Hat Tricks Sign Artyom Dubinin And Farafontov Yevgeni

DANBURY — The Danbury Hat Tricks have signed player agreements with forward Artyom “Artem” Dubinin and forward/defenseman Yevgeni “Yauhen” Farafontov for the 2023-24 season.

Dubinin, most notably, played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia with Lada Togliatti in 2008-09 and Amur Khabarovsk in 2013-14 (30 games, five points).

The Russian has bounced around the last few years most recently playing in Belarus for Lokomotiv Orsha and Sobol Beryoza last season where he tallied six points in 13 games (three goals, three assists).

“We are excited about the quality of people and players we continue to recruit” Hat Tricks coach and general manager Billy McCreary said. “Dubinin is a high-level player that will bring the Danbury fans out of their seats.”

Farafontov is fresh off a career season with IFK Lepplax (ll-divisioona) where he tallied a regular season personal best 18 points in 22 games (five goals, 13 assists). Prior to that, the Belarus native spent most of his career in his home country, dating back to the 2013-14 season.

“Farafontav is a versatile player that has a high compete level on both sides of the puck.”

Catch both players in action for the first time in the Hat Tricks’ season opener against Watertown on Oct. 13. Danbury raises its first Commissioner's Cup Championship banner Oct. 14 when it plays host to the Watertown Wolves.