Pavel Aleksandrovich Valentenko (; born 20 October 1987) is a 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 was selected in the fifth round, 139th overall, by 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 ...

in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Valentenko was drafted in the fifth round, 139th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the

. He moved to North America in 2007 after growing up in the Nizhnekamsk hockey system to play for the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the Bulldogs played home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purc ...

, the Canadiens'

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

. He was voted best rookie for the Bulldogs in his first season (2007–08) and was part of the group of players Montreal recalled for the 2008 NHL Playoffs in the case of injuries. On 30 October 2008, it was reported that Valentenko had defected from the Hamilton Bulldogs and signed a three-year 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 ...

. This news came just days after Valentenko was given permission by the Bulldogs to go home to Russia for an indefinite period of time to deal with family issues. On 30 June 2009, Valentenko was traded along with Chris Higgins, Doug Janik and

Ryan McDonagh Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadie ...

to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

for

Scott Gomez Scott Carlos Gomez (born December 23, 1979) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was the assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gomez had previously played in the NHL with t ...

Tom Pyatt Thomas Cullum Pyatt (born February 14, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He spent most of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators. Pyatt also pl ...

and

Michael Busto Michael Busto (born June 20, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for Ducs d'Angers of the French Ligue Magnus. Playing career Busto was born, in Burnaby, British Columbia. Busto played in the We ...

. Between 2009 and 2012 he played for the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League. During the offseason in 2012 he signed with Avangard Omsk.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1987 births Living people Avangard Omsk players Connecticut Whale (AHL) players HC Dynamo Moscow players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players Montreal Canadiens draft picks HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players Russian ice hockey defencemen HC Spartak Moscow players Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players HC Yugra players Yuzhny Ural Orsk players {{Russia-icehockey-defenceman-stub