Quick Facts
Biography
Denis Kulyash (Russian: Денис Куляш; born May 31, 1983) is a professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Kulyash has been a long-time member of Russia's national ice hockey team known for his extremely hard slap shot, which gained him a nickname "Tsar Cannon" (Russian: Царь-пушка). Kulyash currently holds a record of fastest ice hockey shot previously held by Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara with a speed of 110.3 mph (177.6 km/h).
Playing career
After failing to make it into the senior team of Avangard Omsk, Denis Kulyash made his Russian Super League debut with HC CSKA, enjoying significant success with the club and as a result getting drafted by the Nashville Predators late in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The young defenceman then signed with HC Dynamo Moscow in a hotly contested transfer and struggled to play at the same level. His career got back on track when he delivered a productive 2007-08 season after returning to HC CSKA in 2007. In February 2009, Kulyash scored his 50th career goal and thus became a member of the "Fetisov Club".
In January 2010, Kulyash was controversially traded to his home-town club Avangard Omsk in return for two other defencemen, Filipp Metlyuk and Evgeny Kurbatov. He went public with his discontent blaming HC CSKA's General Manager Sergei Nemchinov for the trade. However, Kulyash was quick to retreat expressing his delight at joining his native team. The defenceman managed to score against Metallurg Novokuznetsk, his second game in Avangard's jersey, but was injured in the next game and failed to make an impact throughout the rest of the disappointing season for the club.
In February 2011, Kulyash set the new world record for hardest shot during the KHL All-Star Superskills Competition. His result is 110.3 mph (177.6 km/h).
On May 3, 2011, Kulyash was announced as the new player of the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan.
In May 2013 he signed a new two-year contract with Avangard Omsk.
KHL statistics
| Season | Team | League | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 2008–09 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 56 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 62 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 2009–10 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 35 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 48 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 45 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 2011–12 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 44 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 40 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 | ||
| 2012–13 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 44 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 66 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2013–14 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 51 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 58 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 58 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| KHL totals | 342 | 70 | 85 | 155 | 368 | 66 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 79 | ||||
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | Place | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Russia | WC | 5th | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
Records
Denis Kulyash set the new world record for shot power, 110.3 mph (177.6 km/h) during the KHL All Star Superskills Competition on 3rd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game.