"After my first talk with Dale, I called to my agent and said, 'Hey, this team is number one on my list," Kiselevich said via conference call. "It's a decision from the heart. Then I saw the team and a lot of things and it was great, too."
On Friday, Kiselevich got his wish, signing a one-year, one-way deal with the Panthers.
"Bogdan is a solid, shutdown defenseman who adds depth to our blue line and possesses a strong work ethic," Tallon said in a statement. "He's proven himself to be a reliable defensive presence on the international stage and in the KHL and has the ability to be a steadying influence on the back end for our young defensemen."
A 6-foot, 207-pound native of Cherepovets, Russia, Kiselevich had 23 goals and 100 assists in 393 career KHL games for CSKA Moscow (2014-18) and Severstal Cherepovets (2009-14). In 2017-18, he posted 16 assists in 44 games and was named to the KHL First All-Star Team.
At the international level, he recently helped the Olympic Athletes from Russia win a gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, notching two assists in six games. Kiselevich has also represented Russia at the IIHF World Championship twice (2017, 2018).
It was at last month's Worlds that Panthers coach Bob Boughner said he first noticed Kiselevich.
"He was definitely a guy that caught my eye," said Boughner, who served as one of Canada's assistant coaches at the Worlds. "After talking to Dale and his staff and hearing that they really liked him, I went back and looked at my reports, my pre-scouts, post-game reports and stuff like that. We have him as a physical, good defender, a shutdown-type of guy.
"I'm excited about it. We're obviously looking for ways to improve our lineup in the offseason. He already has experience playing pro [in the KHL]. He's 28. He's not coming in as a young guy that's got to find his way. He's a man. I like the fact that he has that dimension to his game where he's a defensive-first kind of guy."
Boughner said he expects Kiselevich's defensive expertise to help "spread the minutes around" the blue line and take some of the pressure off Florida's offensively-gifted blue liners like Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle and Mike Matheson - all of which saw career-high ice time last season.
"We used a lot of guys in different situations last season and spread some ice time thin," he said. "Hopefully we can bring some depth guys in like [Kiselevich] that can help with that so when we get in game 70 and 80 those guys will still have some good energy in the tanks."
When presented with this role, agent Daniel Milstein said Kiselevich became fixated on Florida.
"Bogdan, after speaking with Dale and hearing his vision for the team, decided that Florida was the right team," Milstein said. "He told me, 'Make a deal, don't look at any other opportunities. Florida is my home.'"
Well, welcome home Bogdan.
\Photo courtesy of Andre Ringuette; Hockey Hall of Fame*
