The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted Vitaly Abramov in the third round of the NHL Draft on Saturday, making him the event’s 65th overall pick. That’s a cool achievement for anybody, but Abramov has a wild life story that probably makes it a little bit sweeter. It certainly makes it fascinating.
A Russian teenager survived a meteor explosion and is now an NHL draft pick
A Blue Jackets’ third-round pick has an interesting backstory.
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Abramov, now 18, was in school in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, when a meteor exploded in the airspace above the city on Feb. 15, 2013. The meteor reportedly had a mass of at least 7,000 tons, and Abramov told NHL.com about the serious serious horror that resulted when the meteor fell toward the ground:
“I was in school and all the windows in my class crashed,” Abramov said. “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.
“Normal school day and a meteor came down.”
The various amateur videos of the meteor are quite stunning:
Abramov came through the disaster unharmed, though, and moved along in his hockey career. After playing his entire life in Russia, Abramov made the transcontinental trek last season to join Gatineau in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one of Canada’s three major junior leagues that serves as an NHL pipeline.
He had a dominant year for the Olympiques, leading QMJHL rookies in scoring in his first season playing thousands of miles from home. Now he’s an NHL draft pick, and that’s pretty cool.
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