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Vladislav NamestnikovLondon Knights forward
Date of Birth: 22.11.1992
Country:  Canada |
Content:
Biography of Vladislav Namestnikov
Vladislav Namestnikov is a Russian ice hockey player who currently plays for the NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets. He is an International Class Master of Sports of Russia (2017). Throughout his career, Namestnikov has played for 7 different NHL clubs, with 5 of those clubs being changed during the season. Vladislav and his father Evgeny are the first father and son duo in Russian history to play in the NHL. The Namestnikov family moved to the United States in 1993 when Vladislav was just 8 months old, initially settling in Salt Lake City. When Namestnikov was 8 years old, he returned to Voskresensk to further develop his skills. He made his debut for the Voskresensk "Khimik" in the Russian Higher League at the age of 16. He also played for the junior and youth national teams of Russia, participating in the 2010 World Junior Championship and scoring 7 points in 7 games. In 2010, he was drafted by the OHL team, the London Knights. Namestnikov was also selected in the 2011 KHL Junior Draft by "Torpedo" (Nizhny Novgorod), but he said, "I will not go there to play." He spent two seasons with the London Knights, winning the OHL championship in 2012. In the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft, Vladislav was selected 27th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2012, he signed a three-year rookie contract with the team. Since the 2012/13 season, he has been playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Namestnikov made his first NHL appearance on February 8, 2014, against the Detroit Red Wings. He scored his first NHL goal on October 13, 2014, in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. On July 17, 2015, Tampa Bay extended Namestnikov's contract for one year. The agreement was of a two-way nature.
Career Highlights
On January 15, 2016, Namestnikov scored his first NHL hat trick, netting three goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On March 2, 2016, he was named to the Russian national team for the 2016 World Cup held in Toronto. On July 27, 2016, he signed a new two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth just under $2 million. The 2016/17 season, like the whole team, did not go well for Namestnikov, as he only scored 28 points in 74 games, and Tampa failed to make the playoffs. However, after the end of the NHL season, he was called up by Oleg Znarok to represent Russia in the World Championship, where he played in all games and won bronze. The following season, he started on the top line of the Lightning alongside Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. He also played on the team's top power play unit, which was one of the league's best for a long time. After playing 62 games for Tampa, he set personal scoring records with 44 points, 20 goals, and 24 assists. However, on the trade deadline, on February 26, 2018, he became part of a trade between the Lightning and the New York Rangers. In his first game for the Rangers against the Vancouver Canucks, he recorded 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist). However, he struggled in the latter part of the season with the Rangers, scoring only 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) in the next 18 games. On October 7, 2019, Namestnikov was traded to the Ottawa Senators by the Rangers in exchange for defenseman Nick Ebert and a 2021 4th round draft pick. On February 24, 2020, Ottawa, occupying the 15th spot in the Eastern Conference, traded Namestnikov to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2021 4th round draft pick. On October 11, 2020, he signed a two-year contract worth $4 million with the Detroit Red Wings. On March 21, 2022, Namestnikov was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2024 4th round draft pick. On July 13, 2022, he returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning, signing a one-year contract worth $2.5 million. On March 1, 2023, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for American forward Mike Alessi. However, he did not play a single game for the Sharks and was traded to the Winnipeg Jets two days later in exchange for a 2025 4th round draft pick. The Jets became Namestnikov's seventh NHL club, and he played for them for four seasons (2019/20-2022/23).
Family
Vladislav Namestnikov grew up in a sports-oriented family with close ties to ice hockey. His father, Evgeny Namestnikov, played in the NHL from 1993 to 2000, appearing in a total of 43 games. His mother is the sister of hockey player Vyacheslav Kozlov and the daughter of hockey player and coach Anatoli Kozlov. His uncle, Ivan Novoseltsev, is also a hockey player. Vladislav's younger brother, Max, is also a hockey player. In his childhood, Namestnikov attended games of the Detroit Red Wings, where his uncle Vyacheslav Kozlov played at the time. He visited the team's dressing room, met players, including Steve Yzerman (general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2010 to 2018).
