Michal Krištof (born October 11, 1993) is a Slovak professional ice hockey center playing for

HC Sochi Hockey Club Sochi (russian: Хоккейный клуб Сочи) is a professional ice hockey team based in Sochi, Russia. The team joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2014–15 season. History On May 23, 2014, it was reported that ...

of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Krištof made his Liiga debut with

Vaasan Sport Sport, known by its full name as ''Hockey Team Vaasan Sport OY'', is a Finnish ice hockey team playing in Liiga, and is based at Vaasa Arena (capacity 4448) in Vaasa. The team was established in 1939 as IF Sport (Idrottsföreningen Sport). Hist ...

during the 2014–15 season, playing two games for the team. He also played in the Slovak Extraliga for HK Nitra and the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...

with

HC Kometa Brno HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 13 Czechoslovak (and Czech) league ch ...

Playing career

Early years

About four years old, Michal Krištof first stepped on the ice when his parents took him to an ice rink near his home in Nitra in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. He later started playing and practicing together with his three-year older cousin. Kristof played

minor hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

in the local club HK Nitra. Krištof's childhood idol was

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing c ...

, "I do not really know why exactly him. I liked his playing style and took example of him".

Junior

As a 17-year-old, Krištof received a phone call from his agent about an opportunity to go to

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

where

Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

's junior A team held a ten-day-long tryout camp during the summer. The young Slovak convinced the coaches and was added to the team's roster. During his first season in the junior's SM-liiga (2011–2012), Krištof scored 37 points over 42 games. During the 2012–2013 season, Krištof was among the top three points scorers for a long time but ended up in sixth place after being injured.

Professional

The 2013–14 season was Krištof's first on the senior level, playing for

Mestis Mestis (from fi, Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division'). ...

. Krištof had a good start to the season, but coach

Pasi Räsänen Pasi may refer to: * Pasi (caste), a Hindu caste of northern India * ''Pasi'' (film), a 1979 Tamil film * Pasi (given name) * Pasi (surname), a surname of the Pasi community * Pasi, Papua New Guinea, a settlement near the coast of Sandaun Provinc ...

eventually moved him to the junior A team after 37 games. After

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...

's decision to move to the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

for the 2014–2015 season, Sport was added to the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. Krištof signed a one-year-long contract with the now SM-liiga team. After starting the season on a loan to

Peliitat Heinolan Peliitat (''formerly Heinolan Kiekko'') is an ice hockey club based in Heinola, Finland. The club is made up of 11 teams with the top team playing in the Mestis. They play their home games in the Versowood Areena, which has a capacity o ...

, where he scored three goals and made eight assists in six games, Krištof was called back to Sport. On October 3, 2014, Michal Krištof made his debut in the

in a 3–2 away loss against Pelicans, where Krištof played right wing alongside centre Lassi Kokkala and left wing Teemu Henritius. Krištof recorded 11 minutes and 43 seconds of time on the ice, had one shot on goal, a zero plus-minus and zero penalty minutes in his first SM-liiga game. Krištof spent the 2021–22 season in the

with

, leaving as a free agent at the conclusion of his contract to sign a one-year contract in the KHL with Russian club, Admiral Vladivostok, on July 21, 2022. On 1 May 2023, Krištof left Admiral as a free agent however continued his tenure in the KHL by agreeing to a two-year contract with HC Sochi.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league

International

Awards and honours

Criticizm

Krištof is one of very few European players that signed contract with KHL team after start of Russian invasion and genocide in Ukraine in February 2022. As a player of Admiral Vladivostok he takes part in propaganda activities to support Russian army and its aggression in Ukraine, such as wearing army jersey in the match the day before first anniversary of Russian invasion in Ukraine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kristof, Michal 1993 births Living people Admiral Vladivostok players Hokki players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics HK Nitra players Olympic ice hockey players for Slovakia Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Slovakia Olympic medalists in ice hockey Oulun Kärpät players Peliitat Heinola players Slovak ice hockey centres Ice hockey people from Nitra HC Sochi players Vaasan Sport players HC Kometa Brno players Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Russia