Sergei Shirokov

Sergei Sergeyevich Shirokov (Серге́й Серге́евич Широков, ; born 10 March 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey winger currently with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

As a youth, Shirokov played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with HC CSKA Moscow.

Shirokov first played in the Russian Hockey First League (RUS-3) with HC CSKA Moscow's second-tier team in 2001.

He spent several seasons at that level and debuted with CSKA's senior team in the Russian Superleague in 2004–05, going pointless in eight games.

The following season, he recorded 14 points playing 39 games in the Superleague.

Shirokov was then selected 163rd overall in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks.

The sixth round draft pick was acquired by the Canucks in a trade with the Florida Panthers.

Though selected by an NHL team, Shirokov continued to play in Russia for HC CSKA Moscow and recorded a team-best and career-high 40 points in 56 games for CSKA, who competed in the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2008–09.

He then turned down a tax-free $500,000 contract to stay in the KHL.

Prior to signing with Vancouver in 2009, Shirokov played with CSKA Moscow for four seasons in the Russian Superleague and Kontinental Hockey League.

Instead, Shirokov left for North America and signed with the Canucks to a two-year, two-way US$1.75 million contract on 17 August 2009.

The deal allowed him to make an annual US$875,000 at the NHL level or C$67,500 in the minor leagues.

Shirokov made an immediate impression in his first training camp with the Canucks, but suffered a minor setback during the pre-season, missing a week with an injured knee.

He recovered in time for the end of the pre-season to lead the team in exhibition scoring with seven points in four games.

As a result, Shirokov earned a roster spot for the start of the 2009–10 season, beating out fellow Canucks prospects Cody Hodgson and Michael Grabner.

Shirokov made his NHL debut on 1 October against the Calgary Flames, starting the season on the second line with Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson, as well as the first power-play unit.

However, after going pointless in his first three games before becoming a healthy scratch, he was sent down to the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose on 8 October.

Shirokov scored his first AHL goal in his Moose debut the next day against Drew MacIntyre of the Chicago Wolves, also adding an assist in a 4–1 win.

After scoring 10 points in his first 10 games with the Moose, Shirokov was re-called by the Canucks on 25 October after an injury to forward Kyle Wellwood, but was returned to the AHL after three games on 30 October in favour of centre Mario Bliznak.

On 30 December, Shirokov was chosen to Team PlanetUSA for the 2010 AHL All-Star Game.

At the time of the selection, he was leading the Moose in scoring with 11 goals and 23 points through 33 games.

He finished his first campaign in North America with 22 goals and 45 points over 76 games.

Among AHL rookies, Shirokov was ninth in points and tied for third in goals.

He added two assists in six playoff games as the Moose were eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in the opening round.

Shirokov started the 2010–11 season with the Moose.

He returned to CSKA Moscow in 2011 after two years with the Vancouver Canucks and Manitoba Moose.

After a slow start, he was leading the Moose in scoring with 33 points in 39 games, including a team record 12-game point streak, when he was recalled by the Canucks on 17 January 2011.

In his first game back in the NHL the following day, Shirokov scored his first NHL goal against Craig Anderson in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

After two games, he was sent back to the Moose on 23 January.

Shirokov was selected as the Moose representative for the 2011 AHL All-Star Game, the second year in a row he would be at the game.

He went on to complete the season with a team-leading 22 goals, 36 assists and 58 points in 76 games.

As the Moose advanced to the second round of the 2011 playoffs, he led the team in scoring with 7 goals, while adding 3 assists for 10 points over 14 games.

In the off-season Shirokov signed a three-year deal with CSKA Moscow.

Then on 9 July 2011, Vancouver traded his rights to the Florida Panthers for the rights to forward Mike Duco.

In his first year upon returning to CSKA Moscow, he finished eighth in KHL point scoring and was named to the 2012 KHL All-Star Game.

The following season, Shirokov participated in the 2013 KHL All-Star Game.

On 5 November 2013, CSKA Moscow traded Shirokov to Avangard Omsk along with Maxim Goncharov in exchange for Alexander Frolov and Stanislav Egorsheva.

On 19 December 2015 in exchange for Anton Burdasov and Peter Khokhryakov, he has joined SKA Saint Petersburg.

After spending the most part of three seasons in SKA Saint Petersburg, Shirokov returned to Avangard as a free agent, securing a two-year deal on May 30, 2018.

During the 2019-20 season, Shirokov was signed to a two-year contract extension on 27 December 2019.