Vladimir Tarasenko

Vladimir Tarasenko (born Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko on December 13, 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Vladimir has played for the Russian junior team three times, winning a silver medal at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships, sixth place at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and captained Russia to a gold medal at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

He played in the system of Sibir Novosibirsk and joined their KHL team in 2008. He spent three seasons with the team before being traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in 2012.

Vladimir was drafted 16th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues.

Playing Career
Vladimir learned from his father, Andrei, who was a former Russian league scoring champion and Olympian. He made his professional debut with Sibir Novosibirsk in 2008–09, scoring seven goals and ten points in 38 games and was the runner up in voting for rookie of the year.

Vladimir was released to play with the junior team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships where he scored eight goals in seven games and was named a tournament all-star as Russia won a silver medal.

Vladimir returned to Sibir in 2009–10 as the seventh youngest player in the KHL. He again represented Russia at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, finishing third in team scoring with five points in six games.

Vladimir is over 18 years old but still wears a cage because doctors forbid him to play without it due to a previous injury. International Scouting Services ranked Vladimir as the top ranked European skater and fourth overall, in its mid-term rankings for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Described by scouts as strong and mobile with no glaring weaknesses, Tarasenko had expressed interest in playing in the National Hockey League though his father, also his coach with Sibir, believed it was important that his son remained in Russia.

Vladimir was drafted by St. Louis Blues 16th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft via a trade on June 25, 2010 that sent the Ottawa Senators' first round draft pick to St. Louis for David Rundblad selected 17th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Blues.

On January 13, 2012, Vladimir was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg for Vyacheslav Solodukhin. On June 2, 2012, he announced that he would be coming to North America to play in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues rather than stay and play in the KHL.

However as a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Vladimir instead returned to SKA. He credited the decision in part to a desire to play with Ilya Kovalchuk, the captain of the team who also joined as a result of the lockout.

Once the lockout ended, Vladimir started the 2012-13 NHL season with the Blues. He scored his first and second goals on the first two shots of his NHL debut on January 19, 2013 against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-0 blowout.

Vladimir finished his first NHL season with eight goals and 11 assists in 38 games.

On February 4, 2013, Vladimir was named NHL Rookie Of The Month for the month of January after scoring five goals to go with a total of nine points.