He played in the 2009 KHL All-Star Game, held in Red Square and was a member of Ufa's Gagarin Cup championship team in 2011.

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

[6] 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.

Standing in front of the net, Saprykin collected the puck on a rebound following a Jarome Iginla shot and scored to bring the Flames within one win of capturing the Stanley Cup.

[12] On August 26, 2004, the Flames traded Saprykin, along with Denis Gauthier to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Daymond Langkow.

[4] In acquiring Saprykin, the Senators praised his work ethic and hoped he would add energy to the team's lineup.

He opted to return to Russia and signed a contract with CSKA Moscow for the 2007–08 season where he recorded professional career highs of 29 goals and 49 points.

[4] In his second year with CSKA, Saprykin was named a Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) All-Star and scored two goals in the contest held outdoors in Moscow's Red Square.

[4] In Saprykin's first season with Ufa, 2010–11, the team won the Gagarin Cup as KHL champions after defeating Atlant Mytishi four games to one in the final.

Saprykin, who was visibly intoxicated according to witnesses, demanded that the flight attendant top-up his glass of whiskey but was refused.

Saprykin reportedly "began to scream and use foul language" and struck the female flight attendant on the head with such force that she was knocked to the floor.

The captain diverted the flight to Voronezh, where Saprykin was forcibly removed from the aircraft and detained by airport authorities as the plane continued on its way to Moscow.