Kings Sign Ukraine’s Zhitnik : Hockey: Teen-ager, drafted in the fourth round in 1991, was a defenseman for the Soviet national team.

Whether or not it was an unconscious reflex, former NHL defenseman Nick Beverley immediately spotted teen-ager Alexei Zhitnik playing steady defense for the then-Soviet national team at a tournament in Stockholm two years ago.

Beverley, now the Kings’ general manager, was then the team’s assistant general manager. He searched for Zhitnik’s number on his program.

“When we looked him up on the roster and saw his birth date, we couldn’t believe it,” Beverley said.

Zhitnik was a 17-year-old from Kiev in the Ukraine, playing with the Soviet Union’s premier unit. In 1991, he played against Wayne Gretzky in the Canada Cup.

A year and one Olympic gold medal later, he became Gretzky’s teammate. The Kings signed the 6-foot, 190-pounder to a four-year contract Sunday.

Beverley had been negotiating with Zhitnik’s agent, Ron Salcer, throughout the summer, and they got close enough to an agreement that Zhitnik and his father, Nickolai, flew to Los Angeles on Thursday.

Alexei Zhitnik reported to camp a day later.

“If I play good for this team, I will be very happy,” Zhitnik said through an interpreter.

“It’s my goal not to give up scores. But if I see a good opportunity to make a shot, I will do it.”

Zhitnik described his personality, saying: “First of all, I am very quiet. I don’t say much. I’m not aggressive in life. But when I am going to the ice, I’m aggressive.”

He doesn’t speak a great deal of English. But Beverley says he was able to carry on a limited conversation with Zhitnik once after a game in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.

Beverley was able to elude Soviet team officials and talked with Zhitnik in his hotel room, telling him of the Kings’ interest in him. The Kings selected him during the fourth round, 82nd overall, in the 1991 entry draft.

Presumably, Zhitnik will have a much more significant NHL career than the last Soviet to wear a Kings’ uniform, Victor Nechaev. He played three games during the 1982-83 season, scoring one goal.

Last season, Zhitnik played 36 games for the Red Army team, scoring two goals and nine points, before joining the Unified Team for the Winter Olympics.

“We’re fortunate to be able to get him a such a young age,” Beverley said. “It’s time for us to have a major infusion of young guys and get them on the way. We have a plan and we’re going to stick to it.”

Said Gretzky: “Zhitnik and (Robert) Lang have proved that their world-class hockey players. They’ll step right in and be a factor on our hockey club.”

Gretzky left training camp Sunday night to be with his wife, Janet, who is expecting their third child.

The due date is today, and Gretzky might rejoin the team later in the week.