Dmitri Kulikov (ice hockey)

Dmitri Kulikov
Born (1990-10-29) 29 October 1990
Lipetsk, Russian SFSR, URS
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Florida Panthers
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
National team  Russia
NHL Draft 14th overall, 2009
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2009present

Dmitri Vladimirovich Kulikov (Russian: Дми́трий Влади́мирович Кулико́в; born 29 October 1990) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Panthers in the first round, 14th overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Kulikov began his career in his homeland Russia with Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl in the Pervaya Liga, and left his club in November 2008 to sign for the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in North America.[1] In his lone season with Drummondville, Kulikov led all QMJHL defencemen with 62 points in 57 games, and took home a slew of post-season awards, including the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL Defenceman of the Year, the Raymond Lagacé Trophy as the Defensive Rookie of the Year and the Mike Bossy Trophy as the League's top professional prospect.

Professional

After his rookie year with the Voltigeurs, Kulikov was drafted by the Florida Panthers 14th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, and was later signed to a professional contract the club on 29 September 2009.[2]

Despite his age, Kulikov managed to play in 68 games with Florida in his rookie season, 2009–10, displaying high levels of skill and confidence. Current Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon has expressed that the Panthers organization has high expectations of Kulikov in the future, and he is considered the first step in the rebuilding process of the franchise, along with prospects Jacob Markström (since traded to the Vancouver Canucks), Erik Gudbranson and Jonathan Huberdeau.[3]

On 18 July 2014, Kulikov signed a three-year, $13 million contract extension with the Panthers, worth $4.3 million annually.[4]

International career

Kulikov represented Russia in two Under-18 World Cups: 2007 in Finland and 2008 in Russia. He was then a member of Team Russia at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08Lokomotiv Yaroslavl-2 RUS-3326131954
2008–09Drummondville VoltigeursQMJHL5712506246192171916
2009–10Florida PanthersNHL683131632
2010–11Florida PanthersNHL726202645
2011–12Florida PanthersNHL58424283670114
2012–13Lokomotiv YaroslavlKHL2233628
2012–13Florida PanthersNHL34371022
2013–14Florida PanthersNHL818111966
2014–15Florida PanthersNHL733192248
NHL totals 386 27 94 121 249 7 0 1 1 4

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Russia WJC18 1st 7 0 4 4 6
2008 Russia WJC18 2nd 6 0 2 2 6
2009 Russia WJC 3rd 7 0 4 4 4
2010 Russia WC 2nd 9 0 2 2 8
2011 Russia WC 4th 9 2 1 3 4
Junior totals 20 0 10 10 16
Senior totals 18 2 3 5 12

References

  1. "Prospect Dmitry Kulikov Player Profile". Hockey's Future. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  2. "Cats sign Kulikov". Florida Panthers. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  3. "Dmitri Kulikov profile". The Hockey News. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  4. "Panthers Re-Sign Kulikov to Three-Year, $13M Deal". TSN. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
  5. "Russian Hockey NHL Prospects – Dmitry Kulikov Florida Panthers". Russianprospects.com. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-02.

External links

Preceded by
Keaton Ellerby
Florida Panthers first round draft pick
2009
Succeeded by
Erik Gudbranson
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