Nikita Nikitin

Nikita Aleksandrovich Nikitin (Russian: Никита Александрович Никитин; born 16 June 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenseman who currently plays for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers.\n', ' Nikitin spent his junior career skating in the Avangard Omsk hockey system. He was a regular on Russia\'s under-18 and under-20 national squads and spent several seasons skating in the professional Russian Superleague (RSL) with Avangard, establishing himself as a strong Superleague-calibre defense-man.\n', ' Nikitin was drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the 136th overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. On 14 June 2010, he was signed by the Blues to an entry-level NHL contract. He scored his first NHL goal on 6 February 2011 against Dan Ellis of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was traded on 10 November 2011, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenceman Kris Russell.\n', '