Man of the Week: Anton Kislitsyn makes debut, writes history
KHL.ru continues its ‘Man of the week’ column with Anton Kislitsyn. The goalie, who serves as a goalie’s coach at Neftekhimik’s junior team in the JHL, resumed playing after two seasons to relieve his team’s injury epidemic between the piping and won in its first KHL career game.
History was made on Monday, when Neftekhimik defeated Vityaz in Balashikha with a 5:4 score. The guests’ forward Pavel Poryadin netted a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal with 13 seconds to go. Vityaz’s Kirill Rasskazov also scored three, but neither was the hero of the night. That award undoubtedly shall go to Neftekhimik’s goalie, Anton Kislitsyn. With three goalies injured in Emil Garipov, Alexander Sudnitsin, and Andrei Tikhomirov, and young Yaroslav Ozolin winning only one of game from five, Neftekhimik’s staff had no other choice than ask Kislitsyn, who lined up as the backup goalie in the three previous matches, to gear up and play despite serving as Reaktor’s goalie coach for the latest three years. And the story had a happy ending, with the Wolves winning 5:4 in Balashikha to give Neftekhimik two precious points in the standings – they are still the 11th team in the East, but the playoffs line is just three points ahead.
“I felt a lot of support tonight, thank you for taking pucks on you and clearing the slot,” Kislitsyn said in his locker room speech as the team was celebrating the win. “I couldn’t expect such a successful debut. Thank you all!”
The 33-years-old had 25 saves on Monday, and his performance inspired his teammates to grab an important road win.
“Only yesterday did I know that I was going to play tonight,” he told the team’s press service after the victory. “I started my preparations right from the practice. I started worrying a bit when we got to the arena, but at that point, I was just hoping that the game would start as soon as possible.”
Kislitsyn allowed two goals in the first period, including a Kirill Rasskazov’s tally after Vityaz’s third shot of the night, but he didn’t give up – he stood on his head and ended up as the winner.
“I was nervous at the start and the first period didn’t go well,” he said. “I started having a feel for the game when we were on a 3-on-5 in the start of the second frame. I think I had an average game. I could have played much better in certain situations. We as a team lost the slot battle – we allowed three goals from there, but I should have helped the team more. However, in the third period, I was busy just at the start, then I just stood up and watched the game. Our forwards were excellent, especially Pavel Poryadin who really helped us winning.”
“He kept himself in good shape playing amateur hockey,” Neftekhimik’s coach Oleg Leontyev said after the game about his choice. “When we asked him to practice with us, we noticed how he was in good shape – no one would have said that he didn’t play pro hockey for two years. Naturally, if he wasn’t playing anywhere, I wouldn’t have called him. Moreover, I know him for a long time and I know that he’s a warrior and would never give up just trying to do his best to help the team. I believe in him, and that’s why he played tonight. And why not giving him another game? Everyone has a chance in this life.”
Early years and playing career
Anton Kislitsyn was born on Apr 14, 1989, in Nizhnekamsk, where he started playing. He paid his dues in the Russian third-string league, then in the JHL with Neftekhimik’s junior teams.
Kislitsyn didn’t have many highlights in his career – although he had several excellent seasons with Izhstal Izhevsk in the VHL. He played there between 2014-2017. After three good years in Izhevsk, where he helped Izhstal reaching the VHL finals, he moved for a year to Dizel Penza. The next year, he was the starting goalie for HK32 Liptovsky Mikulas in the Slovakian Extraliga, but that season, the team failed to reach the playoffs. In Slovakia, Kislitsyn played with Avtomobilist’s Yegor Baranov and former KHLer Matus Sukel. He lined up for a further season in the VHL, spending the 2019-2020 campaign with Yuzhny Ural Orsk, then he retired at just 31 despite posting a more than respectable 92.3% in saves percentage in his last season.
Life after retirement
After his retirement, Kislitsyn started working as a goalie coach for Reaktor Nizhnekamsk, Neftekhimik’s junior team in the JHL, where he formally still works. Naturally, being a coach and being a player are two different things, but everything looks like he never wanted to actually retire and was just waiting for a chance – he had his goalie helmet fully drawn for his debut, a clear sign of his will to play.
“I kept myself in good shape,” he said. “I always skated at least two or three times a week, then I also played amateur hockey in Kazan. I won’t be too humble and I recognize that it’s a historic day for Russian hockey, because hardly such a story will repeat itself.”
And indeed it will hardly repeat, but that may be another story.
