Man of the Week: Maxim Tsyplakov

KHL.ru continues its ‘Man of the Week’ column with Maxim Tsyplakov. The Spartak forward has netted four goals in the Red-and-Whites’ win over Dynamo Moscow on Tuesday (6:3), establishing a new KHL record for the fastest four goals from the start of a game. The forward also potted a double in Spartak’s losing effort against Ak Bars on Jan 21.

Only another Spartak player managed to net four in a single game in the KHL history – Slovak forward Stefan Ruzicka first had the feat in 2008-2009 against Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Moreover, it was the first time in the KHL history that a player tallied two shorthanded goals in a four-goal performance. At the moment of Tsyplakov’s fourth goal, Spartak was up 6:1. Despite scoring two third-period goals, Dynamo couldn’t save the game as the win officially gave the Red-and-Whites a ticket for the 2024 Gagarin Cup playoffs. Maxim Tsyplakov is currently on a hot streak, but it isn’t the first time this season. On Nov 30, he was picked as the best forward of the week after scoring five goals in just three matches, helping Spartak defeating Dynamo Moscow again (4:3 OT), Salavat Yulaev (6:2), and Lada (5:3). The forward is currently Spartak’s second goal scorer, trailing only Nikolai Goldobin 29 goals against 31, and third scorer overall, with Pavel Poryadin added to the mix. The forward wasn’t iced in Spartak’s 4:3 OT win over Dynamo Moscow on Saturday.

Early years

Maxim Tsyplakov was born on Sep 19, 1998 in Moscow. The forward comes from a hockey family, with his grandfather Viktor being respected scorer in the top-flight Soviet league and earning a ticke to the 1961 World Championship in Switzerland. Tsyplakov sr. spent his entire career within the Lokomotiv Moscow system, except for a couple of years in Austria. Maxim started playing with the Center independent team in Moscow, before moving first to CSKA, then to Spartak.

Tsyplakov had his pro hockey debut with JCH Spartak in the JHL back in 2015, then, the next year, he played his first game in the VHL with Spartak’s affiliate, Khimik Voskresensk. He would deliver good performance with both teams, and the main team couldn’t ignore his performance – Tsyplakov had his KHL debut in 2017, in one of Spartak’s first games of the season, an away clash against Ak Bars. That season, Tsyplakov lined up for twenty regular-season games for the Red-and-Whites, adding a couple of appearances in the playoffs.

Moving up the ranks

In the 2018-2019 season, Tsyplakov had a bigger role within the Red-and-Whites’ lineup, and finally became a regular for Spartak. One year after his debut, on Sep 18, 2018, the forward had his first Kontinental Hockey League point, assisting a goal by Gleb Shashkov in an away match against SKA. Three months later, this time at home, Tsyplakov netted his first goal in the league against Jokerit. In his first full-time season with Spartak, the Moscow native forward had 9 (4+5) points in 31 games – a good loot for a player of his age.

In the next season, Tsyplakov further raised the bar, earning a call to Russia’s B team for participation in the Deutschland Cup and the NaturEnergie Challenge in Switzerland. Getting the attention of the national team was already an achievement for itself, but Tsyplakov didn’t stop there.

Path to stardom

Tsyplakov’s career has been a steady improvement. In 2020-2021, the Spartak forward had 17 (9+8) points in 58 regular season games, being scoreless in four postseason clashesh. The next year, he returned to Russia’s B team again for the Deutschland Cup, and while his production dropped to 12 (4+8) points, he only played 38 games that year.

Then, in 2022-2023, Tsyplakov had another big jump forward as he first hit double digits for goals and assists. The large-framed Spartak player set career highs with 25 (10+15) points as he was just renewed by the Red-and-Whites for further two seasons.

And this year, Tsyplakov’s production has skyrocketed. He’s primed to hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career, and this time, he and Spartak have a great chance to do what the forward has never achieved so far – a deep playoff run.