Alexander Riazantsev (ice hockey)

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 (1980-03-15) 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

Originally 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

Regular season and playoffs
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
Medal record
Representing  Russia
Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Vienna
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place1999 Manitoba
Silver medal – second place2000 Skellefteå
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place1998 Sweden
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1998 Russia EJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 3 1 4 8
1999 Russia WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 4
2000 Russia WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 2 6 8 2
2005 Russia WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 9 0 3 3 0
Junior totals 20 5 7 12 14
Senior totals 9 0 3 3 0

References
  1. Wyshynski, Greg (January 21, 2012). "KHL's Alexander Ryazantsev sets new 'world record' for hardest shot at 114 mph". Yahoo. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  2. "Severstal sign veteran defenseman Ryazantsev" (in Russian). Severstal Cherepovets. May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  3. "Bushuev exchanged for Riazantsev" (in Russian). HC Spartak Moscow. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  4. "Riazantsev traded by Nizhnekamsk". HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
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