1000th game for Shipachyov, Kablukov, Rylov, and Shirokov

Last season, Evgeny Biryukov became the first player to play a thousand matches in the KHL. Soon, this elite club which currently consists of only Evgeny, is expected to gain new members.

Vadim Shipachyov, who recently transferred from Ak Bars (where he played 159 games) to Dinamo Minsk, will most likely be the first to join Biryukov. This is the fifth team in Vadim’s career; previously, he lined up for Severstal (258 games), SKA (305), and Dynamo Moscow (193). Shipachyov has left a significant mark on each of these teams: he is still the top scorer for Dynamo Moscow, the second-highest scorer for Severstal, and the third highest for SKA. Even during his brief stint with Ak Bars, he managed to score over a hundred points. In total, Vadim has played 987 games; last season, he missed only six matches, and he played the entire previous season without any breaks. If he won’t miss any action at the start of the upcoming season, his thousandth match will coincide with the game against SKA, which the Belarusian franchise will visit on Oct 10.

Another potential member of the club is Ilya Kablukov, who is currently a free agent. He has played 972 matches in the league, distributed among the following teams: Torpedo (45), Spartak (69), Atlant (195, the fifth-highest during the Mytishchi team’s time in the KHL), SKA (396, the third-highest), Avangard (115), and Dynamo Moscow (152). Despite his low scoring rate, Ilya remains a valuable player both on the ice and in the locker room, and his good physical condition allows him to play without breaks. In the 2021-2022 regular season, he missed only one game, and he played both 68-game seasons for Dynamo from start to finish, while also serving as an alternate captain.

The list of the KHL’s nearest potential thousand-match players ends with Kablukov. Following him are Sergei Plotnikov (889), Andrei Stas (870), and Kirill Petrov (853), but they will have to wait for the next season.

The history of Russian hockey is not limited to the KHL alone. It is possible to count individual achievements at the elite level, even if the status of the Russian championship transitions from the KHL to the VHL. At this level, the list of thousand-game players is, of course, richer. Currently, it includes 18 players, and very soon it will welcome two new members.

Yakov Rylov, who recently extended his deal with Amur, is seven games away from joining this list. Yakov began his career in 2004 with Dynamo Moscow. In the KHL, he played for Dynamo, then CSKA, Neftekhimik, Ak Bars, OHK Dynamo, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Spartak, Avtomobilist, and Amur. The seventh game for the Khabarovsk team this season will be against CSKA on Sep 24.

Slightly more — 11 matches — remain for Sergei Shirokov. He is the only one among the four potential jubilees who has not played for Dynamo Moscow. Sergey’s career includes stints with CSKA, Avangard, SKA, Spartak, and Avtomobilist, and two weeks ago, he signed a contract with Sibir. If Shirokov starts the regular season without missing any games, he will play his thousandth game against his old acquaintances, Avangard (on Sep 30). If he misses one game, then it will be on Oct 5 against another of his former teams, Avtomobilist.

Among active players, theoretically, two more could join Rylov and Shirokov this season. Denis Parshin started the season before last with Neftekhimik, continued with Yugra, and then went to Slovakia, where he played last season as well. If he returns to the KHL, he needs to play 53 more games to reach 1,000.

Even more — 80 games — are required for Kirill Petrov, who is currently without a contract.