Alexander Vladimirovich Riazantsev (Russian: Александр Владимирович Рязанцев) (born March 15, 1980) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played several seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) before retiring in 2015. He also played several years in the American Hockey League, after being selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, though did not play in the NHL. Internationally Riazantsev played for the Russian national team at the 2005 World Championship, winning a bronze medal.
| Alexander Riazantsev | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
March 15, 1980 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Spartak Moscow Hershey Bears Milwaukee Admirals Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Dynamo Moscow SKA St. Petersburg Avangard Omsk Vityaz Chekhov Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Salavat Yulaev Ufa Traktor Chelyabinsk Severstal Cherepovets Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Amur Khabarovsk | ||
| National team |
 Russia | ||
| NHL draft |
167th overall, 1998 Colorado Avalanche | ||
| Playing career | 1996–2015 | ||
Playing career
editOriginally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 1998, Riazantsev spent parts of five seasons playing for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League before returning to Russia in 2003, where he played until his retirement.
In January 2012, Riazantsev took a shot in a skills competition that measured a speed of 114.1 miles per hour. It is considered by KHL officials to be the hardest shot ever recorded. The National Hockey League does not recognize this feat, as the puck travels a shorter distance to the goal net in KHL competitions than in those of the NHL.[1]
On May 5, 2012, Riazantsev joined his seventh club in just five seasons, signing a two-year contract as a free agent with the Severstal Cherepovets starting from the 2012–13 season.[2] During the season, Riazantsev scored 9 goals from the Blueline and contributed with 20 points.
On June 11, 2013, Riazantsev was traded by Severstal to return to his original club, Spartak Moscow, in exchange for Nicholas Bushuev.[3]
On October 4, 2014, Riazantsev continued his journeyman career when he was traded after only 8 games in the 2014–15 season with HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk to Amur Khabarovsk.[4]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | Spartak Moscow | RSL | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | SAK Moscow | RUS.3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Spartak–2 Moscow | RUS.3 | 31 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 22 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 64 | 17 | 40 | 57 | 57 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 1998–99 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 48 | 17 | 45 | 62 | 45 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 20 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 66 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 76 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 57 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 40 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | RSL | 53 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 39 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | ||
| 2006–07 | SKA St. Petersburg | RSL | 53 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | SKA St. Petersburg | RSL | 23 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | SKA–2 St. Petersburg | RUS.3 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 25 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Avangard–2 Omsk | RUS.3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Vityaz Chekhov | KHL | 43 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL | 31 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | KHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | KHL | 51 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 40 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | ||
| 2012–13 | Severstal Cherepovets | KHL | 48 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 32 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20 | ||
| 2013–14 | Spartak Moscow | KHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Dynamo Moscow | KHL | 18 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Dynamo Balashikha | VHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | KHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Amur Khabarovsk | KHL | 33 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| RSL totals | 229 | 17 | 46 | 63 | 164 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 35 | ||||
| AHL totals | 217 | 18 | 52 | 70 | 130 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| KHL totals | 265 | 63 | 61 | 124 | 218 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 36 | ||||
International
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Russia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2005 Vienna | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
1999 Manitoba | |
 |
2000 Skellefteå | |
| European Junior Championships | ||
| |
1998 Sweden | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Russia | EJC | 
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | |
| 1999 | Russia | WJC | 
|
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2000 | Russia | WJC | 
|
7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Russia | WC |
|
9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 20 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 14 | ||||
| Senior totals | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||||
References
edit- ^ Wyshynski, Greg (January 21, 2012). "KHL's Alexander Ryazantsev sets new 'world record' for hardest shot at 114 mph". Yahoo. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
- ^ "Severstal sign veteran defenseman Ryazantsev" (in Russian). Severstal Cherepovets. May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ^ "Bushuev exchanged for Riazantsev" (in Russian). HC Spartak Moscow. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^ "Riazantsev traded by Nizhnekamsk". HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database