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Jackets sign prolific Russian scorer (and meteor survivor) Vitaly Abramov

2016 NHL Draft - Portraits

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 25: Vitaly Abramov poses for a portrait after being selected 65th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2016 NHL Draft on June 25, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Jeffrey T. Barnes/Getty Images)

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The Columbus Blue Jackets, coming off that big win over the Penguins, today announced they’ve signed Russian winger Vitaly Abramov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Abramov, 18, was the Jackets’ third-round draft pick (65th overall) in 2016.

A smaller forward, listed at just 5-9 and 172 pounds -- which likely hurt his draft stock -- Abramov currently plays for the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. In 32 games this season, he has 23 goals and 22 assists. For comparison’s sake, his 45 points are 12 more than the second-leading scorer on his team.

From DobberProspects.com:

A dynamic offensive player who possesses excellent vision and offensive creativity. Has a wide array of moves, dekes and toe-drags with explosive acceleration and a high-end top gear.

And here’s another interesting tidbit, courtesy the Columbus Dispatch:

Vitaly Abramov will never forget all the broken glass and sense of panic that gripped his school.

The affable Russian winger knows how fortunate he was a giant fireball streaking across the morning sky on Feb, 15, 2013 didn’t enter the Earth’s atmosphere on a slightly different trajectory. His hometown of Chelyabinsk survived a spectacular meteor explosion which injured 1,500 people. It packed an estimated energy release 20 times more potent than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945, according to various reports.

“It was terrible and I was scared,” Abramov said. “I saw it from the window . . . For the rest of my life I will remember it.”

According to Wikipedia, the explosion from the meteor “created panic among local residents, and about 1,500 people were injured seriously enough to seek medical treatment.” But fortunately, nobody was killed.

“I was in school and all the windows in my class crashed,” Abramov told NHL.com. “All windows in the city was gone. … It was like big panic because it was something none of us had ever seen. But after that it was fine when everyone said it was a meteorite and we’re still alive.”

Related: Draft-day shocker: Blue Jackets take Dubois over Puljujarvi