Vladimir Tarasenko
Introduction '''Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko''' (; born 13 December 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to playing in the NHL, he 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.Tarasenko was selected in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, joining the team for the 2012–13 season. He spent parts of 11 seasons in St. Louis, becoming one of the franchise's leading scorers, playing in three NHL All-Star Games, and winning the Stanley Cup in 2019.Tarasenko was then traded to the New York Rangers in February 2023.
Playing career ===Russia===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. 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. Tarasenko returned to Sibir in 2009–10 as the seventh-youngest player in the League. He again represented Russia at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, finishing third in team scoring with five points in six games.HC Sibir, December 2011International 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. Described by scouts as strong and mobile with no glaring weaknesses, Tarasenko had expressed interest in playing in the NHL, though his father, also his coach with Sibir, believed it was important that his son remain in Russia. 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.On 13 January 2012, Tarasenko was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for Vyacheslav Solodukhin. 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. 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.===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). He ultimately finished his first NHL season with eight goals and 11 assists in 38 games.Tarasenko during team practice with the St. Louis Blues, January 2013On 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.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. 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. 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. Tarasenko is known for his very accurate and unique wrist shot, which has earned him a reputation as one of the most dangerous goal scorers in the NHL. He was one of only two players to score at least 30 goals in a five-season stretch from 2014-15 through 2018–19, along with fellow-Russian Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.Tarasenko won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, St. Louis' first Stanley Cup in their 52-year franchise history. During the Blues' 2019 playoff run, Tarasenko recorded 11 goals, the second-highest total among Blues players and the third-highest among all players in the playoffs. In game 5 of the 2019 Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks, Tarasenko became the first player in Blues playoff history to score a goal on a penalty shot.On 24 October 2019, during a 5–2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, Tarasenko was forced to leave the game after getting tangled up with Kings defenceman Sean Walker. Four days later, it was announced that Tarasenko would require shoulder surgery and be sidelined at least five months. This was the second of three shoulder surgeries Tarasenko would undergo in a span of less than three years due to lingering instability, the first after an April 2018 injury and the third following an early departure from the team in the 2019-2020 postseason. On 7 July 2021, it was reported that Tarasenko had requested a trade from St. Louis due to him being unhappy with how the club had handled his shoulder surgeries. He was left unprotected in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, but was not selected.Despite tensions between the Blues and Tarasenko, a trade could not be made to honor his request to be moved. The two sides ultimately put the situation behind them and Tarasenko remained with St. Louis for the 2021–22 season. Tarasenko went on to have the most productive year of his career to that point, scoring 34 goals and setting career highs in assists (48) and points (82), averaging more than a point per game. He helped the Blues advance to the second round of the 2022 NHL playoffs, tallying nine points and six goals in 12 playoff games, including his second career playoff hat trick in Game 5 of the Blues' first round series against the Minnesota Wild. During the playoffs, he also scored his 40th career postseason goal, becoming the second player in franchise history besides Brett Hull to reach that mark.===New York Rangers===Tarasenko, alongside defenceman Niko Mikkola, was traded to the New York Rangers on 9 February 2023.In his Rangers debut a day later against the Seattle Kraken, Tarasenko scored his first goal with his new team in only 2:49 in the first period, which was the fourth fastest goal in Rangers debut in franchise history, behind Norman Lowe (1:00 in 1950), Lane Lambert (2:28 in 1986), and Mike Allison (2:44 in 1980).===Ottawa Senators===Having left the Rangers a free agent, on 27 July 2023, Tarasenko signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Ottawa Senators.
International play 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 Russian national team for the 2014 Winter Olympics held in his native Russia, in Sochi. He represented Russia at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, winning a silver medal, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and 2021 IIHF World Championship.
Personal life Tarasenko's father, Andrei, is a former Russian league scoring champion and Olympian who competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics.Tarasenko married his wife, Yana, on 1 July 2015.The couple have three sons born in 2007, 2016 and 2019.The son born in 2007 is his stepson. During the season, the family resided in Creve Coeur, Missouri, before selling the home in 2020 and moving into St. Louis.Tarasenko was the cover athlete for EA Sports' ''NHL 17''.
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 11 3 3 6 0 2017–18 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 33 33 66 17 — — — — — 2018–19 St. Louis Blues NHL 76 33 35 68 22 26 11 6 17 4 2019–20 St. Louis Blues NHL 10 3 7 10 0 4 0 0 0 0 2020–21 St. Louis Blues NHL 24 4 10 14 0 4 2 0 2 0 2021–22 St. Louis Blues NHL 75 34 48 82 32 12 6 3 9 0 2022–23 St. Louis Blues NHL 38 10 19 29 8 — — — — — 2022–23 New York Rangers NHL 31 8 13 21 0 7 3 1 4 2 KHL totals 207 66 65 131 51 18 10 6 16 6 NHL totals 675 270 304 574 185 97 44 20 64 8===International=== Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM 2008 Russia IH18  4 3 2 5 0 2009 Russia U18  8 8 7 15 6 2010 Russia WJC 6th 6 4 1 5 2 2011 Russia WJC  7 4 7 11 0 2011 Russia WC 4th 6 1 0 1 0 2014 Russia OG 5th 5 0 1 1 0 2015 Russia WC  9 4 3 7 2 2016 Russia WCH 4th 4 2 0 2 0 2021 ROC WC 5th 3 0 2 2 2 Junior totals 24 19 17 36 8 Senior totals 27 7 6 13 4
Awards and honors  Award Year NHL Rookie of the Month (January) 2013  NHL All-Star Game 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023  NHL second All-Star team 2015, 2016  EA Sports NHL cover athlete 2017  Stanley Cup champion 2019 International IIHF World U18 Championships First Team All-Star 2009
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