Mika Zibanejad

ABOUT MIKA ZIBANEJAD

Swedish center who made his NHL debut with the Ottawa Senators during the 2011-12 season. He has represented his native Sweden internationally at tournaments like the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and World Hockey Challenge. He began playing for the New York Rangers in 2016.

He played soccer as a child before deciding to focus on hockey. He played seven seasons with Hammarby IF before playing junior hockey with Djurgardens IF.

In January 2012, he scored the gold medal-winning goal for Sweden in the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships against Russia. He has amassed over 180,000 followers on Instagram as a result of his hockey fame.

His mother is from Finland and his father is from Iran. His half-brother Monir Kalgoum is also a hockey player.

He and Jared Cowen are both former first-round draft picks of the Ottawa Senators.