Kirill Kabanov

Kirill Sergeyevich Kabanov (; born July 16, 1992) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward, who is currently playing for the Aalborg Pirates in the Metal Ligaen (DEN). He played ten games with HC Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) before moving to North America. Kabanov also played for the Russian junior team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships where he won a silver medal. Kabanov was selected 65th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2010 NHL entry draft.

Playing career In 2007, 15-year-old Kabanov was signed to a five-year contract with HC Spartak Moscow, a deal negotiated by his father and included an escape clause that would allow him to leave the contract to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). When the Russian Super League was disbanded in favour of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2008, he signed a new four-year contract to replace the original deal that also had an NHL escape clause. During the season, the KHL unilaterally revoked his NHL escape clause. His playing rights were sold to Salavat Yulaev Ufa, which required a new contract be signed under KHL rules. Ufa refused to grant him another escape clause, and Kabanov refused to sign a new contract.

Faced with an ultimatum by Ufa to sign a contract or risk being disqualified from playing hockey in Russia for three years, Kabanov instead flew to Moncton and petitioned the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to allow him to play in Canada. He missed the first ten games of the 2009–10 QMJHL season while the Moncton and Ufa battled over his rights before the IIHF ruled in favour of the Wildcats, allowing Kabanov to join his new team. At one point considered a potential first overall selection for the 2010 NHL entry draft,

Internationally, Kabanov played with the Russian junior team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships. He finished eighth in tournament scoring with eleven points, and helped the Russians win a silver medal. He was unable to participate in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships due to a wrist injury. The injury required surgery, leaving Kabanov out of the Moncton lineup until February 2010. Late in the season, Kabanov would become a regular healthy scratch and fall out of favor with the Wildcats. Being a scratch for the entire first round of the playoffs, Moncton released Kabanov of his obligations, allowing him to play in the 2010 U18 tournament. There, he would become the center of controversy after being rejected by the Russian squad for disciplinary reasons. "I removed him from the team because [although] we thought [he] would help us, but he brought only confusion to the team," Vasiliev told Sovietsky Sport. "Kabanov came and thought 'Here I am, a star from Canada, who will save all.' But it's the team that wins rather than an individual player."

On June 6, 2010 agent JP Barry parted ways with Kabanov, stating "it just wasn't a fit." Ilya Moliver, one of the previous Kabanov's agents, says that the main problem with Kabanov is his father, who is "hard to find common language with." On October 28, 2010, Kabanov was traded from the Wildcats to the Lewiston Maineiacs.

On July 1, 2011, Kabanov signed a three-year entry-level contract with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) and participated in the team's training camp. However, he was soon assigned to Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) affiliate Blainville-Boisbriand Armada before the start of the season. Having played no games with the Islanders nor Armada, Kabanov was loaned to the Swedish Elitserien (SEL) team Färjestads BK early in the season, on October 13, 2011. However, a day later he was traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes, and on October 15 it was confirmed that he would stay in North America for the 2011–12 season.

After a successful 2011–12 campaign in which he scored 21 goals and notched 34 assists (both personal records), Kabanov made the jump up to the professional American Hockey League (AHL) for the 2012–13 season. with Islanders affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In his second year of his entry-level deal, unable to solidify a position within the Sound Tigers, he was reassigned to ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder. He was then loaned to Modo Hockey in the Swedish Hockey League for the remainder of the season.

On July 15, 2014, Kabanov was placed on conditional waivers in order to mutually terminate the final year of his contract with the Islanders. On July 30, 2014, Kabanov opted to continue his career in the SHL, declining Modo interest to sign with League champions Skellefteå AIK on a one-year contract.

After two season in the Swedish League, Kabanov returned to North America as a free agent, accepting a try-out offer to attend the New York Rangers training camp on September 17, 2015. He was released from his try-out on September 24, 2015. Kabanov returned to the KHL for limited action hampered by injury through two years before spending the 2017–18 season in Denmark with the Aalborg Pirates of the Metal Ligaen.

As a free agent, Kabanov continued his career in Europe by signing as a free agent to a one-year contract with German club, Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, on June 15, 2018. In the 2018–19 season, Kabanov as a regular top nine forward, contributed with 3 goals and 19 points in 49 games.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08 Spartak-2 Moscow RUS-3 19 0 1 1 10 — — — — — 2008–09 Spartak Moscow KHL 6 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 2009–10 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 22 10 13 23 34 1 0 0 0 2 2010–11 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 2 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 2010–11 Lewiston Maineiacs QMJHL 37 11 17 28 38 15 8 12 20 18 2011–12 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 50 21 34 55 42 11 4 9 13 12 2012–13 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 32 2 7 9 27 — — — — — 2013–14 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 16 3 0 3 12 — — — — — 2013–14 Stockton Thunder ECHL 9 4 4 8 11 — — — — — 2013–14 Modo Hockey SHL 12 6 2 8 2 2 0 1 1 4 2014–15 Skellefteå AIK SHL 43 11 18 29 20 13 3 3 6 4 2015–16 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 8 0 0 0 14 1 0 0 0 0 2016–17 HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2017–18 Aalborg Pirates DEN 42 19 14 33 71 17 4 8 12 10 2018–19 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 49 3 16 19 28 — — — — — 2019–20 Aalborg Pirates DEN 47 12 22 34 51 — — — — — 2020–21 Aalborg Pirates DEN 44 19 32 51 28 16 3 12 15 10 2021–22 Aalborg Pirates DEN 31 17 11 28 33 13 3 6 9 6 2022–23 Aalborg Pirates DEN 48 10 31 41 30 16 5 4 9 10 2023–24 Aalborg Pirates DEN 37 10 15 25 14 14 4 6 10 6 2024–25 Aalborg Pirates DEN 37 6 9 15 24 12 3 4 7 6 KHL totals 19 0 0 0 18 5 0 0 0 0 AHL totals 48 5 7 12 39 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2008 Russia U17 5th 5 2 9 11 28 2009 Russia U18 7 4 7 11 18 Junior totals 12 6 16 22 46