Man of the Week: Borna Rendulic
KHL.ru continues its weekly column ‘Man of the Week’ with Borna Rendulic. The Croatian forward has netted his first hat-trick in Saturday’s Sochi 5:2 win over Torpedo.
With his treble, Rendulic became the first Croatian player to net three in a KHL game as Croatia became the seventeenth country to have a representant potting a hat-trick in the league. The large-framed forward went three times top shelf as he helped Sochi getting a nice victory against Igor Larionov’s Torpedo, completing his first KHL hat-trick. Rendulic signed this summer with Sochi, but he has already played in the league with Vityaz.
Early years
Borna Rendulic was born on Mar 25, 1992, in Zagreb, Croatia, where he started playing hockey. As a 15-years-old, Rendulic had his debut in pro hockey with his hometown club, KHL Medvescak, then part of the Croatian Ice Hockey League in the 2006-2007 campaign.
To further develop his skills and push a high-level career, the forward moved to Finland signing with Assat Pori in 2008, where he played for the local U18 and U20 squads. In 2011, he was then loaned back home to Medvescak, who in the meantime moved to the Austrian top-flight hockey league. Following his loan spell in Zagreb, Rendulic returned to Finland and lined up for different sides, with the most successful sting being with HPK in 2013-2014. Following a strong season in Hameenlinna, Rendulic earned NHL recognition and was then signed to an entry-level contract by the Colorado Avalanche.
Move to North America
Rendulic’s signing with the Avalanche marked a historic moment as the forward became the first Croatian-born and trained player to secure an NHL contract. He began the 2014–15 season with the Lake Erie Monsters, Colorado's AHL affiliate, after participating in training camp and preseason with the Avalanche.
Rendulić received his first NHL recall on December 9, 2014, due to injuries within the Avalanche roster. In a game against the Nashville Predators, he became the first Croatian-born and trained player to play in the NHL, contributing on the Avalanche’s fourth line during a 3:0 defeat.
His second recall to the Avalanche saw Rendulic score his inaugural NHL goal on Dec 31, 2014. Unfortunately, a broken shinbone limited his NHL appearances to just 11 games, with another 26 appearances in the AHL.
Upon completing his entry-level deal, the Avalanche chose not to retain Rendulic’s NHL rights, and consequently, he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks in the 2016 offseason.
Return to Europe and first KHL stint
After parting ways with the Canucks, with just one appearance in the NHL for the franchise, Rendulic decided to return to Europe, signing a one-year deal with the Finnish Liiga club, Lahti Pelicans. In his comeback to the Liiga after three years, he netted five goals in the first 14 games of the 2017–2018 season. However, Rendulic left the Liiga ahead of schedule to join Vityaz in October 2017. The forward was productive throughout his tenure with the Moscow Region team, totaling 43 points in the two campaigns he had with Vityaz. However, following his second season there, his contract wasn’t renewed despite ending the season as the team’s sixth scorer.
Second stint in the KHL
After his performance with Vityaz, Rendulic spent the next four season in Europe, with three seasons with Adler Mannheim of the DEL, and one year with Orebro in the top Swedish league. However, following the 2022-2023 campaign in Germany, Rendulic opted for a return to Russia.
“I played in Europe for the last four seasons, and all this time, there was a desire to return to the KHL. I received an offer from Sochi that completely satisfied me. I decided that it’s a good place to once again test my abilities in the KHL, and I will try to show here everything I am capable of,” Rendulic commented on his move back to the league.
And it looks like the move paid out for both Rendulic and Sochi. The team is currently the fourth seed in the West, while Rendulic is currently tied for third place in the goalscoring rankings. Sochi has now a great chance to return to playoffs hockey after four years of hiatus.
