The defenceman reached the top level of the sport after being drafted to the National Hockey League, and made 28 appearances for the Washington Capitals and two for the Vancouver Canucks. 

He also won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in 1998.

In 2003, Tezikov returned to Russia and went on to represent 10 clubs in the top two tiers of the country's ice hockey structure.

He began his career with Lada Togliatti, a club he would later assist in 2010 when they were removed from the Kontinental Hockey League due to their arena not being the required standard.

Lada's future was looking "bleak" at the time due to the world's financial crisis.

"When Lada dropped into the VHL and the club had no money, Alexei himself asked to join the team," one of his coaches, Sergei Vostrikov, told Sport-Express.

"He said that he wasn't interested in money, he just wanted to help the club. 

"We called him, and he didn't let us down. 

"He agreed to play for a nominal salary and his experience helped a lot of our younger guys to mature.

"He was a big help for any coach, encouraging the youngsters to play and to put everything into their hockey. 

"I remember him as an energetic guy who was never indifferent to the plight of his first team."

Tezikov also played in Belarus and Kazakhstan, and he won the Ukrainian title with Donbass Donetsk in 2012.