Russian hockey player Nikita Zaitsev: biography and sports career

Nikita Zaitsev - hockey player, biography and sportswhose career is presented in the article, who is in favor of the Canadian NHL club Toronto Maple Leafs and the national team of Russia. Plays on the position of the defender.

Nikita Zaitsev. Biography and the first sports steps

So, in order. Nikita Zaitsev was born in October 1991 in Moscow. The first sports steps the young man did in the local hockey school "Wings of the Soviets." Already at a very young age, Nikita proved to be a reliable defender, able to give an excellent transfer and always ready to support the team in the attack.

Professional career

In 2009, following the results of the draft KHL Nikita Zaitsev was in the Novosibirsk "Siberia". In the first season, the 18-year-old defender played in 40 matches, in which he noted one effective transfer.

The most successful for Nikita Zaitsev becamechampionship 2012/2013. In 49 regular games he managed to score 18 (7 + 11) points, becoming a permanent player of the main lineup, and at the end of the season he tried on a captain's armband.

In 2013, Zaitsev moved to the Moscow team HCCSKA Moscow. In the first championship, Nikita played 33 fights for the "army men", scored 4 goals and gave 8 assists. In the next two seasons, CSKA Zaitsev increased his skills and effectiveness. The talented defender twice in a row became a member of the Match of all the KHL stars and as many times received the prestigious "Golden Helmet" prize.

In 2016, Nikita Zaitsev moved to the club"Toronto Maple Leafs", serving in the strongest hockey league of the planet - the NHL. In the 2016/17 season, the Russian defender had 82 fights in which he scored 4 goals against the opponents' goal and helped his teammates more than thirty times. However, such a result did not help the "Maple Leaf" go further than the first stage of the Stanley Cup playoffs. At the end of the season, Zaitsev extended for 7 years a contract with his club. Now his average annual salary will be about 4.5 million dollars.

Team Games

And the main point. For the first time Nikita Zaytsev was summoned to the junior team in 2009. Then the Russian team took the second place at the World Championship. Zaitsev played in 7 games, typing 5 (1 + 4) points, and also after serving 14 minutes penalty.

Two years later, Nikita in the youththe Russian national team became the world champion. Starting in 2013, Zaitseva began to attract the national team to the games. In his debut match against Austria at the World Cup 2013, he marked an abandoned puck. Zaitsev took part in two world championships, and in 2016 became the owner of the bronze medal of the World Championship.