As a youth, Saprykin played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a combined team from Yaroslavl and Kharkiv.\n', '

A native of Moscow, Saprykin broke into the Russian Super League in 1997 as a 16-year-old with HC CSKA Moscow. He recorded two assists in 20 Russian League games. Hoping to attract the attention of National Hockey League (NHL) scouts, Saprykin left Russia to play junior hockey in North America. He joined the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the 1998–99 season. Saprykin finished 10th in league scoring with 93 points and was named to the WHL\'s second All-Star Team.\n', '

The Calgary Flames selected Saprykin with their first round selection, 11th overall, at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He earned a spot on the Flames to start the 1999–2000 season and made his NHL debut and scored his first point (an assist) on October 2, 1999, against the San Jose Sharks. It was his lone point in four games before the Flames reassigned him back to Seattle. Saprykin appeared in only 48 games with the Thunderbirds but scored 66 points. He was named to the second All-Star Team for the second season in a row.\n', '

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