WORCESTER RAILERS HC SIGN DEFENSEMAN ARTYOM KULAKOV FOR 2024-25 SEASON

WORCESTER RAILERS HC SIGN DEFENSEMAN ARTYOM KULAKOV FOR 2024-25 SEASON

Railers officially have ten forwards, four defensemen, and two goaltenders signed for the upcoming season.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester Railers Hockey Club (@RailersHC), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the New York Islanders (@NYIslanders), and General Manager & Associate Head Coach Nick Tuzzolino, announced today that the club has signed defenseman Artyom Kulakov to an ECHL contract for the 2024-25 season.

Kulakov, 23, signs in Worcester for his second full professional season. He was voted the Worcester Railers Tough Guy of the Year award winner after accumulating 74 penalty minutes in 61 games to go with twelve points (4G, 8A). The 6'3", 216 lb defenseman originally joined Worcester at the end of the 2022-23 season after having played in 59 games for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. The Bolshoy Kamen, Russia native had two points (1G, 1A) in seven games in his first stint with Worcester.

"We are very excited to have Arty back for his second full season," Head Coach Bob Deraney said. "He is another cornerstone of our defensive corps. Kulakov is one of the best shut down defensemen in our league. We look forward to him taking that elite defensive ability to another level and continuing to develop the offensive side of his game that started to emerge at the end of last season.”

Prior to professional hockey, Kulakov spent two seasons with Erie. In his 102 career games with the Otters, Kulakov scored 16 points (5G, 11A) to go with 145 penalty minutes and a -36 +/- rating. Kulakov played one season with Omskie Yastreby of the MHL in Russia during 2020-21. He appeared in 29 games while scoring 12 points (4G, 8A), totaling 39 penalty minutes and a +1 rating.

"A lot of guys have a chip on their shoulder from last year," Kulakov said. "All of the guys are excited for next year and hungry to be back. The Worcester community and fans want us to win, and that's what we're going to bring next year."

The Railers have announced sixteen players officially signed for the 2024-25 season as Kulakov joins Matt DeMelis, Austin Heidemann, Matthew Barnaby Jr., Ryan Dickinson, Jordan Kaplan, Michael Bullion, Griffin Loughran, John Muse, Cole Donhauser, Ryan Verrier, Colin Jacobs, Connor Welsh, Anthony Callin, JD Dudek, and Anthony Repaci as the sixteen signees. More announcements are expected over the coming weeks.

The Worcester Railers HC 2024-25 Opening Weekend at the DCU Center is Sat., Oct. 19th and Sun., Oct. 20th vs. the Reading Royals. The new 508 Club is now on sale for the 2024-25 season! Get access to games this season, exclusive events and additional benefits by calling the Railers front office at 508-365-1750 or by visiting RailersHC.com.

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