Nikita Filatov was on born May 25, 1990 in Moscow of the Soviet Union. Filatov was selected sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, only the second forward selected in the that draft.
Though he spent most of the 2008-09 season with the Syracuse Crunch, Filatov managed to appear in 8 games for the Blue Jackets and even scored a hat trick on January 10 against Minnesota.
The following season Filatov made the Blue Jackets' opening night roster and would appear in 13 games for the club, but was unhappy with his role and playing time. The sniper requested to be transferred to his Russian club. A deal was worked out between Columbus and CSKA Moscow that had Filatov's salary paid by the Russian club, with the Blue Jackets retaining his rights.
Filatov returned to North America for the 2010-11 season, but saw limited success. In 36 AHL games he scored nine times and failed to score a single goal at the NHL level.
On June 25, 2011, Filatov was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a third round draft pick.
