Ranking Every New Jersey Devils 1st-Round Draft Pick Part 2: Familiar Faces
By Mike Luci
No. 22: Vadim Sharifijianov
Left Wing
25th Overall, 1994
Vadim Sharifijianov holds a unique place on this list, being New Jersey’s only Russian-born first-round pick. Among international prospects, Sharifijianov started gaining notoriety for his outstanding play in the European U18 Championships, which he followed up with strong showings over three seasons for Ufa Salavat Yulayev and CSKA Moscow. Sharifijianov didn’t make his NHL debut until 1996-1997, appearing in only two games with the New Jersey Devils, and waited another two years before playing his first official season.
Sharifijianov played well in Albany, getting 137 points in 214 contests over parts of five seasons. He had an encouraging rookie year with New Jersey, netting 11 goals and 27 points in 53 games—his .51 points per game being 10th on the team. Following a poor postseason showing and sluggish start to his sophomore campaign where he only had three goals and seven points after 20 games, New Jersey traded Sharifijianov to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2000 second and third-round pick.
He played out the rest of that season with Vancouver, only collecting two more goals and three points in 17 contests, which concluded his 92-game NHL career. Sharifijianov spent 2000-2001 with the IHL’s Kansas City Blades, where he had a successful stint tallying 20 goals and 63 points in 70 matches. After the IHL folded, Sharifijianov spent three seasons bouncing around different teams in Russia, before concluding his pro-career by playing one year for Gap HC in France.
Although New Jersey’s first-round pick in 1994 didn’t quite pan out, that Patrik Elias fellow they drafted in round two sufficed as a worthy consolation prize.