Hey, remember...Stanislav Chistov?

“Hey, remember...?” is a lighthearted look back at some of the lesser-known former Bruins we’ve seen pass through these parts in recent years. They might not have been stars and might not be the first guys you’d think of as “former Bruins,” but they’ve all got unique stories.

Hey, remember...?

Who? Stanislav Chistov, a.k.a. Stan the Man

When did he play here? 2006-2007

What were his stats? 60 GP, 5G, 8A, 13PTS

What happened after the Bruins? 10 seasons and counting in Russia’s KHL

Ah, 2006-2007. The last real “Dark Ages” Bruins fans experienced prior to the last decade-plus of good (and occasionally great) teams.

It was the Dave Lewis Era. The team was truly terrible. Sure, there were bright spots: Marc Savard. Zdeno Chara. A rookie named Phil Kessel.

Other than that, things were pretty bad. The Bruins finished at 35-41-6, good for 13th in the East and 16 points out of the last playoff spot.

Early in that ill-fated campaign, the Bruins made a trade. They sent a third-round pick out to Anaheim in exchange for a 23-year-old Russian left wing named Stanislav Chistov.

Chistov was a small guy, standing south of 6 feet. He was drafted 5th overall by the Anaheim Ducks back in 2001, behind Ilya Kovalchuk, Jason Spezza, Alexander Svitov and Stephen Weiss.

After some issues with his military service in Russia, Chistov joined the Ducks, didn’t do much and was shipped over here.

Bruins fans couldn’t help but get excited about him: small, fast, talented, Russian...visions of Sergei Samsonov danced in everyone’s heads.

Unfortunately, things never really panned out. While he did see occasional power play time, Chistov was mostly relegated to bottom-six duties, often playing with guys like Mark Mowers and Shean Donovan...not exactly offensive dynamos.

Chistov could skate really well and had a decent shot, but never really put it together. He had his moments for the Bruins.

Mostly, I remember him because he was unbelievably good in NHL07 for PS2. If you got the puck with him behind your own net, it was “hold down turbo and go” time. I must have scored 50 goals with Chistov in that game, so he holds a special place in my digital heart.

Alas, his EA Sports success didn’t translate into real life success. Chistov left the Bruins after one season and headed back to Russia to play in the newly founded Kontinental Hockey League.

There were rumors of Chistov coming back stateside, but they never materialized. He’s been in the KHL ever since. He’s always going to be a “what if...” prospect, as he had all the talent but was dogged by questions about off-ice exploits.

Regardless, he has had a lengthy KHL career and has done fairly well for himself.

The Ducks had the option of taking the Bruins’ third-rounder in 2007 or 2008; they elected to use it in 2007, selecting forward Maxime Macenauer with the 63rd overall pick.

Macenauer played in just 29 NHL games, so the trade can pretty much be considered a wash for the Bruins.

Got a player you’d like to see appear in a post like this? Let us know in the comments!