| Dmitri Kulikov | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 29, 1990 Lipetsk, Soviet Union |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team | Florida Panthers |
| National team | Russia |
| NHL Draft | 14th overall, 2009 Florida Panthers |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
Dmitri Vladimirovich Kulikov (born October 29, 1990) is an Russian ice hockey defenceman, currently playing for the Florida Panthers.
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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.[1] In his lone season with Drummondville, Kulikov led all Quebec League blueliners with 62 points in 57 games, and took home a slew of postseason hardware, 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 best pro prospect.
After his rookie year with the Voltigeurs, he was drafted by the Florida Panthers 14th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and was signed by the Panthers on September 29, 2009.[2]
Despite his age, Kulikov managed to play in 68 games with the Florida Panthers, showing high levels of skill and confidence. Kulikov owns tremendous offensive insticts and boasts plenty of projection in his frame and all-around upside. Dale Tallon, the current Florida Panthers General Manager has expressed that they have very high expectations on the young defenceman. He is considered to be the first step in the rebuilding process of this NHL franchise, and was recently joined by prospects Jacob Markström, Erik Gudbranson and Jonathan Huberdeau.[3]
Kulikov represented his homeland in two U-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.[4]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 140 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Place | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Russia | WJC18 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2008 | Russia | WJC18 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2009 | Russia | WJC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Junior int'l totals | 20 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 16 | ||||
| 2010 | Russia | WC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2011 | Russia | WC | 4th | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Senior int'l totals | 18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | ||||
| Preceded by Keaton Ellerby |
Florida Panthers first round draft pick 2009 |
Succeeded by Erik Gudbranson |