Ilona Markova

Ilona Vladimirovna Markova (; born 18 January 2002) is a Russian ice hockey player and member of the Russian national team. She has played in the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) with Agidel Ufa since 2018.

Playing career As a child, Markova participated in rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating. Her mother encouraged her to begin playing ice hockey and, despite early hesitation, she ultimately chose to commit to the sport.

Markova made her senior club debut at age fifteen, with SKIF Nizhny Novgorod in the 2017–18 season of the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL). She joined Agidel Ufa ahead of the 2018–19 season and played with the team through the 2023–24 season, twice winning the ZhHL Championship. She was selected to the ZhHL All-Star Game in 2022 and 2024.

On 10 June 2024, Markova became the first Russian player to be drafted into the PWHL when she was selected in the seventh round, 37th overall, by the Boston Fleet in the 2024 PWHL draft. No Russian players declared eligibility for the 2023 PWHL draft and Markova was the only Russian player to declare for the 2024 PWHL draft. Markova was not signed during camp and became waiver eligible on 26 November 2024. As she was not signed by the end of the waiver period, her rights remained with the Boston Fleet.

Following her release from the Fleet, Markova returned to Agidel Ufa for the remainder of the 2024–25 ZhHL season.

In January 2026, Markova joined the UBC Thunderbirds team, the program represent the University of British Columbia in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association.

International play As a junior player with the Russian national under-18 team, she participated in the IIHF U18 Women's World Championships in 2018, 2019, and 2020. At the 2018 and 2019 tournaments, she was selected by the coaches as one of Russia's top three players and was also named to the tournament All-Star Teams. At the 2020 tournament, she captained Russia to a bronze medal finish.

Markova represented the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship and was selected by the coaches as one of the team's top three players. She was named to the ROC roster for the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics but was unable to participate after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result shortly before the team departed for Beijing.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2017–18 SKIF Nizhny Novgorod ZhHL 19 1 1 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 2018–19 Agidel Ufa ZhHL 29 7 9 16 10 6 1 1 2 4 2019–20 Agidel Ufa ZhHL 28 7 7 14 10 5 0 1 1 0 2020–21 Agidel Ufa ZhHL 28 12 12 24 12 6 4 1 5 4 2021–22 Agidel Ufa ZhHL 34 17 18 35 45 3 1 0 1 0 2022–23 Agidel Ufa ZhHL 32 8 19 27 21 10 5 3 8 6 2023–24 Agidel Ufa ZhHL 42 14 26 40 8 7 5 5 10 4ZhHL totals 212 66 92 158 108 39 16 12 28 18

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2018 Russia WC18 4th 6 2 0 2 4 2019 Russia WC18 4th 6 2 4 6 0 2020 Russia WC18 6 2 2 4 0 2021 ROC WC 5th 7 1 0 1 0 Junior totals 18 6 6 12 4