Pavel Aleksandrovich Valentenko (russian: Павел Валентенко; born 20 October 1987) is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He currently plays with

HC Yugra Hockey Club Yugra (russian: Хоккейный клуб Югра), is a professional ice hockey team based in Khanty-Mansiysk, Yugra, Russia. They currently play in the Supreme Hockey League, the second-highest league in Russia, and played in the ...

of the

Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the Major Hockey League or Higher Hockey League (HHL), is a professional ice hockey league i ...

(VHL).

Playing career

Valentenko was drafted in the fifth round, 139th overall, in the

2006 NHL Entry Draft The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006. The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006. The draft was ...

by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. He moved to North America in 2007 after growing up in the Nizhnekamsk hockey system to play for the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 OHL season, 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Cent ...

, the Canadiens'

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. He was voted best rookie for the Bulldogs in his first season (2007–08) and was part of the group of players Montreal recalled for the 2008 NHL Playoffs in the case of injuries. On 30 October 2008, it was reported that Valentenko had defected from the Hamilton Bulldogs and signed a three-year contract with

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

. This news came just days after Valentenko was given permission by the Bulldogs to go home to Russia for an indefinite period of time to deal with family issues. On 30 June 2009, Valentenko was traded along with Chris Higgins, Doug Janik and

Ryan McDonagh Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, he play ...

to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

for

Scott Gomez Scott Carlos Gomez (born December 23, 1979) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was the assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gomez had previously played in the NHL with t ...

, Tom Pyatt and

Michael Busto Michael Busto (born June 20, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for Ducs d'Angers of the French Ligue Magnus. Playing career Busto was born, in Burnaby, British Columbia. Busto played in the We ...

. Between 2009 and 2012 he played for the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League. During the offseason in 2012 he signed with Avangard Omsk.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1987 births Living people Avangard Omsk players Connecticut Whale (AHL) players HC Dynamo Moscow players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players Montreal Canadiens draft picks HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players Russian ice hockey defencemen HC Spartak Moscow players Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players HC Yugra players Yuzhny Ural Orsk players {{Russia-icehockey-defenceman-stub