The star striker Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers is one of the best hockey players in the world. Now playing with the New York Rangers, he has beaten all odds to make it to the NHL.
Here is his crazy story.
When Artemi Panarin was only 3 months old, he was adopted by his grandparents Vladimir et Nina Levin. Living below the poverty line in Russia, his first hockey equipment kit consisted of mismatched items plucked from the pile of lost and donated items at his local arena.
His first pair of skates was so big that he had to wear shoes inside them. His first pair of gloves was completely finished, to the point where his grandfather had to repair the inside of them by sewing a piece of leather from old boots onto the palm of the gloves.
Boys his age were quick to notice the young player with poor man’s equipment.
The other kids, they laughed at what I was wearing. They were laughing at my grandfather’s car. They laughed at me.
It wasn’t comfortable skating in my gear. The other kids all had the best equipment. I had to make do with the equipment abandoned by the older ones. Some pieces of equipment my grandmother had to make herself.
– Artemi Panarin
When he arrived at the boarding school in Podolsk, for the first time in his life, Panarin was able to use new hockey equipment. Skates in his size, new gloves, a composite stick, etc.
Besides, these new gloves…
I didn’t realize it but I couldn’t feel the puck at all with my old gloves. The piece of boot leather in my palm was so thick that I couldn’t feel the stick in my hands.
I was blown away the first time I could feel the puck with my hands, feel the stick in my hands, the puck on my paddle. It was exciting!
– Artemi Panarin
Ultra talented despite his limited financial means, Panarin defied all odds and made his debut in professional hockey at the age of 17 in 2008. Then, in 2015, he signed a 2-year entry contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL.
His first purchase with his first paycheck? A brand new SUV for his grandparents.
What a story!
See the post at the bottom.
