Man of the Week: Dmitry Buchelnikov

KHL.ru’s weekly column continues with Dmitry Buchelnikov. CSKA’s young forward just netted his first hat-trick with his new team, halting his slump suffered in the start of the season.

This Sunday, CSKA Moscow’s forward Dmitry Buchelnikov broke through a frustrating stretch by hauling in a hat-trick in a big win over Lada, along with fellow teammate Nikolai Kovalenko. After recording just one goal in his first nine matches with his new club, Buchelnikov’s third eruption showed all the poise and promise that had marked his rise — the kind of performance that begins to silence the doubts that follow any player adjusting to a new system and new expectations.

Early days

Buchelnikov, born 6 September 2003 in Nizhny Tagil, an industrial city on the boundary between Europe and Asia — the same city that produced the Radulov brothers — first skated on competitive ice with Gazovik Tyumen. From Tyumen he moved through the junior ranks, eventually entering the SKA system, starring for SKA-1946 in the JHL where he notched 75 points in the 2021-2022 regular season and was second only to Matvei Michkov in the playoffs when he tallied 9 goals in nine games. These numbers set up the expectation that Buchelnikov could be more than just a prospect; in those JHL days, he said, “I have a lot of time on ice, and I also play with the man advantage – this helps with productivity. We work hard on our mistakes, and we have good chemistry. I would not be where I am without good partners.”

His first taste of the KHL, however, came in fits and starts. After ten games with SKA in 2022-2023, and a strong season in the VHL, he had a single game with SKA St. Petersburg in the next season before being sent on loan to Admiral Vladivostok, where he played 55 games and registered 29 points, with 13 goals and 16 assists. The Sailors were not contending for the top of the standings, but Buchelnikov made sure he was noticed.

Ranking up

Then came his breakout season with Vityaz in 2024-2025. Over 65 KHL regular season games he exploded for 54 points — 15 goals plus 39 assists. It was not only the best offensive season of his career so far, but also one with records: he led Vityaz in scoring, set a club record for assists in a single KHL regular season (surpassing Justin Danforth’s 2020-2021 campaign), and was voted to the Fonbet KHL All-Star Game for the first time.

Late in the off-season, following their difficult moment, Vityaz traded Buchelnikov to CSKA, a move he described in an interview to CSKA’s official site: “I’m happy to join the team. It’s a challenge for me, seriously. And now I have one goal − to prove that I deserve a place in the team. Everything is turning around my performance.”

That early period at CSKA was rough. In his first nine matches for the club he provided only one assist — a modest return for a player coming off such a strong season. But Sunday’s performance changed the narrative: when the puck dropped in the game against Lada, Buchelnikov looked like a player who had shaken off the rust. Not only did he post his hat-trick, but he also had a couple of helpers for a memorable five-point performance.

With the season continuing and CSKA halting a rough losing streak, Buchelnikov is now showing that he can play for a contending team, and not merely being part of it, but as a top scorer, as he was expected to be when the Moscow team acquired him in the offseason.