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Vladimir Tarasenko
Tarasenko-1
Born (1991-12-13)13 December 1991,
Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height
Weight
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
231 lb (105 kg; 16 st 7 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
F. teams
St. Louis Blues
Sibir Novosibirsk
SKA Saint Petersburg
Ntl. team Flag of Russia Russia
NHL Draft 16th overall, 2010
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2010–present

Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko (Russian: Влади́мир Андре́евич Тарасе́нко; born 13 December 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger currently serving as an alternate captain for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by St. Louis, joining the team for the 2012–13 season.

Prior to playing in the NHL, Tarasenko played in the system of Sibir Novosibirsk organization, first playing for the senior team in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2008–09. He spent a total of three seasons with Novosibirsk before being traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in 2012.

Internationally, Tarasenko has played for the Russian junior team three times, winning a silver medal at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships, sixth place at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and captained Russia to a gold medal at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. At the senior level, Tarasenko has also played for Russia at the 2011 IIHF World Championship and was a member of the nation's squad for the 2014 Winter Olympics held in his native Russia, in Sochi.

Playing career[]

Russia[]

Tarasenko's father, Andrei, is a former Russian league scoring champion and Olympian who competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics.[1] Vladimir Tarasenko made his professional debut with Sibir Novosibirsk in 2008–09, scoring seven goals and ten points in 38 games and was the runner up in voting for Rookie of the Year in the KHL's inaugural season.[2][3] He was released to play with the Russian junior team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he scored eight goals in seven games and was named a tournament all-star as Russia won silver.[1] Tarasenko returned to Sibir in 2009–10 as the seventh-youngest player in the League.[1] He again represented Russia at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, finishing third in team scoring with five points in six games.[4]

International Scouting Services (ISS) ranked Tarasenko as the top-ranked European skater, and fourth overall, in its mid-term rankings ahead of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[5] Described by scouts as strong and mobile with no glaring weaknesses, Tarasenko had expressed interest in playing in the NHL,[1] though his father, also his coach with Sibir, believed it was important that his son remained in Russia.[3] Tarasenko was ultimately drafted by St. Louis Blues in the first round, 16th overall, at the 2010 Draft with the pick obtained via a trade from the Ottawa Senators St. Louis had acquired in exchange for David Rundblad.[6]

Tarasenko HC Sibir

Tarasenko (Left) in 2011 with HC Sibir.

On 13 January 2012, Tarasenko was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for Vyacheslav Solodukhin.[7]

On 2 June 2012, Tarasenko announced that he would be moving to North America to play in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues rather than staying and playing in the KHL.[8] As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout that cancelled a large part of the NHL regular season, however, Tarasenko instead returned to SKA to begin 2012–13. He credited the decision in part to a desire to play with Ilya Kovalchuk, the captain of the team who also joined as a result of the lockout.[9]

St. Louis Blues[]

Once the lockout ended, Tarasenko began the shortened, 48-game 2012–13 season with the Blues. He scored his first and second career NHL goals on the first two shots of his League debut on 19 January 2013, against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings in a 6–0 blowout. On 4 February, Tarasenko was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for January after scoring five goals and four assists (nine points).[10] He ultimately finished his first NHL season with eight goals and 11 assists in 38 games.

On 19 March 2014, towards the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Tarasenko underwent successful surgery to repair a hand injury sustained in a 4–1 Blues win over the Nashville Predators. He was expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, but made a quick recovery, returning to play in the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs where he scored four goals in the series against the Chicago Blackhawks.[11]

On 28 October 2014, during the 2014–15 season, Tarasenko recorded his first career NHL hat-trick against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars and was later named the NHL's First Star of the Week after scoring five goals and one assist during the week.[12] Tarasenko finished the regular season leading the Blues in both goals (37) and points (73), also finishing fifth in the League in goals and ninth in total points.

