Man of the Week: Vadim Shipachyov

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Vadim Shipachyov. After becoming the league’s all-time top scorer, the Dinamo Minsk forward became the first man to reach the 1,000-point milestone yesterday.

Vadim Shipachyov’s KHL career is nothing short of legendary, as a chain of consistent elite production that has reshaped the league’s record books. And yesterday, he made history again as he became the first player to reach 1,000 points scored in the league. It was perfectly timed. The veteran forward dished out an assist in the very last minute of Dinamo Minsk’s home game against Admiral to give the Belarusian franchise a 2:1 victory in a contest where they trailed for more than half of the time.

Last year, the forward became the all-time top scorer in a game in his native Cherepovets, where a pass off the boards to Vadim Moroz took Shipachyov to 929 career points. That moved him ahead of Sergei Mozyakin’s 928 (419+509).

Early years

Born in Cherepovets, he first broke into the KHL with his hometown club Severstal in the league’s inaugural years, steadily emerging as a top scorer over multiple seasons as he matured from a promising young center into the offensive fulcrum of the team. His time in Severstal laid the foundation for what would become a historic career: by the end of his first stint there he had already established himself as the franchise’s all-time scoring leader in KHL play, signaling his knack for both scoring and setting up goals early on.

The next chapter unfolded with SKA, where Shipachyov really jumped forward in both production and status. In St. Petersburg he centered one of the league’s most potent offenses, centering a unit that featured dynamic wingers like Artemy Panarin and Evgeny Dadonov, with whom he forged instant chemistry. That trio was electric: Panarin’s vision and puck skills complemented Shipachyov’s own elite playmaking instincts, while Dadonov’s scoring touch provided a lethal finisher on their line.

So far, Dadonov is still the player who enjoyed Shipachyov’s crisp passes the most, with 57 goals scored after his passes – with Dmitrij Jaskin and Dmitry Kagarlitsky following at 50 and 41 tallies. Interestingly enough, Dadonov is also Shipachyov’s top passer, with Dinamo Minsk’s forward having tallied 37 goals with the Chelyabinsk man’s aid, with other good partners for Shipachyov being Nikita Gusev at 34 passes and Kagarlitsky with 26.

Ranking up

During these years, Shipachyov was among the KHL’s top scorers and playmakers year after year, and his contributions helped SKA capture two Gagarin Cup championships in 2015 and 2017, cementing his legacy as a winner in the league’s biggest moments.

After a brief North American detour with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, Shipachyov returned to Russia and continued to dominate with Dynamo Moscow. His tenure in the Russian capital was marked by remarkable individual consistency: he led the league in scoring multiple times and became the recipient of the Golden Stick Award as the KHL’s regular-season MVP in back-to-back campaigns. Those seasons saw him consistently register well over 60 points, showing that even beyond his peak years he remained among the elite producers in the league.

Legacy

Subsequent spells with Ak Bars Kazan and now Dinamo Minsk have only added to Shipachyov’s enduring legacy. In October 2024, in a poetic twist of fate back in his native Cherepovets, he not only tied but then surpassed Sergei Mozyakin to become the KHL’s all-time leading scorer, reaching his 929th point and overtaking Mozyakin’s long-standing mark of 928 points.

Across his KHL career, Shipachyov’s individual honours — multiple First All-Star Team selections and MVP awards — reflect his status not merely as a prolific point producer but as a central figure in the league’s evolution.

Internationally, Shipachyov has also worn the Russian crest in several successful occasions. He starred at the World Championships, once leading the tournament in scoring and earning medal success, and was a player on the 2018 Olympic gold-medal team. His presence on the international stage reinforced his reputation as a player capable of elevating his game when stakes are highest. And with more than 1,000 games and points under his belt, he may now help Dinamo Minsk in a long playoff run.