Rinat Valiev (born May 11, 1995) 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 ...

who is currently playing under contract with

Admiral Vladivostok Hockey Club Admiral, Also Known as The Admiral Vladivostok, (russian: Хоккейный клуб Адмирал)are a professional ice hockey team based in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia. They are members of the Chernyshev Division of the ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL). Valiev was selected in the third round (68th overall) of the

2014 NHL Entry Draft The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia), Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, ...

by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Playing career

Valiev was selected in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 2012 KHL Junior Draft by

Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (russian: Ак Барс, tt-Cyrl, Ак Барс, en, Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey ...

. After parts of two seasons with junior affiliate, Bars Kazan, he relocated to North America and played the 2012–13 season with the

Indiana Ice The Indiana Ice was a Tier I junior ice hockey team and member club of the United States Hockey League (USHL) that was formed in 2004 when the Danville Wings were purchased and moved from their location in Danville, Illinois, to Indianapolis, I ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

. After his draft selection to the Maple Leafs, Valiev was promptly signed to a three-year entry-level contract on July 10, 2014. Following his second season within the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team played its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise wa ...

organization of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

, Valiev made his professional debut at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, playing in 2 games with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. During the 2015–16 season, behind the back of enjoying a solid season in his return to the Marlies, Valiev received his first NHL recall on March 11, 2016. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in a 4-0 defeat to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

on March 12, 2016. On February 25, 2018, one day before the trade deadline, Valiev was traded by the Maple Leafs, alongside teammate

Kerby Rychel Kerby Rychel (born October 7, 1994) is an American-born Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played under contract with the Charlotte Checkers of ...

and a second-round pick in

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

to 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 ...

in exchange for

Tomáš Plekanec Tomáš Plekanec (born 31 October 1982) is a Czech professional ice hockey centre currently playing for Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He has played most of his professional career for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey ...

and minor league forward Kyle Baun. On May 31, Valiev signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Canadiens. Prior to the 2018–19 season, on October 1, 2018, Valiev was traded by the Canadiens alongside teammate

Matt Taormina Matthew Angelo Taormina (born October 20, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played with the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career As a youth, Taormina ...

to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in exchange for

Brett Kulak Brett Kulak (born January 6, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kulak was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round, 105th overall, of the ...

. Following two seasons within the Flames organization assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The Hea ...

, Valiev sat out the shortened and pandemic delayed

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season as a free agent. On 5 July 2021, Valiev returned to the professional ranks in securing a try-out contract with his original Russian club,

of the KHL. After a successful pre-season, Valiev secured a one-year contract for the 2021–22 season with Ak Bars on 26 August 2021. Valiev made one appearance with Ak Bars, playing the majority of his contract with VHL club,

Bars Kazan Bars Kazan (russian: Молодежный хоккейный клуб «Барс») is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Kazan, who compete in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). The club is affiliated as a feeder club for the Ak Bars Kazan ...

, before he was traded to Belarusian KHL club, HC Dinamo Minsk, in exchange for the rights to Julius Honka on 27 December 2021. On 5 July 2022, Valiev continued his tenure in the KHL, joining Admiral Vladivostok on a two-year contract.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valiev, Rinat 1995 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Bars Kazan players HC Dinamo Minsk players Indiana Ice players JHC Bars players Kootenay Ice players Laval Rocket players Montreal Canadiens players Russian ice hockey defencemen Stockton Heat players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players