league, Timofeyev dominated in every aspect. He played 37 regular season games, notching 38 goals and 69 assists. Though still impressive, getting just over two points per game, things slowed down a bit for him in the playoffs as he tallied nine points (7g,2a) in four games. He was named to the 2016-17 GMHL All-Star (Team World) Team and named the GMHL North Marshall Uretsky MVP Award winner.
He earned a contract with the Port Huron Prowlers in the then-Federal Hockey League, now the Federal Prospects Hockey League. Timofeyev continued to show what he could do, even at a higher level of play. In 29 regular season games with the Prowlers, he notched 13 goals, 23 assists, and an impressive +26 rating. In six playoff games, Timofeyev notched two goals and one assist. For the 2018-19 season, he moved to Elmira, New York, to play for the Elmira Enforcers. It would be a career year for him as he was named FHL Forward of the Year and FHL Rookie of the Year for his 61-point (14g-47a), 41-game regular season. He shinned again in the playoffs, collecting four goals and five assists in six playoff appearances with the Enforcers.
“I’m happy to be back for another season with the Admirals,” Timofeyev said. “I’m also very excited to be a part of this great organization once again and play in-front of our great fan base. We have a lot to prove as a team and as individuals. I am thankful that we will have an opportunity to prove ourselves starting in October.“
-Timofeyev on re-signing with the Admirals (Via Norfolk Admirals Press Release)
After Timofeyev proved he can play at an even higher level, he earned an opportunity with the Macon Mayhem in the Southern Professional Hockey League for the 2019-20 season. He eventually split time between the Mayhem and the Enforcers for the season. He played 36 games with the Mayhem, tallying just four goals and 11 assists, and struggled in the plus/minus category, going -9. He would head back to Elmira and play seven games, tallying six goals and nine assists. He started the 2020-21 season back in Elmira, playing six games, notching three goals and eight assists with a +9 rating. He was loaned to the Knoxville Ice Bears and played under the current Admirals head coach, Jeff Carr. He registered one point, which was a goal, in 10 regular season games.
In a season that saw Carr and Timofeyev win the SPHL regular season, Timofeyev ranked fourth among all Ice Bears players in points with 49 (23g-26a). He added three goals to his total in three playoff games. Timofeyev landed with the Birmingham Bulls for the 2022-23 season. His tenure there lasted 19 games, in which he recorded six goals and eight assists. With Carr taking over the Admirals and looking to change things up, he brought in Timofeyev to play out the rest of the season with the Admirals, having already spent a season and a half with him and knowing what he brought to the table. Carr knew what he was doing with this move, and Timofeyev did not disappoint. He tore it up in 43 games with the Admirals, posting 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points, which put him in third among all Admirals’ players that season. He quickly made an impact on the powerplay, tallying three goals and five assists. His eight points on the powerplay ranked him third on the team. Timofeyev was the only player on the roster to have an even goal differential or better among players to have played 20 or more games.
