Meet Nikolai Zherdev!!

I wanted to wait to do this; wait until I knew whether he would stay or go. But, with this article coming out in todays Dispatch I figure might as well let everybody in our "problem child."

Nikolai Zherdev was born on November 15, 1984 in Kiev, USSR. Zherdev was drafted 4th Overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Zherdev has played in 201 NHL games with 50 goals and 70 assists and 130 penalty minutes.

Zherdev to me is the guy in the locker room he messes with our flow. Last year, when I shadowed Portzline, I didn't hear anything good about Zherdev. I do believe that he has the talent but for whatever reason he is not showing it. He doesn't listen to what is being said by our amazing coach. But, going into the 2007-2008 season he is starting with a clean slate, for the organization and for me.

"We're not expecting Nicky to just fit in," Hitchcock said. "We're expecting him to be a go-to player. That's a big difference. He's not a role player. He's a significant player who plays significant minutes. The learning curve is over."

Amen Hitch. I hope that you can make him become the player we thought he would be when we drafted him. Hedges his agent made a good point also.

"We know Nikolai can play," Hedges said. "But at this level, you really have to want it, too. Nikolai needs to come to training camp with a positive attitude.This team has to have a good start. If they have a good start, players … are going to have a much better attitude. Nikolai wants to perform at a top level. He doesn't want to be frustrated. He wants to play hockey and enjoy it. He's still young, too, so he can get this thing turned around."

So Nik here ya go. Here's your chance turn it around and PLEASE give me a chance to actually LIKE you wearing the Blue Jacket uniform. Also, if you haven't noticed I have been doing these meet my sections, for Howson, Hitchcock, Fedorov, Nash, Foote, and Norrena. Hopefully I will get all of these up before the start of the season.