In a trade announced Tuesday between KHL Eastern Conference teams
Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Ak Bars Kazan, two ex-NHL players are changing
addresses. American center Alexander Chmelevski, 26, is heading to
Kazan and Canadian defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk, 28, is heading the other
way.
Chmelevski
is in his fourth KHL season while it’s Kalynuk’s first.
“Chmelevski is one of the best centers in the
KHL, possessing a unique set of qualities,” Kazan
GM Marat
Valiullin said
about his team’s newest acquisition. “He can play on the power
play, win faceoffs, lead rushes and finish plays himself. He’s fully
adapted to the league, speaks excellent Russian, and will quickly fit
into any system.”
Born in Huntington Beach, Cal., Chmelevski played
junior hockey for the Sarnia Sting and Ottawa 67’s of the OHL.
He was chosen in the sixth round, 185th overall, by the
San Jose Sharks in the 2017 NHL
Entry Draft, and recorded 10 points in 26 NHL games with the Sharks
before heading overseas in 2022.
Internationally, Chmelevski has represented the USA
at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship and at the 2021 World
Championship.
Former Shark, Canuck Claimed Off Waivers In KHL
Russian winger Nikolai Goldobin, 29, has been claimed off KHL waivers
by SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL website announced on Monday. He had
been waived by Spartak Moscow, the club for which he’d played the
past two seasons.
“We wish Wyatt Kalynuk the best of luck,”
Valiullin said about the player he traded away. “He’s a good
player that we were interested in, but the market dictates its own
terms.”
Kalynuk
was born in Brandon, Man. and played three seasons at the University
of Wisconsin, captaining the team his last season. In that same 2017
NHL Entry Draft, Kalynuk was taken in the seventh round, 196th
overall by the Philadelphia
Flyers.
Kalynuk
was a member of several NHL organizations but only played in the show
with the Chicago Blackhawks,
recording nine points in 26 games over two seasons.
Alexander Barabanov returns to the KHL
Russian winger Alexander Barabanov has signed a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan, the KHL club announced on Thursday.
The KHL season has already begun and both players
played some games with their previous clubs before the trade.
Chmelevski had three points in six games for Ufa, while Kalynuk had
no points in two games for Kazan.
Kazan’s roster includes ex-NHLers Dmitrij Jaškin,
Alexander
Barabanov (a former San Jose teammate of Chmelevski),
Alexei Marchenko and Grigori Denisenko, as well as Mitchell Miller,
the one-time Arizona Coyotes draft pick who was convicted of
assaulting and bullying a classmate.
Other than Kalynuk, the only
ex-NHLer on Ufa’s roster is Canadian Jack Rodewald. Ufa
had reigning KHL MVP and scoring champion Josh Leivo under contract
long-term before terminating
the deal in August.
