Born and raised in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Igor was selected to play for the world-famous U-18 Central Red Army Hockey Team. After just one year of skating on the Central Red Army team under Hall of Fame coaches Anatoly Tarasov and Anatoly Firsov, Igor was signed to his first professional contract and honored by receipt of the Master of Hockey designation. Igor went on to play in the Super Hockey League in Russia for 14 seasons competing with many of the world's most accomplished hockey professionals throughout Europe as a premier Russian Hockey player.
Igor moved to the United States becoming a US Citizen on 08/23/1999. Igor began to organize his developed Elite Hockey programs known today as Igor Hockey, Boston Red Rangers, Boston Stars and his well-known 10-STEPS Training Program in the Greater Boston, MA area. Igor was also working with the Boston Bruins as an adviser to Russian players.
The foundation basics of his teaching strategy are to combine the strongest Russian and North American Hockey training techniques. Russia has been a dominant force in International Hockey for the past several decades because of the rigorous methods used in training and educating hockey players and focusing on techniques. The emphasis of Igor's programs is on the development of skating techniques and game strategies. Skillful skating techniques are an important part of becoming an accomplished hockey player. In Igor’s programs, he incorporates all the traditional powerful straight-ahead approach of American skating as well as the high-speed fluid maneuverability of the Russian teaching methodology. Igor also trains on combining the team tactics of the Russian tradition with the more assertive tactics of the North American Strategy