What Torpedo players’ wives do and share
Profiles of the partners of five successful HC Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players.
The players of HC Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Khokkeyny Klub Torpedo) opened the new Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) season brightly: after a series of victories and a loss to a team from China, they remain leaders of the Western Conference. From the stands, the guys are supported not only by fans but also by their partners. We reviewed the women’s public social-media pages. Here is who the Nizhny Novgorod players’ significant others are and what they do.
Polina Atanasova — wife of Vasily Atanasov
Before moving to Nizhny Novgorod, Polina practiced dance at a professional level.
Polina Atanasova (née Butkovskaya) married the 22-year-old Torpedo forward quite recently: the couple held their wedding in Saint Petersburg this past summer. Their first meeting happened in Khanty-Mansiysk (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia), where Vasily had come for another game. They followed each other on social media and then ran into one another at the university where they both studied. That is how their communication began — and it grew into love.
Polina now crafts knitted handbags and develops her own small accessories brand.
Polina has been into hockey since childhood: from an early age she went to games with her family, and now it has become an integral part of her life. She also practiced breakdance for a long time and held a third-class adult sports rank, but ended her professional sports path when she moved to Nizhny Novgorod.
Last year the player’s partner graduated from university with a degree in economics. Now 23, she enjoys handicrafts, runs a personal blog, and is developing her own brand of knitted handbags.
Maria Goncharuk — wife of Sergei Goncharuk
She previously pursued dance and cheerleading at a professional level.
Sergei Goncharuk, 26 — notably, the KHL’s best forward of the previous week — is married to 27-year-old Maria. In one interview, he admitted that his wife often acts as his personal counselor and always supports him when things go wrong.
Maria was born in the small Nizhny Novgorod region village of Blagodatovka (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia), spent her childhood in Sarov (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia), and in 2008 moved with her family to Nizhny Novgorod. In primary school she did track and field, football (soccer), and judo, but after the move the training stopped. Dance came into her life instead, followed by cheerleading, both of which she did at a professional level. She ended her sports career when she entered university.
Maria graduated from Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (NNGASU) with a design-engineer specialty. By her own account she did not work in that profession, but she did work as a cost estimator.
An early photo of Maria and Sergei from their time dating.
Last year the couple’s daughter Maia was born. Maria devotes most of her time to raising her, and she also runs a social-media blog. The family also has a Pomeranian named Rocky.
Defenceman Mikhail Naumenkov joined from Salavat Yulaev Ufa and moved with his wife.
Marina Naumenkova — wife of Mikhail Naumenkov
Marina Naumenkova specializes in aesthetic cosmetology and personalized home skincare routines.
The 32-year-old defenseman is a recent arrival at Torpedo — he joined from HC Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Khokkeyny Klub Salavat Yulaev) this year. His wife, 33-year-old Marina, moved to Nizhny Novgorod with him. In summer the couple celebrated four years of marriage.
Marina is a specialist in aesthetic cosmetology. She provides personalized home skincare routines and runs a blog. She is currently on maternity leave: the couple’s second son was born last autumn.
«We want a third as well, and who it will be — time will tell. Of course we’d like a girl, but it seems to me I’m very much a boys’ mom», Mikhail’s wife shared on her social-media page.
Nina Kostina — wife of Denis Kostin
Nina Kostina holds the title «Miss Crystal Crown of Siberia 2016» beauty pageant.
Thirty-year-old goaltender Denis Kostin previously played for Torpedo in the 2018/2019 season and returned again this year. Before that he spent several seasons with HC Sibir Novosibirsk (Khokkeyny Klub Sibir).
The goalie is married to 33-year-old Nina Kostina (née Dunina) — a Master of Sport in rhythmic gymnastics and a pole-dance coach. Nine years ago she won the «Miss Crystal Crown of Siberia» beauty pageant — and she and the hockey player were already in a relationship then.
In 2023 the couple had a son. Nina continues to dance and runs her own blog.
Yana Belevich — wife of Andrey Belevich
Yana moved from Belarus to Russia together with her husband Andrei Belevich.
The 29-year-old forward from Belarus has played for the Nizhny Novgorod team since 2019. All this time he has been supported by his wife Yana — the couple has been together for ten years.
The couple have lived in Nizhny Novgorod for several years and have a daughter.
Yana is from the small Belarusian city of Zhlobin (Gomel Region, Belarus). She met her future husband in Minsk, to which she later moved. After graduating from college on a state-funded place, she had to fulfill her assigned work obligation and took a job as a vegetable grower at the Minsk Vegetable Factory — picking and sorting cucumbers. After three months Yana could no longer stand it and found another job — as a waiter in a café-bar.
In an interview with the YouTube channel «On Hockey», she said that at one point, thanks to tips, she earned even more than Andrey: the club he was playing for had problems then, and players could go a long time without salaries being paid.
When Andrey was invited to Torpedo, Yana moved with him to Russia, and for several years now the couple has lived in Nizhny Novgorod. In 2021 their daughter Alisa was born.
According to the hockey player himself, his wife’s main job now is being a mom. She also runs a blog.
