Nikita Scherbak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nikita Scherbak |
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Scherbak in 2014
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| Born | December 30, 1995 Moscow, Russia |
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| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| ICE team Former teams |
EC VSV Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings Avangard Omsk Traktor Chelyabinsk HC '05 Banská Bystrica Mountfield HK HC Slovan Bratislava Ducs d'Angers |
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| NHL Draft | 26th overall, 2014 Montreal Canadiens |
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| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Nikita Sergeevich Scherbak is a professional ice hockey player from Russia. He was born on December 30, 1995. He currently plays for EC VSV in the ICE Hockey League. Nikita was chosen by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, as the 26th player overall. He has also played for the Los Angeles Kings.
Contents
Nikita Scherbak's Hockey Journey
Starting in Junior Hockey
Nikita started playing junior hockey in 2012 for Kapitan Stupino in Russia's Junior Hockey League (MHL). In 2013, the Saskatoon Blades, a team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in Canada, chose him in a special draft for international players.
When he joined the Blades in the 2013-2014 season, he was the best rookie player. He scored 28 goals, made 50 assists, and had a total of 78 points. Because he played so well, he was invited to play in the 2014 CHL Top Prospects Game. This game features the best young players who might be drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL).
Nikita was seen as a top player who could be picked in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. After he was chosen by the Montreal Canadiens on July 22, 2014, he signed a three-year contract with them.
Later, on September 22, Nikita was traded to the Everett Silvertips. This happened because league rules say that a team can only have two players from outside North America on their roster at one time.
Playing as a Professional
During the 2016-2017 season, Nikita played his first game in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens on January 7, 2017. He scored a goal on his very first shot in the NHL! This goal happened during a power play against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Montreal won that game 5–3.
At the start of the 2018-2019 season, Nikita didn't play in the first 11 games. He was then sent to the Laval Rocket, which is Montreal's team in the American Hockey League (AHL). This was for him to get more playing time. He played his first game of that season on October 31, 2018. On November 9, 2018, he scored his first goal of the season for the Rocket.
Nikita was called back to the Canadiens on November 14, 2018, but he couldn't play right away because of an injury. On December 1, 2018, the Canadiens put him on waivers. This meant other teams could claim him. The Los Angeles Kings then claimed him.
After his contract with the Kings ended on June 25, 2019, Nikita became a free agent. The next day, he decided to go back to Russia to continue his career. He signed a three-year contract with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In his first KHL season (2019–2020), he scored 2 goals and had 6 points in 16 games before leaving the team. On November 5, 2019, Nikita joined another KHL team, Traktor Chelyabinsk, for the rest of the season.
As a free agent in 2021, Nikita returned to North America. He signed a one-year contract with the Texas Stars, a team in the AHL that is connected to the Dallas Stars. He played well for Texas, scoring 5 goals and getting 15 points in 28 games during the shorter season.
After that, Nikita went back to Europe. On September 9, 2021, he signed with HC '05 Banská Bystrica in Slovakia. He then finished the 2021-2022 season with Mountfield HK in the Czech Extraliga, joining them in January 2022.
In 2022, Nikita had to leave the Czech Republic because his visa was not renewed due to his Russian nationality. He then returned to Slovakia, signing with HC Slovan Bratislava for the rest of the 2022-2023 season.
In July 2023, Nikita joined the Ducs d'Angers in the Ligue Magnus, which is the top ice hockey league in France.
Most recently, on April 26, 2024, Nikita signed a one-year contract with EC VSV in Austria, which plays in the ICE Hockey League.
Career Statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | Kapitan Stupino | MHL | 50 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 65 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 65 | 27 | 55 | 82 | 60 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 48 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 66 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 26 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 26 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 23 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | KHL | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Texas Stars | AHL | 28 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | HC '05 Banská Bystrica | Slovak | 25 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Mountfield HK | ELH | 17 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2022–23 | Mountfield HK | ELH | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | HC Slovan Bratislava | Slovak | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Ducs d'Angers | Ligue Magnus | 41 | 10 | 37 | 47 | 63 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| NHL totals | 37 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 31 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and Honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| CHL Top Prospects Game (Team Cherry) | 2014 | |
