Mika Zibanejad

Mika Zibanejad (Persian: میکا زیبانژاد‎‎;born 18 April 1993) is a Swedish-Iranian professional ice hockey centreman currently playing for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Zibanejad was selected sixth overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators and signed a professional contract with Ottawa in July 2011. He made the Senators lineup out of training camp to start the 2011–12 season, but was returned to Djurgårdens IF in Sweden after scoring one point in nine NHL games with Ottawa. On 18 July 2016, after 5 seasons within Senators organization, Zibanejad was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Derick Brassard.

Internationally, Zibanejad has represented Sweden at both the under-18 and junior levels. On 5 January 2012, Zibanejad scored the gold medal-winning golden goal for Sweden in the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships against Russia in the tournament final; the game finished 1–0.

Playing career
Zibanejad played soccer as a child before deciding to pursue hockey. He began playing hockey at the age of six in Hammarby IF, where he played a total of seven seasons before the club went bankrupt in 2008.

Zibanejad then moved to AIK IF's youth organization for the following season, where he began playing junior hockey. He was acquired by Djurgårdens IF for the 2009–10 season to play in Djurgården's J18-team and J20-team. Zibanejad made his Elitserien debut on 7 December 2010, against Luleå HF, and scored his first Elitserien goal on 15 January 2011, against Tuomas Tarkki of Modo Hockey. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2010 KHL Junior Draft by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, 129th overall. On 7 February 2011, Zibanejad signed a two-year contract extension with Djurgården. Zibanejad became a regular player in the senior roster after his debut, playing in 26 of the remaining 29 games. He scored five goals and nine points, which put him third in points for players 18 or younger playing with the senior team, behind Fredrik Bremberg and Jacob Josefson. On 5 January 2012, Zibanejad scored the game-winning goal for Sweden at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in overtime of the gold medal game against Russia.

Ottawa Senators
On 13 July 2011, Zibanejad signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, the team that drafted him sixth overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. After an impressive training camp, Zibanejad joined the Senators for their first game of the 2011–12 season. He registered his first career NHL point in his first game, an assist on a goal by Filip Kuba in a 5–3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. After just one point in nine games played, Zibanejad was reassigned to his most recent club, Djurgårdens IF, on 26 October.

In June 2012, Zibanejad was rumoured to be a key part of a package Ottawa was offering to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for disgruntled superstar Rick Nash. The offer was allegedly taken off the table when Columbus General Manager Scott Howson informed the Senators that Nash was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to accept a trade to Ottawa.

In August 2012, the Senators announced that Zibanejad would spend the 2012–13 season in North America, either in the NHL with the Senators or with the club's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. Due to the NHL lockout, Zibanejad started the season with Binghamton, where he registered 11 points in 23 games while battling injuries. He was called up to Ottawa on 28 January 2013, and played in his first NHL game of the season on 29 January against the Washington Capitals, a game in which he was selected as the First Star. The following night, on 30 January in a game against the Montreal Canadiens, Zibanejad scored his first career NHL goal. The goal came on the power play against goaltender Peter Budaj and with assists from Colin Greening and André Benoit. In the 2015–16 season, Zibanejad scored a career high 21 goals with 30 assists.

New York Rangers
On 18 July 2016, Zibanejad was traded by the Senators to the New York Rangers along with a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft for Derick Brassard and a seventh-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. On 20 November 2016, during a game against the Florida Panthers, Zibanejad suffered a gruesome injury in overtime when he went hard with his left leg into the boards while trying to get in front of Reilly Smith. After the game, which the Rangers eventually lost 3-2 in a shootout, it was announced that he broke his left fibula and would miss 6–8 weeks. He returned to the Rangers lineup against Dallas on 17 January 2017. He scored two goals in the 7–6 Rangers loss.

Personal life
Zibanejad was raised in Huddinge, Sweden. Zibanejad's father is from Iran. His mother is from Finland. His half-brother, Monir Kalgoum, is also an ice hockey player, who previously played for Milton Keynes Lightning but is currently with the Swedish Division 2 team Botkyrka HC.