Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Nikolai Zherdev
Mykola Olehovych "Nikolai" Zherdev (Ukrainian: Микола Олегович Жердев; born November 5, 1984) is a Ukrainian-Russian professional ice hockey right winger.
He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Zherdev began playing hockey at the age of four. He began his training with the Sokil Kyiv junior hockey affiliate. Due to complications with organizing a team for his age group, he was pushed to play a year ahead with the 1983 born players; a group which included fellow future Ukrainian NHLer Anton Babchuk.[citation needed] Zherdev played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with his youth team from Kyiv. While playing in the tournament, Zherdev's team found itself competing against a team from Elektrostal, Russia. The rival team's coach, Ravil Iskhakov, took note of both Zherdev and Babchuk, and invited the pair to further their development with the Elemash Elektrostal hockey club of the Russian Major League, to which they accepted together. The desire to play at a higher level came at a price: his nationality. In order to play in Russia, he would be forced to apply for Russian citizenship.
As his game progressed and professional teams began to take notice, Elektrostal received offers from the likes of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Ak Bars Kazan, and CSKA Moscow for Zherdev's services. He would accept an invitation for Elektrostal to loan him to the latter team, CSKA, citing a desire to train under esteemed coach Viktor Tikhonov.
Zherdev spent the entire 2002–03 season with CSKA. He left for the NHL halfway through the 2003–04 season. He would, however, return to the Russian club during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Zherdev was drafted by Columbus in the 2003 NHL entry draft with the fourth overall pick. At the time, Columbus general manager Doug MacLean stated that the team had Zherdev ranked number one on their draft list.
The 2005–06 NHL season was a breakout year for Zherdev, who scored 27 goals and notched 27 assists in 73 games. He was the Blue Jackets' most potent offensive threat while Rick Nash recuperated from injury, and played most of the season on the team's first line.
The 2006–07 NHL season was a low point for Zherdev, as he struggled to score consistently and frequently clashed with the Jackets' coaching staff, leading to repeated rumors that he might be traded before the 2007–08 NHL season began. In response, Blue Jackets General Manager Scott Howson and then-coach Ken Hitchcock met Zherdev in a "clean-the-slate" meeting. Following the meeting, Zherdev rediscovered success on the ice.
Hub AI
Nikolai Zherdev AI simulator
(@Nikolai Zherdev_simulator)
Nikolai Zherdev
Mykola Olehovych "Nikolai" Zherdev (Ukrainian: Микола Олегович Жердев; born November 5, 1984) is a Ukrainian-Russian professional ice hockey right winger.
He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Zherdev began playing hockey at the age of four. He began his training with the Sokil Kyiv junior hockey affiliate. Due to complications with organizing a team for his age group, he was pushed to play a year ahead with the 1983 born players; a group which included fellow future Ukrainian NHLer Anton Babchuk.[citation needed] Zherdev played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with his youth team from Kyiv. While playing in the tournament, Zherdev's team found itself competing against a team from Elektrostal, Russia. The rival team's coach, Ravil Iskhakov, took note of both Zherdev and Babchuk, and invited the pair to further their development with the Elemash Elektrostal hockey club of the Russian Major League, to which they accepted together. The desire to play at a higher level came at a price: his nationality. In order to play in Russia, he would be forced to apply for Russian citizenship.
As his game progressed and professional teams began to take notice, Elektrostal received offers from the likes of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Ak Bars Kazan, and CSKA Moscow for Zherdev's services. He would accept an invitation for Elektrostal to loan him to the latter team, CSKA, citing a desire to train under esteemed coach Viktor Tikhonov.
Zherdev spent the entire 2002–03 season with CSKA. He left for the NHL halfway through the 2003–04 season. He would, however, return to the Russian club during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Zherdev was drafted by Columbus in the 2003 NHL entry draft with the fourth overall pick. At the time, Columbus general manager Doug MacLean stated that the team had Zherdev ranked number one on their draft list.
The 2005–06 NHL season was a breakout year for Zherdev, who scored 27 goals and notched 27 assists in 73 games. He was the Blue Jackets' most potent offensive threat while Rick Nash recuperated from injury, and played most of the season on the team's first line.
The 2006–07 NHL season was a low point for Zherdev, as he struggled to score consistently and frequently clashed with the Jackets' coaching staff, leading to repeated rumors that he might be traded before the 2007–08 NHL season began. In response, Blue Jackets General Manager Scott Howson and then-coach Ken Hitchcock met Zherdev in a "clean-the-slate" meeting. Following the meeting, Zherdev rediscovered success on the ice.