Denis Pasler Jr.'s Hockey Career: From U.S. Return to MHL Ban
On February 6, Yekaterinburg will host a match between Russia«s best young hockey players — the East and West All-Star teams of the Youth Hockey League (MHL) will compete in the Challenge Cup ahead of the KHL All-Star Game.
Denis Pasler Jr. could have taken to the ice at the UGMK Arena. He has recently started playing in the MHL, having moved from the United States, where he spent last season. Amid a change of leadership in Sverdlovsk Oblast, he has been written about by many federal media outlets — a level of attention unlikely for any other participant in the upcoming Challenge Cup.
However, Denis was not selected for the All-Star show in his hometown. Nevertheless, we decided to examine the ups and downs of his sports career, which is just beginning.
Beginnings and Move to the U.S.
Denis Pasler Jr. started playing hockey in 2014 when he was 6 years old. Playing as a defenseman, he played for the sports schools «Spartakovec» and «Fakel», and from 2020 to 2022, he played for Moscow«s CSKA.
His days playing for the «Yunost-2008» (Youth-2008) team were particularly notable. When Denis and his teammates were seven years old, a video of their training session truly went viral on social networks. The footage showed the young athletes navigating obstacle courses at incredible speed. The recordings gained 15 million views in just a couple of days.
Their coach was Alexander Antropov. Back in 2015, he was confident that the new generation of players would grow into world-class stars. In an early interview with E1.RU, he talked about how he trains the «Yunost-2008» team.
«I«ll answer this way: with the 2008-born team, there is a coaching staff of three people. Sergei Nemolodyshev and I work with the skaters on the ice, and his brother Mikhail Nemolodyshev works with the goalies. Together, we take the best from different directions, apply it in training, and improvise ourselves.»
Denis never dropped out of the main lineup. He wasn«t the points leader, but that is quite normal for a defenseman. This is recalled by hockey commentator Artemy Nemirovich-Danchenko, who often worked at »Yunost« games.
«You can«t talk about players like him as ordinary players; he is still a little privileged. And that»s not bad, it«s normal. One aspect of a successful hockey player is the ability to perform in the role the team needs; he»s fine with that. You need to have connections with many teams so they know about you. He has no problems with that either,» the sports commentator told E1.RU.
Denis«s career indeed took off: he became one of 9 athletes from the 2017 squad who went to play in North America. He got into a league considered a proving ground for young athletes, through which many of them reach the NHL — the world»s strongest league.
This was during the time when his father was governor of Orenburg Oblast. The young man was registered for the Rockets team from Bridgewater, New Jersey. The club has several teams for juniors of different ages. They play in collegiate and youth leagues.
All of Denis«s social media accounts are closed to the public, but in Alexander Antropov»s Telegram channel, one can find many joint photos with the player. Pasler Jr. is easy to spot in all the pictures: he is the tallest among the hockey players. For a 17-year-old teenager, his dimensions are indeed impressive: height — 196 cm (6 ft 5 in), weight — 103 kg (227 lb).
This season, the Rockets team plays in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). This is a sports association founded in 2012 and comprising 60 private clubs. There is no information on how many players from this league later make it to the NHL.
The young hockey player stayed in America for only one season. A month after his father«s appointment as acting governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Pasler Jr. returned to his homeland and began training at the »Datsyuk Arena«.
Return to Homeland and Playing in the MHL
The senior Pasler spoke about his son«s return to Russia in an interview with Sverdlovsk»s «Oblastnaya Gazeta». He said his son went to the U.S. solely to play hockey and train. There was never any talk of staying there to live and continue his studies. According to Denis Pasler, his son faced serious challenges in America.
«It«s no secret that guys like my Denis, who are engaged exclusively in sports abroad, also go through their own difficult trials. I know that clashes also happen when someone from the outside speaks badly about our country. The guys stand up to any such manifestations,» the politician stated.
Soon after his return, the hockey player was taken by the youth team «Mikhailov Academy» from Tula. The club signed a three-year contract with the player. Denis first took to the ice on September 19, 2025, on the fourth line. He scored his first goal on October 15. This is reported on the hockey club«s social media.
The club where Denis now plays — «Mikhailov Academy» from Tula — has been playing in the MHL«s Western Conference since the 2020/21 season. In the 2022/23 season, the team took second place in the Silver Division and qualified for the Kharlamov Cup playoffs. Since 2023, »Mikhailov Academy« has played in the top-tier Golden Division. Last season, it finished tenth overall and is now fighting for a playoff spot.
On the social media of «Mikhailov Academy», one can find footage from past games, photos from training camps, and even selfies of Pasler Jr. It«s not difficult to recognize the governor»s son: he plays under number 18.
In mid-January, defenseman Pasler was suspended for two games for a kneeing hit. Footage from that game shows Denis reaching for the puck with his stick, missing, and crashing into an opponent at high speed, hitting his knee with his leg. The player collapsed on the ice, curled up in pain. This happened on January 12.
Initially, the referees decided to give the team a penalty of «5 + 20». The team plays shorthanded for 5 minutes without a substitution, 20 minutes — the player is ejected for the remainder of the game. Such a penalty is applied for a hit to the head, kneeing, an attack without the puck, and other violations. After some time, the referees decided to stiffen the penalty. However, he has already served his suspension games.
— Denis has shown his best side in the team. He helps the team in every way, both on and off the ice. He is also involved in games for «AKM-Junior», scoring points for both teams. He has the prospect of becoming a professional hockey player! He will use his strengths, and he will bring his weaknesses up to the required level during his performances at «Mikhailov Academy»! — stated the club«s defensemen coach, Alexei Denisov.
He noted that Pasler Jr. easily integrated into the team, where the principle of equality applies.
In the 2025/2026 regular season, Pasler Jr. played in 32 out of 37 games, scored 3 goals, made 4 assists, and earned 7 points. The player«s plus/minus rating was +3. This is a statistical indicator calculated from the difference between goals scored and conceded while the player was on the ice.
For comparison: the plus/minus of other defensemen on the «Mikhailov Academy» team is +7 (Grigory Ulanov), +4 (Dmitry Shutyaev), +2 (Arseny Dobransky), +15 (Nikita Ignatov), -36 (Artem Krutov), -10 (Nikita Semak), -29 (Anton Shkolny), and -16 (Alexander Andriyashev). At the same time, Denis is one of the youngest players on the team. His main sports achievements, like those of his teammates, are still ahead.
We contacted the press secretary of Governor Denis Pasler to find out his own attitude towards his son«s sporting successes and whether he misses him while he plays for Tula Oblast. As soon as we receive a response, the article will be updated.
More Hockey Reading
See how the fate of the teammates of Denis Pasler Jr. from the «Yunost-2008» team has unfolded. Many of them play for top junior teams in North America and are contenders for a place in the NHL.
Unfortunately, in a short time, Yekaterinburg«s hockey community has suffered two heavy losses: at the end of March last year, the legendary former coach of »Avtomobilist« Andrey Martemyanov passed away, and a week earlier, 34-year-old Fedor Malykhin died, who played for the Yekaterinburg club and later won the »Gagarin Cup« as part of »Ak Bars«.
