ECHL: South Carolina Stingray Player Profile: Julian Kislin

Julian Kislin is a newly signed defenseman for the South Carolina Stingrays out of Sacred Heart University. Kislin is the son of Henry and Galina and has one sibling, Elizabeth. He was born on May 24, 1999, in Manalapan, New Jersey. Towards the end of last week, Kislin signed his first ECHL contract with the South Carolina Stingrays. With the conclusion of his collegiate games, he will begin his professional career.

Before college, for the 2017-18 season, Kislin played 31 games for the Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League (USHL). He recorded three goals and 11 assists, which put him 3^rd on the team for defensemen. Kislin was named USHL Defenseman of the Week for recording one goal, three assists, and a +4 rating in two games against the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

During college, Kislin played four seasons with the Northeastern Huskies and majored in Business Administration. For his freshman year in the 2018-19 season, he appeared in 32 games and recorded four assists. He had a career-high of three blocks against the University of Vermont Catamounts on February 16. He also helped the Huskies win the Hockey East Championship for the ‘18-19 season. For the 2019-20 season, Kislin appeared in 23 games, recording six assists and 27 blocks. He had a career-high of three assists in the Beanpot Championship game against Boston College on February 10. He also helped the Huskies win their 3^rd straight Beanpot Championship.

For the 2020-21 season, Kislin played in 21 games, recording five assists. He got his first assist of the season in the Northeastern home opener against the Merrimack Warriors on December 13. He also recorded an assist in a 7-0 shutout win over the New Hampshire Wildcats.

For Kislin’s senior year season in 2021-22, he was named Assistant Captain and played in 34 games, recording two goals, four assists, and 39 blocked shots. He got his first career goal against UMass Lowell River Hawks on February 11. In that same game, he also recorded an assist. On March 4th, against the Merrimack Warriors, he was also able to record a goal and an assist during the game. He recorded his most blocked shots in a game against the Arizona State Sun Devils on January 13. He also helped the Huskies win the Hockey East Championship again for the ’21-22 season.

Jim Madigan, head coach of the Men’s Ice Hockey team for ten seasons and now the current Athletic Director for Northeastern University, had this to say about Kislin, “Julian is another smart defenseman with very excellent offensive skills and instincts. He can break you out of your zone with one pass, jumps in the play well, and is smart and defends well. He rounded out his game this year and would contribute offensively but became rough and a stalwart in the defensive zone.”

During his graduate year of college, Kislin played for Sacred Heart University. For the 2022-23 season, he played 30 games, recording two goals, six assists, and 37 shots. He had a season-high of four shots during the October 21st against the Niagara Purple Eagles. He also had a season-high of two blocks on February 25 in the game against The American International Yellow Jackets.

Following his final collegiate season at Sacred Heart University, Kislin played his first ECHL game with the Stingrays on March 26, 2023, against the Maine Mariners. Though it is towards the end of the season, I imagine Kislin is very excited to begin his professional career on the ice.