The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has signed defenseman Anton Silayev to a three-year, entry-level contract. The announcement was made by General Manager Sunny Mehta.
Silayev, 20, has spent parts of the last three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Nizhny Novgorod. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound defenseman played in 61 regular-season games with Nizhny Novgorod in 2025-26 and later recorded two assists in 10 playoff games. He ended the season playing for Nizhny Novgorod’s junior team in the MHL playoffs, scoring two assists in four games. Silayev was named a KHL All-Star for the first time in his career last season.
The left-handed shot has tallied 26 career points (6g-20a) in 187 regular-season games in the KHL and has collected four assists in 19 career playoff games. He appeared in the playoffs during all three seasons with Nizhny Novgorod. Silayev tallied a career-high 12 points (2g-10a) in 2024-25, and his 11 points (3g-8a) in 2023-24 were the most that a U-18 Junior recorded in the KHL. The blueliner spent the entire 2024-25 regular season in the KHL, he was later loaned to the organization’s VHL team for the postseason. He recorded two points (1g-1a) in 17 postseason games and helped the team win the VHL Championship.
In 2022-23, he played Junior hockey in the MHL with the Nizhny Novgorod organization (Chaika) and registered eight points (2g-6a) in 41 regular-season games. He later tallied two assists in 29 playoff games in 2022-23 and helped the club win an MHL championship.
The Devils selected Silayev with their first selection, and 10th overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft.
