Nikita Nikitin

Nikita Aleksandrovich Nikitin (Russian: Никита Александрович Никитин; born 16 June 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenseman who currently plays for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers.

Nikitin with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013

Nikita Nikitin
Nikitin at the 2014 Edmonton Oilers training camp
Born	(1986-06-16) 16 June 1986 (age 39) Omsk, Russian SFSR, URS
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Avangard Omsk St. Louis Blues Columbus Blue Jackets Edmonton Oilers Traktor Chelyabinsk
National team	Russia
NHL draft	136th overall, 2004 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	2002–2019

Playing career

Nikitin spent his junior career skating in the Avangard Omsk hockey system. He was a regular on Russia's under-18 and under-20 national squads and spent several seasons skating in the professional Russian Superleague (RSL) with Avangard, establishing himself as a strong Superleague-calibre defense-man.

Nikitin was drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the 136th overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.^[1] On 14 June 2010, he was signed by the Blues to an entry-level NHL contract.^[2] He scored his first NHL goal on 6 February 2011 against Dan Ellis of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was traded on 10 November 2011, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenceman Kris Russell.^[3]

After Columbus agreed to give the Edmonton Oilers permission to negotiate with Nikitin on 20 June 2014, Nikitin and Edmonton agreed to a two-year deal worth an annual average value of $4.5 million, and his rights were traded to Edmonton on 25 June, where he immediately signed the new contract.^[4]

Having returned to the KHL with Avangard Omsk for the 2016–17 season, Nikitin continued in Russia, joining his second KHL outfit in Traktor Chelyabinsk on October 3, 2017.^[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	Avangard–2 Omsk	RUS.3		34	3	7	10	4		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Avangard–2 Omsk	RUS.3		56	5	9	14	54		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Avangard–2 Omsk	RUS.3		33	3	9	12	20		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Avangard Omsk	RSL		12	0	0	0	2		3	0	0	0	0
2005–06	Avangard–2 Omsk	RUS.3		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Avangard Omsk	RSL		43	1	2	3	22		13	1	2	3	6
2006–07	Avangard Omsk	RSL		54	1	15	16	99		11	0	4	4	39
2007–08	Avangard Omsk	RSL		57	3	11	14	48		4	0	1	1	2
2008–09	Avangard Omsk	KHL		53	4	11	15	28		9	1	2	3	8
2009–10	Avangard Omsk	KHL		43	4	9	13	14		3	0	0	0	0
2010–11	St. Louis Blues	NHL		41	1	8	9	10		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Peoria Rivermen	AHL		22	3	11	14	12		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	St. Louis Blues	NHL		7	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		54	7	25	32	14		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Avangard Omsk	KHL		33	2	12	14	8		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		38	3	6	9	17		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		66	2	13	15	20		5	0	0	0	0
2014–15	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		42	4	6	10	12		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Bakersfield Condors	AHL		30	1	13	14	0		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		11	0	1	1	8		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Avangard Omsk	KHL		47	3	3	6	16		4	0	1	1	2
2017–18	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		33	0	4	4	20		3	0	2	2	14
2018–19	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		28	2	1	3	29		—	—	—	—	—
RSL totals				166	5	28	33	171		31	1	7	8	47
KHL totals				237	15	40	55	115		19	1	5	6	24
NHL totals				259	17	59	76	85		5	0	0	0	0

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006	Russia	WJC			6	0	0	0	6
2012	Russia	WC			10	0	4	4	4
2014	Russia	OG	5th		5	0	1	1	0
Junior totals					6	0	0	0	6
Senior totals					15	0	5	5	4