Right-winger Konstantin Shafranov played five games for the St. Louis Blues in 1996-97. He was a natural goal scorer who was better suited to the larger ice surfaces and more wide open game in Europe.
The native of Kamengorsk, USSR played with the local Torpedo club for several years and was taken 229th overall by the Blues in 1996. In 1993 and 1994 he played for Kazakhstan at the "C" Pool World Championships then joined Magnitogorsk of the CIS league for two years.
In 1995-96, Shafranov ventured to North America and was named the top rookie in the IHL after scoring 46 goals for the Fort Wayne Komets. He was a decent scorer for two more years in the minors but couldn't make a significant impact in St. Louis. In 1997-98 he scored 28 goals for Fort Wayne and played for Kazakhstan at the Nagano Olympics and the "A" Pool World Championships.
In the spring of 2005, Shafranov made his second appearance at the World Championships.