Nikita Kucherov
| Nikita Kucherov | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kucherov with the Tampa Bay Lightning in January 2014 | |||
| Born |
17 June 1993 Maykop, Russia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Tampa Bay Lightning CSKA Moscow | ||
| National team | Russia | ||
| NHL draft |
58th overall, 2011 Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Nikita Igorevich Kucherov (Russian: Никита Игоревич Кучеров; born 17 June 1993) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Regarded as one of the best players in the world, Kucherov won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player, Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer, and the Ted Lindsay Award as the best player voted by fellow NHL players in 2019. He won his second Art Ross Trophy in 2024 and his third in 2025 while also being a finalist for the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award for the second time in both years, winning the Ted Lindsay Award in 2025, and was the runner-up for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's goal-scoring leader in 2017.
Kucherov won the Stanley Cup twice with the Lightning, in 2020 and 2021, leading the playoffs in scoring both times. Kucherov holds the record for most points by a Russian-born player in a single season (144), as well as Lightning franchise playoff records for most points, most goals, and most assists.