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Congratulations! It took everybody an entire page to guess. Here's a bit of history.

Prior to Sergei Shirokov joining the Canucks, there was enormous hype surrounding him. He was touted to be a strong skater with tremendous offensive ability, good balance, and great creativity. Drafted in the sixth round in 2006, people knew very little about him. All they saw was that he was the Canucks' best prospect ouside of the NHL, and that he was leading the KHL's CSKA Moscow in scoring. There was tremendous hype -- many here believed he would be the next Pavel Bure. He was 5'10'', right-handed, and played right wing. There was a long, tedious court battle between him and the KHL in order for him to leave Russia and play in the NHL. Throughout the entire summer there were rumors he would sign; CDC's official Shirokov thread reached 159 pages.

/topic/238511-signing-canucks-sign-sergei-shirokov/">http://forum.canucks...ergei-shirokov/

When he arrived in Vancouver, he made an immediate impact, looking very good in the team's prospects camp at UBC.

And when the team opened their preseason in Terrace, he was the star, scoring twice in the game.

Throughout the preseason, he looked very good. When he played a preseason game in San Jose, he was put on a line with the Sedins; there was immediate chemistry, and the trio looked fantastic. That game, Tom Larscheid declared him the "Pocket Russian Rocket." From there on, there was a love affair with him.

Unfortunately, there were doubters too. Shirokov did not begin the season well, and after one regular season game slowly had his ice time reduced. That year, he made the AHL All Star team, and was the Manitoba Moose's leading scorer. The following year, he was sent down in preseason because, according to Alain Vigneault, he was not in "game shape -- he did not put on enough muscle mass." That year, he again led the Moose in scoring, and broke the team's record for longest point streak with points in 12 consecutive games.

Because of this burst of scoring, he was called up, looked fantastic in his first game back with the team in Colorado, and scored after several tremendous opportunities.

Of course, two games later, he had his ice time reduced, and was sent down again.

The Canucks called him up during the 2011 Stanley Cup run, but never played him. They then traded his rights to the Florida Panthers that off-season for Mike Duco. Shirokov decided to rejoin CSKA Moscow the following season, and became the team's leading scorer. At one point, he was a top-three scorer in the KHL; he finished eighth in league scoring. As a result of his outstanding play, he was selected for the 2011 KHL All Star game, and also played for Russia's national team at the 2012 IIHF World Championship tournament. He won a gold medal this past May.

Now he is, amongst KHL fans, a lock to be on Russia's Olympic team. It's too bad the Canucks didn't give him a chance. His contract expires in 2014, a few months after the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Is that a coincidence? Perhaps not. He has proven his value in Russia. Maybe he will give the NHL one more opportunity in 2014. He is one player who deserved to be in the NHL and was not given a proper chance here.

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I was drafted in the first round. I have yet to play an NHL game but will make my debut in the 2012-2013 season. I played the past 4 years in Europe. I have 3 IIHF medals, and competed in 4 other tournaments, with over a point-per-game average in IIHF tournaments (Wrld Jrs, Wrld Champion, U18). I've also won 5 awards in the European league I play in.

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I am a former NHL player, now plying my trade in Europe

I once set an NHL record by beginning my playing career with 4 game winning goals

I played my entire NHL career for the team that drafted me

I scored arguably the biggest goal of my life before entering the NHL, and I scored it against a goaltender who eventually became my NHL teammate.

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I am a former NHL player, now plying my trade in Europe

I once set an NHL record by beginning my playing career with 4 game winning goals

I played my entire NHL career for the team that drafted me

I scored arguably the biggest goal of my life before entering the NHL, and I scored it against a goaltender who eventually became my NHL teammate.

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