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Nikita Kucherov
Nikita Kucherov Lightning 2014
Born (1993-06-17)17 June 1993,
Maykop, Russia
Height
Weight
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
F. teams
Tampa Bay Lightning
CSKA Moscow
Ntl. team Flag of Russia Russia
NHL Draft 58th overall, 2011
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2011–present

Nikita Igorevich Kucherov (Russian: Никита Игоревич Кучеров; born 17 June 1993) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career[]

Juniors[]

Kucherov originally played professionally in his native Russia, for CSKA Moscow, of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected 58th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning. In an attempt to transition to the North American style, Kucherov played major junior hockey with Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Tampa Bay Lightning[]

During the 2013–14 season, on 25 November 2013, with his first shot, on his first shift, against Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, Kucherov became the seventh player in Lightning history to score a goal in his NHL debut.[1] On 28 October 2014, he recorded his first career hat trick against Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes.[2]

During the 2014–15 NHL season, Kucherov had a breakout season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kucherov posted 29 goals, 36 assists, and 65 points. Kucherov also tied for the NHL lead in plus-minus with Max Pacioretty at a +38 rating. The +38 rating also set the Lightning single season franchise record for +/- rating.[3] On 20 May 2015, Kucherov joined Martin St. Louis as the only players in Lightning history to record two game winning goals in overtime in a single playoff year, having scored a winner that evening against the New York Rangers; he had scored one in Game 1 of the prior round against the Montreal Canadiens.[4]

On 11 October 2016, the Lightning re-signed Kucherov to a three-year contract worth an average of $4.766 million per season. Last season, Kucherov led the team in points (66) and was second in assists (36) and goals (30). Kucherov also set a career high in goals, points, power-play goals (9) and game-winning goals (4). He also ranked second on the team in shots (209) and power-play goals, while also leading the team with 19 multi-point games. He also skated in 17 Stanley Cup playoff games with the Lightning last season, scoring 11 goals and 19 points to go along with a plus-13 rating. He led the team during the playoffs in goals and points. He also finished second for goals and sixth for points in playoff scoring.[5]

On 10 January 2017, Kucherov was named to the 2017 NHL All-Star game as a member of the Atlantic Division team.[6] On 12 January 2017, Kucherov scored his 85th goal in a Lightning uniform, which moved him past Rob Zamuner (84) for 10th most goals in franchise history.[7] On 21 February 2017, Kucherov recorded his 200th career NHL point.[8] On 27 February 2017, Kucherov recorded his 2nd career hat trick, which was the 10th natural hat trick in Lightning history. It was also the first ever in team history to have all three goals scored via the power play.[9][10] Kucherov's hat trick propelled him past Ryan Malone (92) for 9th most goals in Lightning history.[11] On 11 March 2017, Kucherov recorded his 99th career goal in a Lightning uniform. This moved him past Chris Gratton (98) for 8th most goals all-time in franchise history.[12] On March 18, 2017, Kucherov recorded his 100th career NHL goal.[13] On March 23, 2017, Kucherov also recorded his second hat trick in less than a month apart from his first in the 2016-2017 season.[14] This also became his third hat trick in his NHL career. On March 27, 2017, Kucherov had two assists which set a Lightning record for points in a single month with 22.[15] On April 7, 2017, Kucherov scored his 40th goal of the season, setting a new career high.[16] With his 40th goal, Kucherov joined Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Brian Bradley as the only players in Lightning history with 40-goal seasons.[17] Additionally, Kucherov joined Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Bure, and Alexander Mogilny as the only Russian-born players with a 40-goal season at age 23 or younger.[18]

International play[]

Medal record
Competitor for Flag of Russia Russia
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze 2017 Germany/France
World Junior Championships
Bronze 2013 Ufa
Silver 2012 Canada

On 2 March 2016, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation named Kucherov to its roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Kucherov was joined by Lightning teammates Nikita Nesterov, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The tournament took place from 17 Sep to 1 October 2016, in Toronto.[19]

