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Mika Zibanejad played association football as a child before deciding to pursue hockey. Notably, he began playing hockey at the age of six with Hammarby IF, where he spent seven seasons until the club went bankrupt in 2008. Following this, Zibanejad joined AIK IF's youth organization for a season before moving to Djurgårdens IF for the 2009–10 season, playing in their J18 and J20 teams. He made his Elitserien debut on December 7, 2010, against Luleå HF, and scored his first goal on January 15, 2011, against Modo Hockey. On February 7, 2011, he signed a two-year contract extension with Djurgården and became a regular player on the senior roster, scoring five goals and nine points in the remaining games of the season. Later that year, Mika Zibanejad was drafted sixth overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2011 NHL Draft.
After signing with the Senators on July 13, 2011, Zibanejad made his NHL debut on October 7, 2011, becoming the youngest player in Senators' history and the youngest Swede (18 years, 172 days) to play in an NHL game. He played nine games before returning to Djurgardens for the rest of the season and scored the game-winning goal for Sweden in the 2012 World Junior Championship final. However, on July 18, 2016, he was traded to the New York Rangers, where he now serves as a center and alternate captain.
Mika Zibanejad's Ethnicity
Mika Zibanejad has mixed ethnicity as his parents belong to different countries. He has persian roots through his father, Mehrdad, who is from Iran and his mother is from Finland, bringing Finnish roots to Mika Zibanejad's upbringing. Interestingly, Zibanejad is fluent in four languages; English, Persian, Finnish and Swedish.
Mika Zibanejad's Nationality
Mika Zibanejad holds Swedish nationality as he was born and raised in Sweden to parents Mehrdad and Ritva Zibanejad. Internationally, he has represented Sweden at various levels, including under-18 and junior competitions.
On January 5, 2012, Zibanejad scored the gold medal-winning goal in overtime for Sweden at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, securing a 1–0 victory over Russia in the final. He also played a crucial role in Sweden's triumph at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, scoring a goal in the final on May 20, 2018. Other than that, Zibanejad's international medal record includes, a silver medal at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships in Germany, and a bronze medal at the 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Ontario.
Mika Zibanejad's Birthplace and Hometown
Mika Zibanejad was born and raised in Huddinge, Sweden. His father, Mehrdad, originally from Iran, left his home country at age 23 due to religious persecution. Prior to that, he served in the Iran-Iraq War. Mehrdad eventually settled in Sweden, where he studied to become an IT engineer and met Ritva, a native of Finland. Despite his background in volleyball and soccer, Mehrdad supported Mika’s burgeoning hockey career, moving to the United States when Mika was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2011.
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