PIC: Penguins alternate captain Evgeni Malkin celebrates son Nikita's 9th birthday

Pittsburgh Penguins alternate captain Evgeni Malkin recently celebrated his son Nikita’s 9th birthday. On Saturday, he shared an adorable photo with his son on his Instagram stories.

In the photo, Malkin smiles warmly while hugging Nikita, who stands before an impressive birthday balloon display. The setup features a large silver “9,” colorful balloons in red, yellow, blue, green, and white, and metallic balloons spelling out “NIKITA.”

Evgeni Malkin is married to Anna Kasterova, a Russian television personality from Zelenograd. The couple got engaged in November 2015 and welcomed their son Nikita on May 31, 2016. The family currently resides in Pittsburgh.

Malkin often spends quality time with Nikita, engaging in activities like playing, fishing, and attending soccer practices together. Earlier, Nikita joined his father in Chicago for Malkin's 1,000th NHL game and had the honor of reading the team's starting lineup in the locker room.

Evgeni Malkin and son Nikita linked up with Jake Paul at the Miami GP

Earlier this month, Evgeni Malkin and his son Nikita went to the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome. They also met YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul at the event.

Malkin shared several Instagram stories from race day on his account. One of the photos showed Nikita standing next to Jake Paul near the track. Nikita wore a light blue shirt and headphones. Another video showed the race in action.

In the final story, Malkin stood by the track with his son, wearing a white shirt and cream joggers.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the title race at the GP. He finished 4.6 seconds ahead of teammate Lando Norris, while George Russell came third, over 37 seconds behind.

The same week, Malkin visited the Ronald McDonald House in Pittsburgh. He gave them a $71,000 check as part of his “I’m Score for Kids” campaign. Malkin donates $710, a nod to his jersey number, for every point he scores in a season. He had 50 points in 68 games this year, adding up to $35,500. The local McDonald’s restaurants matched the amount.

“It’s very important for me. I play here 19 years,” he said. “I like to work with the Ronald McDonald House, and I hope this might help with families, kids. Because I have a great life, I'm a lucky guy, but I try to do my best to help other people.” [NHL.com]

Malkin originally started the charity effort in 2022. It helps families with sick children get housing and support near hospitals. Over three seasons, Malkin has raised $284,000 for the cause.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno