Anton Silayev

Anton Silayev (; born 11 April 2006) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 10th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL entry draft.

Playing career Silayev began playing ice hockey at four years old, and became a defenceman at eight when a coach told him he was "too big" to play forward. In 2017, he moved to Nizhny Novgorod to play in the farm system of Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club Torpedo.

Playing in the Russian Junior Hockey League (MHL) during the 2022–23 season, Silayev recorded eight points in 41 games, playing in first and second pair roles for championship-winning .

Initially attending 2023 training camp in the MHL, Silayev was called up to Torpedo's KHL team for the preseason and earned a roster spot to start the 2023–24 season. In his KHL debut at 17 years old, the season opener against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, he recorded nearly 20 minutes of time on ice, a significant display of trust from coach Igor Larionov in a league where young players typically begin their careers with extremely limited minutes. With his first KHL goal, scored against Ak Bars Kazan, he became the youngest goal scorer in Torpedo history. By the end of September 2023, he had tallied one goal and six points in 12 games, averaging over 17 minutes per game and winning rookie of the month honours.

Although his rate of scoring cooled significantly as the season progressed, his 11 points and 63 games played were enough to break the league's records for points by an under-18 player, points by an under-19 defenceman, and games played by an under-18 defenceman. He would also lead Torpedo with 98 hits and earn a nomination for KHL rookie of the year. In five playoff games, he added two assists in Torpedo's first round exit at the hands of SKA Saint Petersburg. Upon Torpedo's elimination, he was reassigned to Chaika, where he tallied three more assists in 10 games en route to a semifinal exit. Following the season, he was drafted 10th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL entry draft.

On 1 June 2026, Silayev was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Devils.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2022–23 Chaika Nizhny Novgorod MHL 41 2 6 8 28 17 0 2 2 29 2023–24 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 63 3 8 11 10 5 0 2 2 4 2023–24 Chaika Nizhny Novgorod MHL — — — — — 10 0 3 3 22 2024–25 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 63 2 10 12 37 4 0 0 0 2 2024–25 Torpedo-Gorky Nizhny Novgorod VHL — — — — — 17 1 1 2 6 2025–26 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 61 1 2 3 10 10 0 2 2 13 2025–26 Chaika Nizhny Novgorod MHL — — — — — 4 0 2 2 0KHL totals 187 6 20 26 57 19 0 4 4 19