A former 4th overall pick has shocked the hockey world by signing in Italy to play against subpar competition.
Zherdev Signs In Italy
It was just announced that the 2003 4th overall pick, Nikolai Zherdev, has signed with Alleghe of the 2nd tier Italian league.
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Zherdev was one of the most skilled players in the world in his day but his lack of ambition prevented him from truly being a longtime NHL star. Despite this, he still had multiple 20+ goal NHL seasons and even eclipsed the 60-point barrier as well.
He left the NHL after only 6 seasons to go back to Russia and played in the KHL up until 2018. He then took a year off and played in the VHL in 2019-20. Since then he has played in Slovakia, Italy, and Belarus trying to find a place where he can play professional hockey.
He will always remain one of the biggest 'what-ifs' in NHL history because if he were to have applied himself, he could likely have been a 1,000 point scorer and one of the most dominant Russians of all time.
Which is more important in a hockey player?
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