Mikhail Kuleshov

Mikhail Vasilievich Kuleshov (; born January 7, 1981, in Perm, Soviet Union) is a former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche.

Playing career Kuleshov was drafted in the 1st round, 25th overall, in the 1999 NHL entry draft by the Colorado Avalanche. A member of the Russian U/18 team in 1999, Kuleshov played parts of four seasons in the Russian Super League before coming to North America at the end of the 2000–01 season.

Kuleshov made his North American debut with the Avalanche's affiliate, the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, joining the team for their play-off run. He then spent the next three season's in the AHL before he made his NHL debut during the 2003–04 season. Mikhail only played 3 games for the Avalanche before he was sent back to the Bears.

A free agent upon the 2004 NHL Lockout, Kuleshov returned to Russia playing the season with SKA Saint Petersburg and Molot-Prikamye Perm of the RSL. Kuleshov last played with Yunost Minsk of the Belarusian Open League.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1996–97 Avangard–2 Omsk RUS.3 12 1 1 2 8 — — — — — 1997–98 Avangard Omsk RSL 4 1 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 1997–98 Avangard–2 Omsk RUS.3 12 12 3 15 12 — — — — — 1998–99 Severstal Cherepovets RSL 16 2 0 2 8 3 0 0 0 4 1998–99 Severstal–2 Cherepovets RUS.2 25 7 5 12 12 — — — — — 1998–99 Severstal–3 Cherepovets RUS.3 3 2 1 3 32 — — — — — 1999–2000 Severstal Cherepovets RSL 8 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 2 1999–2000 Severstal–2 Cherepovets RUS.2 27 15 7 22 57 — — — — — 2000–01 SKA Saint Petersburg RSL 7 0 0 0 8 — — — — — 2000–01 Hershey Bears AHL 3 0 0 0 4 11 1 0 1 0 2001–02 Hershey Bears AHL 60 8 11 19 43 7 0 1 1 4 2002–03 Hershey Bears AHL 77 7 13 20 76 5 0 0 0 6 2003–04 Hershey Bears AHL 55 4 6 10 38 — — — — — 2003–04 Colorado Avalanche NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2004–05 SKA Saint Petersburg RSL 11 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 2004–05 Molot–Prikamye Perm RSL 23 0 3 3 16 — — — — — 2005–06 Yunost Minsk BLR 22 5 6 11 22 — — — — — 2005–06 Yunost–2 Minsk BLR.2 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — RSL totals 69 3 3 6 46 6 0 0 0 6 AHL totals 195 19 30 49 161 23 1 1 2 10 NHL totals 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1999 Russia WJC18 6th 7 0 4 4 2 Junior totals 7 0 4 4 2