Alexei Zhitnik (, ; born October 10, 1972) is a Ukrainian-Russian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. He has represented the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, CIS, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

internationally; and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

during two NHL All-Star Games. His number, 13, has been honored by Sokil Kyiv.

Playing career

Zhitnik was drafted 81st overall by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft after playing for Sokil Kyiv in the

Soviet Championship League The Soviet Hockey Championship () was the highest level ice hockey league in the Soviet Union, running from 1946 to 1992. Before the 1940s the game of ice hockey was not cultivated in Russia, instead the more popular form of hockey was bandy. Foll ...

for two years. After another year, he came to the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for the

1992–93 NHL season The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. The league expanded to 24 teams with the ...

. Zhitnik made his NHL debut on October 6, 1992, against the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

and scored his first

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

nine nights later, also against Calgary. In his rookie season with the Kings, he finished second among

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

defenceman in

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with 48. He was an important part of the Kings'

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

run to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

, where they lost to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

. After another year of playing with the Kings and

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

, Zhitnik was traded on February 14, 1995, along with

Robb Stauber Robert Thomas Stauber (born November 25, 1967) is an American ice hockey coach and former professional goaltender. He played college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 NHL entry draft by the L ...

, Charlie Huddy and a fifth-round draft pick, to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

for

Grant Fuhr Grant Scott Fuhr (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) and former goaltending coach for the Arizona Coyotes, who played for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s during wh ...

, Denis Tsygurov and Philippe Boucher. He became one of the team's best players, helping the Sabres win the Northeast Division in the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the Phoenix Coyotes. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Fl ...

, his second full year with the team. In the

1997–98 NHL season The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). For the first time, there was a break in the regular season to allow NHL players join their respective national hockey teams competing at the Winter Olympi ...

, he led all defensemen in shorthanded goals (3). He also helped the Sabres reach the finals in the

1998–99 NHL season The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 27 teams with the addition of the Nashville Predators. The NHL also realigned to a strictly geographic six-division structure, with three ...

and stayed on the team until the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

when he returned to the Russian Super League. Following the lockout, Zhitnik signed a four-year contract with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. He became an effective force on the team, and even though he missed the last 18 games of the season with a fractured ankle, he finished second among team defenceman in scoring. On December 16, 2006, Zhitnik was traded to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

for Freddy Meyer and a conditional third-round draft pick. However, he was traded two months later on February 24, 2007, to the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

to add experience for playoffs, in exchange for Braydon Coburn. Due to Zhitnik's disappointing play and the Thrashers focus on rebuilding, the team bought out Zhitnik's contract on June 30, 2008, making him a free agent. On July 26, 2008, Zhitnik joined the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

, signing a tryout contract with

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

. He played for Ukraine at the Maccabi “Jewish Olympics” in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and 2017. Zhitnik also won a gold medal as part of Team Ukraine's Masters hockey team at the 2017 Maccabiah Games.

Awards

*1992: Gold Medal ( XVII Olympic Winter Games) *1996: Bronze Medal (

World Cup of Hockey The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996 World Cup of Hockey, 1996, it is the successor to the Canada Cup, which was held every three to five years from 1976 Canada Cup, 1976 to 1991 Canada Cup, 1991 ...

) *1998: Silver Medal ( XVIII Olympic Winter Games) *1998–99: Played in the All-Star Game (

) *2001–02: Played in the All-Star Game (

) *2008: Spengler Cup Champion (

) *2008–09: Played in the All-Star Game (

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

)

Records

*On February 20, 2007, as a Flyer, Zhitnik became the eighth defenseman born outside of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and first born in the Soviet Union to appear in 1,000 NHL games ( Sergei Zubov has since joined Zhitnik in that regard). The others at the time were

Nicklas Lidström Erik Nicklas Lidström (; born 28 April 1970) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman and current vice president of hockey operations for the Detroit Red Wings. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detr ...

Börje Salming Anders Börje Salming ( ; 17 April 1951 – 24 November 2022) was a Swedish ice hockey player. He was a defenceman who played professionally for 23 seasons, for the clubs Brynäs IF, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and AIK Hockey, AIK. H ...

, Calle Johansson, Ulf Samuelsson, Fredrik Olausson (all from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

), Petr Svoboda from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and Teppo Numminen of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Career transactions

* Selected by

in 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He was Los Angeles' 4th round choice, 81st overall. * Traded to Buffalo by

with

, Charlie Huddy and Los Angeles' 5th round choice ( Marian Menhart) in 1995 Entry Draft for Philippe Boucher, Denis Tsygurov and

, February 14, 1995. * Signed as a free agent by

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

(Russia), December 6, 2004. * Signed as a free agent by the

, August 2, 2005. * Traded to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

by the Islanders for Freddy Meyer and a conditional 3rd round draft pick on December 16, 2006. * Traded to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

for defenseman Braydon Coburn on February 24, 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhitnik, Alexei 1972 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Atlanta Thrashers players Buffalo Sabres players HC CSKA Moscow players HC Dynamo Moscow players Ice hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Ukraine Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics National Hockey League All-Stars New York Islanders players Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Olympic ice hockey players for Russia Olympic ice hockey players for the Unified Team Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Russia Philadelphia Flyers players Russian ice hockey defencemen Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sokil Kyiv players Soviet ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Kyiv Ukrainian ice hockey defencemen Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Jewish Ukrainian sportspeople