Dmitri Kulikov (ice hockey)

Dmitry Vladimirovich Kulikov (Russian: Дми́трий Влади́мирович Кулико́в; born 29 October 1990) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round, 14th overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He has previously played for the Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets in the NHL.

Dmitry Kulikov
Kulikov with the Florida Panthers in 2010
Born	29 October 1990 Lipetsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	New Jersey Devils Florida Panthers Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Buffalo Sabres Winnipeg Jets
National team	Russia
NHL Draft	14th overall, 2009 Florida Panthers
Playing career	2009–present

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. Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon expressed that the Panthers organization had high expectations of Kulikov for the future.[3]

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

On 25 June 2016, Kulikov was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, along with the 33rd overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft in exchange for defenceman Mark Pysyk and picks 38 and 89 in the 2016 draft.[5] In the 2016–17 season, Kulikov's time with the Sabres was largely affected through injury. In the last year of his contract, he appeared in 47 games to produce a career low 2 goals and 5 points.

On 1 July 2017, as a free agent from his disappointing tenure with the Sabres, Kulikov was signed to a three-year, $12 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[6]

After the completion of his contract with the Jets, Kulikov left as a free agent and on 22 October 2020, he was signed to a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.[7]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Russia
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2015 Czech Republic
	2010 Germany

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.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl	RUS.3		32	6	13	19	54		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Drummondville Voltigeurs	QMJHL		57	12	50	62	46		19	2	17	19	16
2009–10	Florida Panthers	NHL		68	3	13	16	32		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Florida Panthers	NHL		72	6	20	26	45		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Florida Panthers	NHL		58	4	24	28	36		7	0	1	1	4
2012–13	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	KHL		22	3	3	6	28		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Florida Panthers	NHL		34	3	7	10	22		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	8	11	19	66		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Florida Panthers	NHL		73	3	19	22	48		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Florida Panthers	NHL		74	1	16	17	51		6	1	3	4	4
2016–17	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		47	2	3	5	26		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		62	3	8	11	22		1	0	0	0	2
2018–19	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		57	0	6	6	47		6	0	0	0	4
2019–20	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		51	2	8	10	32		4	0	2	2	4
NHL totals				677	35	135	170	427		24	1	6	7	18

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007	Russia	WJC18			7	0	4	4	6
2007	Russia	U18			4	0	0	0	31
2008	Russia	WJC18			6	0	2	2	6
2009	Russia	WJC			7	0	4	4	4
2010	Russia	WC			9	0	2	2	8
2011	Russia	WC	4th		9	2	1	3	4
2015	Russia	WC			10	0	2	2	8
2016	Russia	WCH	4th		4	0	0	0	0
Junior totals					24	0	10	10	47
Senior totals					32	2	5	7	20

References

1. "Prospect Dmitry Kulikov Player Profile". Hockey's Future. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
2. "Cats sign Kulikov". Florida Panthers. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
3. "Dmitri Kulikov profile". The Hockey News. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
4. "Panthers Re-Sign Kulikov to Three-Year, $13M Deal". TSN. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
5. "Sabres acquire defenseman Dmitri Kulikov in deal with Panthers". ESPN. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
6. "Jets sign Dmitri Kulikov". Winnipeg Jets. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
7. "Devils sign Kulikov". New Jersey Devils. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
8. "Russian Hockey NHL Prospects – Dmitry Kulikov Florida Panthers". Russianprospects.com. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database