Denis Kulyash (russian: Денис Куляш), the son of Vladislav and Nina, born on May 31, 1983 in Omsk (Russian Federation) is a professional ice hockey

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is currently playing for the

HSC Csíkszereda Hoki Sport Klub Csíkszereda ( ro, Hockey Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc) is a professional ice hockey club based in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. They play in the country's top-level championship, the Romanian Hockey League, and also participate in the in ...

of the Erste Liga. On 6 November 2020 the Romanian Government offered him Romanian citizenship. Kulyash has been a long-time member of Russia's national ice hockey team known for his extremely hard

slap shot ''Slap Shot'' is a 1977 American sports film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league ice hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declin ...

, which gained him a nickname "

Tsar Cannon The Tsar Cannon (russian: Царь-пушка, ''Tsar'-pushka'') is a large early modern period artillery piece (known as a ''bombarda'' in Russian) on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. It is a monument of Russian artillery casting ar ...

" (russian: Царь-пушка). Kulyash currently holds a record of fastest ice hockey shot previously held by

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

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 Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental H ...

, Denis Kulyash made his

Russian Super League Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

debut with

HC CSKA HC CSKA Moscow (1946–present, russian: ЦСКА Москва, Центральный Спортивный Клуб Армии, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. The club i ...

, enjoying significant success with the club and as a result getting drafted by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

late in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

. The young defenceman then signed with

HC Dynamo Moscow HC Dynamo Moscow () is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League. Dynamo has won the Gagarin Cup twice, in 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, and have won th ...

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

in return for two other defencemen,

Filipp Metlyuk Filipp Metlyuk (born December 13, 1981) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has previously played with HC Yugra Hockey Club Yugra (russian: Хок ...

and

Evgeny Kurbatov Evgeny Kurbatov (born May 18, 1988) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for HC Lada Togliatti of the Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХ ...

. He went public with his discontent blaming HC CSKA's General Manager

Sergei Nemchinov Sergei Lvovich Nemchinov (russian: link=no, Серге́й Львович Немчинов; born 14 January 1964) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Van ...

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 Metallurg Novokuznetsk (russian: Металлург Новокузнецк) is a professional ice hockey team from Siberia based in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. They are currently members of the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). History The ...

, 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 Hockey Club Ak Bars (russian: Ак Барс, tt-Cyrl, Ак Барс, en, Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey ...

. In May 2013 he signed a new two-year contract with

. During the 2018-19 season, his 11th in the KHL, Kulyash made 24 appearances with

Severstal Cherepovets Hockey Club Severstal is a professional ice hockey team based in Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League. History Founded in 1956, the club was originally known as Stroitel ...

, before leaving the club and the league to sign for the remainder of the campaign with Korean club,

Daemyung Killer Whales The Daemyung Killer Whales were a professional ice hockey team based in Seoul, South Korea. The club joined the Asia League Ice Hockey in the 2016–17 season.3rd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game The 2011 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game was the All-Star game for the 2010–11 season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It took place on 5 February 2011 at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Although the captains of the a ...

References

External links

* *
RussianProspects.com Denis Kulyash Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulyash, Denis 1983 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Avangard Omsk players Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg players HC CSKA Moscow players Daemyung Killer Whales players HC Dynamo Moscow players Nashville Predators draft picks Russian ice hockey defencemen Salavat Yulaev Ufa players Severstal Cherepovets players