Rinat Valiev (born May 11, 1995) is a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

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 ...

who is currently playing under contract with

HC Almaty Hockey Club Almaty (, ) is a professional ice hockey team based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. They were founded in 2010, and play in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship The Pro Hokei Ligasy, commonly referred to as ''Kazakhstan Hockey Championship'', is ...

of the

Pro Hokei Ligasy The Pro Hokei Ligasy, commonly referred to as ''Kazakhstan Hockey Championship'', is the highest level of ice hockey in Kazakhstan. Founded in 1992, eleven teams from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan compete to win the Kazakhstan Hockey Cup. Teams ...

(KAZ). Valiev was selected in the third round (68th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Playing career

Valiev was selected in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 2012 KHL Junior Draft by

Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (, , ), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a professional ice hockey club based in Kazan, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). History Founded as Mashstroy Kazan in 1956, the n ...

. After parts of two seasons with junior affiliate, Bars Kazan, he relocated to North America and played the 2012–13 season with the

Indiana Ice The Indiana Ice was a Tier I junior ice hockey team and member club of the United States Hockey League (USHL) that was formed in 2004 when the Danville Wings were purchased and moved from their location in Danville, Illinois, to Indianapolis, ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

. After his draft selection to the Maple Leafs, Valiev was promptly signed to a three-year entry-level contract on July 10, 2014. Following his second season within the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, competing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and playing its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise, ...

organization of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

, Valiev made his professional debut after the 2014–15 season, playing in 2 games with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. During the 2015–16 season, behind the back of enjoying a solid season in his return to the Marlies, Valiev received his first NHL recall on March 11, 2016. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in a 4–0 defeat to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

on March 12, 2016. On February 25, 2018, one day before the trade deadline, Valiev was traded by the Maple Leafs, alongside teammate

Kerby Rychel Kerby Rychel (born October 7, 1994) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He most recently played under contract with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Columbus Blu ...

and a second-round pick in 2018 NHL Entry Draft 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 ...

in exchange for

Tomáš Plekanec Tomáš Plekanec (born 31 October 1982) is a Czech former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. He played most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career for the Montreal Canadiens, and briefly played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. ...

and minor league forward Kyle Baun. On May 31, Valiev signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Canadiens. Before the 2018–19 season, on October 1, 2018, Valiev was traded by the Canadiens alongside teammate Matt Taormina to 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 ...

in exchange for Brett Kulak. Following two seasons within the Flames organization assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The Hea ...

, Valiev sat out the shortened and pandemic-delayed

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season as a free agent. On 5 July 2021, Valiev returned to the professional ranks in securing a try-out contract with his original Russian club,

of the KHL. After a successful pre-season, Valiev secured a one-year contract for the 2021–22 season with Ak Bars on 26 August 2021. Valiev made one appearance with Ak Bars, playing the majority of his contract with VHL club,

Bars Kazan Bars Kazan () is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Kazan, who compete in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). The club is affiliated as a feeder club for the Ak Bars Kazan organization of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). History The tea ...

, before he was traded to Belarusian KHL club, HC Dinamo Minsk, in exchange for the rights to Julius Honka on 27 December 2021. On 5 July 2022, Valiev continued his tenure in the KHL, joining

Admiral Vladivostok Hockey Club Admiral, also known as Admiral Vladivostok, () is a professional ice hockey club based in Vladivostok, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Admiral play its home games at Fetisov ...

on a two-year contract.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valiev, Rinat 1995 births Living people Admiral Vladivostok players 21st-century Russian sportsmen Ak Bars Kazan players HC Almaty players Bars Kazan players HC Dinamo Minsk players Humo Tashkent players Indiana Ice players JHC Bars players Kootenay Ice players Laval Rocket players Montreal Canadiens players Russian ice hockey defencemen Stockton Heat players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players