Nikolai Zherdev

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Zherdev began playing hockey at the age of four. He began his training with the Sokil Kyiv junior hockey affiliate. Due to complications with organizing a team for his age group, he was pushed to play a year ahead with the 1983 born players; a group which included fellow future Ukrainian NHLer Anton Babchuk.[citation needed] Zherdev played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with his youth team from Kiev. While playing in the tournament, Zherdev\'s team found itself competing against a team from Elektrostal, Russia. The rival team\'s coach, Ravil Iskhakov, took note of both Zherdev and Babchuk, and invited the pair to further their development with the Elemash Elektrostal hockey club of the Russian Major League, to which they accepted together. The desire to play at a higher level came at a price: his nationality. In order to play in Russia,…