On 18 April 2015, Tarasenko scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff hat-trick against Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild in Game 2 of St. Louis' Western Conference Quarterfinals matchup. In the series, he scored six goals and one assist (seven points), though the Blues ultimately fell to the Wild in six games.[13]

Contract Extension[]

On 7 July 2015, during the subsequent off-season, Tarasenko, as a restricted free agent, signed an eight-year, $60 million contract with St. Louis at an annual average value of $7.5 million.[14]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Sibir-2 Novosibirsk RUS-3 17 6 4 10 2
2008–09 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 38 7 3 10 2
2009–10 Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk MHL 1 1 0 1 0
2009–10 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 42 13 11 24 18
2010–11 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 42 9 10 19 8 3 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk MHL 3 2 2 4 2
2011–12 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 39 18 20 38 15
2011–12 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 15 5 4 9 0 15 10 6 16 6
2012–13 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 31 14 17 31 8
2012–13 St. Louis Blues NHL 38 8 11 19 10 1 0 0 0 0
2013–14 St. Louis Blues NHL 64 21 22 43 16 6 4 0 4 0
2014–15 St. Louis Blues NHL 77 37 36 73 31 6 6 1 7 0
2015–16 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 40 34 74 37 20 9 6 15 2
2016-17 St. Louis Blues NHL 82 39 36 75 12
KHL totals 207 66 65 131 51 18 10 6 16 6
NHL totals 341 145 139 284 106 33 19 7 26 2

International[]

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Russia WJC18 2 7 8 7 15 6
2010 Russia WJC 6th 6 4 1 5 2
2011 Russia WJC 1 7 4 7 11 0
2011 Russia WC 4th 6 1 0 1 0
2014 Russia Oly 5th 5 0 1 1 0
2015 Russia WC 2 9 4 3 7 2
2016 Russia WCH 4th 4 2 0 2 2
Junior totals 20 16 15 31 8
Senior totals 24 7 4 11 10

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
IIHF World U18 Championships First Team All-Star[15] 2009
NHL Rookie of the Month for the Month of January[16] 2013
NHL All Star Game 2015, 2016, 2017
NHL Second All-Star Team 2015, 2016

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kimelman, Adam (18 December 2009). Tarasenko has shown he belongs among world's best. National Hockey League. Retrieved on 20 January 2010.
  2. Vladimir Tarasenko player profile. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved on 20 January 2010.
  3. 3.0 3.1 2010 prospects: Vladimir Tarasenko. Hockey's Future (11 January 2010). Retrieved on 20 January 2010.
  4. 2010 U20 World Championship – Player statistics by team – Russia (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved on 20 January 2010.
  5. International Scouting Services: Hall remains top draft pick. The Sports Network (18 January 2010). Retrieved on 20 January 2010.
  6. http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftsearch.htm?year=2010&round=1
  7. You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.SKA St. Petersburg (13 January 2012). (ru). HC-SKA.ru. Retrieved on 13 January 2012.
  8. Blues, Tarasenko Agree to Entry Level Deal
  9. RIA Novosti (24 February 2012). Kovalchuk Played Role in Return to SKA – Tarasenko. RIA Novosti. Retrieved on 26 September 2012.
  10. "Tarasenko Named Rookie of the Month", 4 February 2013. Retrieved on 8 February 2013. 
  11. "Blues forward Tarasenko to have hand surgery", NHL.com. 
  12. Tarasenko Named No. 1 Star of the Week (3 November 2014). Retrieved on 8 November 2014.
  13. Postgame Recap: Wild vs Blues – Game 2 (18 April 2015). Retrieved on 10 May 2015.
  14. Rutherford, Jeremy P.. "Tarasenko agrees to eight-year, $60 million contract", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7 July 2015. 
  15. Hockey Awards and Achievements Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  16. "Tarasenko Named Rookie of the Month", 4 February 2013. 

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jaden Schwartz
St. Louis Blues first round draft pick
2010
Succeeded by
Jordan Schmaltz
Preceded by
Jonathan Toews
EA Sports NHL Cover Athlete
NHL 17
Succeeded by
Incumbent
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