National team Ukraine Weight 101 kg Height 1.96 m | Name Sergei Gaiduchenko Playing career Positions Goaltender | |
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Born June 6, 1989 (age 34)
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union ( 1989-06-06 ) VHL team
Former teams Kuban Krasnodar
Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
HC CSKA Moscow
HC Sibir Novosibirsk NHL Draft 202nd overall, 2007
Florida Panthers | ||
Sergey Gaiduchenko (Сергей Гайдученко) welcome [HD]
Serhiy Haiduchenko (Ukrainian: Сергій Гайдученко; Russian: Серге́й Гайдученко, Sergei Gaiduchenko; born 6 June 1989) is a Ukrainian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League. (KHL)
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Early career
Gaiduchenko began his career in Kiev, playing for the junior team at the Ldinka Hockey School. His first coach was Anatolii Donika, a successful former defenseman of the team Sokil Kyiv. Scouts from Yaroslavl took notice of his play, and invited him to move there and join the organization. He was selected by the Florida Panthers, 202nd overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, after a junior career within Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
International Play
The Ukrainian national team approached Gaiduchenko to join early in his career, but he declined, instead hoping to play for the Russian national team. However, due to IIHF rules concerning changing nationality, he did not qualify to play for the Russian team until after 24 June 2008. He played with the Russian Under-18 squad in two non-IIHF events prior to this date, however, since becoming eligible he has not played for Russia. He held negotiations to play for the Ukrainian team in 2011 but still withheld. In 2014, he finally joined the team, making his full senior international debut playing in the 2014 IIHF World Championship Division I.