Ever since a major rebranding a week ago, the
Shanghai Dragons have hired a high-profile head coach and signed 14
new players, including several ex-NHLers. On Saturday, five new
signings were announced,
including Russian center Alexander Burmistrov and the
re-signing of American defenseman Adam
Clendening.
Other
players announced on Saturday include Croatian winger Borna
Rendulić,
32,
who played 15 NHL games with the Colorado
Avalanche and Vancouver
Canucks, Russian winger Vladimir Kuznetsov and Russian goaltender
Andrei Tikhomirov.
“Burmistrov is
a talented, fast center who excels in the faceoff circle and brings
important contributions on the penalty kill,” said
Dragons CEO Igor
Varitsky.
Originally from Kazan,
Tatarstan, Burmistrov, now 27, came up through the local Ak Bars
club, playing one KHL game with the team in 2007-08, and then spent
one season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He was chosen eighth
overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Between 2010 and 2013, he spent
three seasons with the Thrashers and Winnipeg
Jets franchise, then returned to Russia in 2013. Burmistrov
then returned to North America in 2015 and played for the
Jets, Arizona Coyotes and Canucks
before returning again in 2018.
Burmistrov had 101 points
and 139 penalty minutes in 348 NHL games. He also has 170 points in
492 KHL regular-season and playoff games with Ak Bars, Salavat Yulaev
Ufa, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow. After
not playing the first half of last season, he only played eight
games last season for Dynamo, going pointless.
Internationally, Burmistrov played for
Russia in two IIHF World Championships, winning a gold medal in 2014
in Minsk and a bronze at home in Moscow in 2016.
Alexander Burmistrov Signs With Dynamo Moscow Russian center Alexander Burmistrov, 33, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season with Dynamo Moscow, the KHL club announced recently.
“Clendening brings
valuable NHL experience and plays an important role both defensively
and on the power play,”
said Varitsky. “We
consider him one of our leaders, and last season he showed he has the
ability to guide his teammates on and off the ice.”
Clendening, 32, was
born in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and became a pro via the U.S. National
Team Development Program and Boston University. He was selected in
the second round, 36th
overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks
in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Between 2014 and
2019, Clendening played 90 NHL regular-season games for the
Blackhawks, Canucks, Pittsburgh
Penguins, Edmonton Oilers,
Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets,
recording 24 points and 42 penalty minutes. The last NHL games he
ever played were seven playoff games for Columbus in 2019, picking up
one assist and one minor penalty.
Clendening spent
the 2023-24 season in Finland with Ilves Tampere and last season in
the KHL with Kunlun, recording 22 points and 65 penalty minutes in 61
games.
Internationally,
Clendening won two gold medals for the USA at the U-18 World
Championships and a bronze at the 2021 Worlds in Riga.
Gerard Gallant is the new head coach of the Shanghai Dragons, the KHL
club announced on Wednesday.
A busy week just keeps getting busier for the
Chinese-based KHL club, which was previously known as Kunlun Red
Star.
On Monday, defenseman
Jake Chelios announced his retirement. On Wednesday, the club
announced the
signing of new head coach Gerard Gallant, and on Friday
and Saturday, the club announced the signings of
nine new players, including Slovak
Olympic bronze-medal-winning goaltender Patrik Rybar and Canadian
forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley.
The Kunlun-Shanghai franchise has played its home games in
suburban Moscow since early 2020 and will play in St. Petersburg this
season, but plans to return to China in either 2026 or 2027.
The team has not made the playoffs since its inaugural
KHL season in 2016-17.
Canadian former NHL forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley have
signed one-year contracts to play for the Shanghai Dragons, the
Chinese-based KHL club announced on Saturday.
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