Vitalii Abramov

Vitalii Abramov (Виталий Абрамов; born May 8, 1998) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward for the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Abramov was selected 65th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career
In his rookie season with the Gatineau Olympiques, the 2015–16 season, Abramov recorded 93 points in 63 games. He was awarded the RDS Cup as QMJHL Rookie of the Year and the Michel Bergeron Trophy as Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the All-Rookie Team. Leading up to the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Abramov was ranked 29th overall for North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was eventually drafted 65th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On December 24, 2016, Abramov was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After recording 104 points in 66 games, Abramov was awarded the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the top regular season scorer of the 2016–17 season. He was also awarded the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy as MVP of the QMJHL and named to the First All-Star Team. On April 7, 2017, Abramov began his professional career when he was assigned to the Blue Jackets American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

The following season, Abramov returned to the Olympiques in the QMJHL. On November 17, Abramov was traded to the Victoriaville Tigres along with a 2018 6th round QMJHL draft pick in exchange for four future draft picks. He still found success with his new team and was named to the Second All-Star Team after recording 78 points in 40 games.

Abramov attended the Blue Jackets 2018–19 training camp but failed to make their final roster and was assigned to the AHL to join the Cleveland Monsters. Abramov posted 12 goals and 22 points in 52 games with the Monsters before he was traded by the Blue Jackets, along with Jonathan Davidsson and two conditional first-round picks to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Matt Duchene and Julius Bergman on February 22, 2019. He scored his first NHL goal on October 10, 2019 against the St. Louis Blues.