Zubov will help the national team in their preparation for the next IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships including the 2016 edition on home ice in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

He will specifically be responsible for defencemen and will combine his duties with the national team and his club team SKA St. Petersburg.

The 44-year-old Moscow native started his career with CSKA Moscow in the Soviet league and represented the Soviet Union in three World Junior Championships and one European U18 Championship.

In his first big tournament with the men’s national team the defenceman won Olympic gold with the Unified Team in Albertville 1992. The same year he played at the World Championship before moving to the New York Rangers.

He played in the NHL for 16 seasons winning two Stanley Cups (Rangers 1994, Dallas Stars 1999) and represented Russia in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. He was on the ice during 1,068 NHL regular-season games (152 goals, 619 assists) and 164 playoff games (24 goals, 93 assists).

Zubov ended his career after the 2009/2010 season for SKA St. Petersburg and a severe injury that forced him to announce his retirement after missing the whole 2010/2011 season.

In 2011/2012 he joined the coaching staff of SKA St. Petersburg for a year before working for CSKA Moscow during two seasons before returning to St. Petersburg in 2014.