Biography
Russian ice hockey player Artemi Panarin was born in 1991, in Korkino, a small town in the Chelyabinsk Region, east of the Ural Mountains.
Encouraged by his maternal grandfather to take up sports from a young age to keep him busy and focused, Panarin was given his first pair of ice skates at age five to use on the small town’s rink. And – like all novices on ice – he began by tentatively skating its perimeter.
After failing to make selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft Panarin began his professional hockey career in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with HC Vityaz. Three years later he was traded to SKA St. Petersburg and in the 2014-2015 the Russian had a breakout season. Panarin recorded 26 goals and 34 assists in 54 games and played a decisive role in lifting SKA to the championship title after he scored 20 goals in 20 play-off games.
His standout effort in the KHL caught the attention of several NHL teams including the Chicago Blackhawks who signed the star in 2015. The player that had once been rejected by the draft was now impossible to ignore.
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