Russian hockey player Nikita Kucherov: biography and sports career

Nikita Kucherov is a well-known Russian hockey player, playing the position of a right-handed hitter. At this time - player of the NHL club "Tampa Bay Lightning".

Biography

Nikita Igorevich Kucherov was born in 1993 in the city of Maikop. When he was 5 years old, the future NHL player moved with his mother to Moscow.

In the hockey section Nikita got completely by accident. His mother was looking for work and took her son with him for all interviews. As a result, she found employment in one of the hockey arenas, and Kucherov began to study here in the school with the name "Silver Sharks".

But for a long time the boy did not stay there. Six months later, Nikita Kucherov turns to coach Gennady Kurdin in the children's and youth sports school "Polar Bears."

First professional steps

The first professional team of Kucherov could become the capital's Dynamo. But when the former pupils of the "White Bears" came to a scheduled meeting with the club's management, they were not even allowed to enter the arena. Thus, Kucherov became a player of the "Red Army".

In the first season for CSKA, the 16-year-old striker managed to throw 29 goals into the opponents' goal, and one year later CSKA not only successfully entered the MHL, but also won in the Kharlamov Cup.

In 2011, Nikita Kucherov began playing in the KHL for an adult team of "army men". But his career in CSKA was short-lived - in the summer of 2012 the contract was broken.

Career in the NHL

In the 2011/12 season, Kucherov seriously injured his shoulder, but the correct diagnosis was not made immediately. To fully recover the player needed to do a serious and expensive operation, but CSKA refused to pay it.

Nikita won a NHL club from Tampa Bay, which funded the treatment of Kucherov in the United States. After that, no doubt the attacker did not have to - he went to conquer the most prestigious tournament in North America.

Nikita Kucherov got on the draft NHL - 2011 under the overall 58th number and was selected in the second round by "Lightning" from Tampa Bay. During the selection of new players, a rather funny incident happened: the manager of "Tampa" got confused in Russian surnames and chose Kucherov instead of his namesake Nesterov.

Transatlantic performances striker began not with the NHL. He was sent to the main junior hockey league of Quebec, where he played for six months, "Uvebek Rempart", and later switched to the "Huskis" from Ruen-Noranda.

In the season 2012/13 Nikita Kucherov showed himself as an extra-class forward. In 27 regular season games, he managed to score 26 goals, while 27 assisted his teammates. He also scored 24 (9 + 15) points in the playoff series.

Next season, Kucherov began in the second most prestigious hockey league in North America - the AHL. Here in the "Syracuse Crunch" team he played 17 matches, in which he scored 24 points.

November 2013 was the time of Nikita's debut in the NHL for "Tampa Bay Lightnings". He took place due to injury to the captain of the "Lightning" Steven Stamkos. November 26, first out on the ice for his new club in a game against the "Rangers" from New York, Kucherov immediately managed to throw the puck. This helped him gain a foothold in the main team. In total in the season 2013/14 Nikita Kucherov played 58 games, which scored 18 (9 + 9) points.

In the next drawing of the regular season, the Russian striker falls into the attacking link with Johnson and the House. They began with the first matches to show high results and excellent mutual understanding on the ice. In the NHL, they received the nickname "triplets".

Season 2014/15 Kucherov finished with impressive results - 29 thrown washers and 36 precise gears. In the playoff series, Nikita's great game and his teammates allowed Tampa to make it to the Stanley Cup finals.

Next season Kucherov finished with a new personal record - in the regular season he scored 66 (30 + 36) points. In October 2016, he signed a new 3-year contract with "Lightning", according to which the Russian hockey player will earn almost $ 5 million a year.

Team Games

Since the age of 18, Nikita Kucherov is a hockey player of the junior team of the Russian national team. At the World Cup in 2011, he and his comrades not only won bronze medals for their country, but also became the champion of the tournament on earned points. For 7 matches, he scored 11 goals and gave 10 accurate transfers, thereby gaining 21 points.

A year later, Nikita Kucherov was summoned to the youth team of Russia to participate in the World Cup among the teams U-20. Scoring in 7 matches 2 goals and giving 5 assists, the striker helped his team to win silver prizes. A year later, the Russian team U-20 again got into the top three in the World Cup, winning bronze medals.

Since 2016, Kucherov began to be involved in the national team. He has already managed to hold 4 matches in the World Cup, in which he lit the red light twice behind the opponents' goal.