On April 9, 2017, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation named Kucherov to its roster for the 2017 World Ice Hockey Championships. Kucherov was joined by teammates Andrei Vasilevskiy and Vladislav Namestnikov.[20] On May 21, 2017, Kucherov helped Russia capture a bronze medal when they defeated Finland in the bronze medal game.[21]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 53 29 25 54 40 5 0 2 2 2
2010–11 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 47 27 31 58 81 10 5 8 13 16
2010–11 CSKA Moscow KHL 9 0 2 2 0
2011–12 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 23 24 19 43 40 7 3 1 4 0
2011–12 CSKA Moscow KHL 18 1 4 5 4
2012–13 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 6 3 7 10 2
2012–13 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 27 26 27 53 12 14 9 15 24 10
2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 17 13 11 24 10
2013–14 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 52 9 9 18 14 2 1 0 1 0
2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 29 36 64 37 26 10 12 22 14
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 77 30 36 66 30 17 11 8 19 8
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 74 40 45 85 38
KHL totals 27 1 6 7 4
NHL totals 285 108 126 234 119 45 22 20 42 22

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Russia WJC18 Bronze medal icon 7 11 10 21 6
2012 Russia WJC Silver medal icon 7 2 5 7 2
2013 Russia WJC Bronze medal icon 7 5 3 8 4
2016 Russia WCH 4th 4 2 1 3 0
2017 Russia WC Bronze medal icon 10 7 8 15 8
Junior totals 21 18 18 36 12
Senior totals 14 9 9 18 8

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
MHL
All-Star Game 2011
NHL
Bud Light Trophy (+ 38) 2015
All-Star Game 2017 [22]
International
U18 – First Team All-Star 2011 [23]

References[]

  1. Kucherov provides early debut goal. TBO.com (2013-11-25). Retrieved on 2013-11-25.
  2. Kucherov hat trick leads Lightning past Coyotes. NHL.com (2014-10-25). Retrieved on 2014-10-29.
  3. Tampa Bay, Lightning (19 June 2015). Infographic: Highlighting the Bolts Record-Breaking 2014-15 Season. Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved on 15 July 2015.
  4. Burns, Bryan (20 April 2015). Nikita Kucherov's overtime winner gives Bolts 6-5 win in Game 3. Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved on 21 May 2015.
  5. Tampa Bay, Lightning (11 October 2016). Lightning re-sign Nikita Kucherov to 3-year contract. Tampa Bay Lightning.com. Retrieved on 11 October 2016.
  6. Smith, Joe (10 January 2017). Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov make All-Star team. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved on 10 January 2017.
  7. Long, Corey (12 January 2017). Ben Bishop wins return to Lightning. NHL.com. Retrieved on 13 January 2017.
  8. @TBLightning (21 February 2017). Kucherov records 200th career NHL point.
  9. @BBurnsNHL (27 February 2017). Kucherov records 10th natural hat trick in TBL history, and first to be all on the power play.
  10. Scanlon, Dick (27 February 2017). Kucherov's hat trick helps Lightning turn back Senators 5-1. Yahoo Sports: NHL. Retrieved on 27 February 2017.
  11. @BBurnsNHL (27 February 2017). Kucherov passes Malone for 9th in goals in Lightning history.
  12. Long, Corey (11 March 2017). Lightning hand Panthers fifth straight loss. NHL.com. Retrieved on 12 March 2017.
  13. @TBLightning (27 February 2017). Kucherov scores 100th career NHL goal.
  14. Best of NHL: Nikita Kucherov Hat Trick Lifts Lightning over Bruins. CSN (March 24, 2017).
  15. Gourde scores in OT, Lightning beat Blackhawks 5-4. ESPN (March 27, 2017).
  16. Farrell, Sean (7 April 2017). Lightning stay alive in wild-card race. NHL.com. Retrieved on 7 April 2017.
  17. @StatsCentre (7 April 2017). Kucherov joins Stamkos, Lecavalier, St. Louis, Bradley as only players to score 40-goals in a single season in Lightning history.
  18. @StatsCentre (7 April 2017). Kucherov joins Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Bure, and Mogilny as the only Russian-born players with a 40-goal season at 23 or younger.
  19. Peters, Chris (2 March 2016). World Cup of Hockey: Ovechkin, Malkin lead NHL-only Russia roster. CBSSports.com. Retrieved on 2 March 2016.
  20. Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy have been called up to the Russian national team. Russia men's national ice hockey team (April 9, 2017).
  21. Gretz, Adam (21 May 2017). Russia tops Finland to take Bronze at World Championships. NBCSports.com. Retrieved on 22 May 2017.
  22. Smith, Joe (10 January 2017). Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov make All-Star team. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved on 10 January 2017.
  23. Prospects report from World U18's. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2011-04-10). Retrieved on 2011-04-10.

External links[]

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