Career
Prior to playing professionally, Chistov played for the Georgetown Raiders Junior A hockey club in Georgetown, Ontario. Chistov began his career in the Avangard Omsk organization, playing for their Russian Hockey Super League team in Omsk from 1999–2002. In the 2001 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Chistov was drafted fifth overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now known as the Anaheim Ducks).
While military obligations complicated Chistov"s transfer to North America, he and fellow draftee Alexander Frolov managed to defect from Russia in 2002.
In his rookie season in the National Hockey League (2002-2003), Chistov managed 30 points in 79 regular season games. The next year, Chistov struggled, and he was sent down to Anaheim"s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate at the time, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.
He remained there for the National Hockey League"s lockout season of 2004-2005, until he decided he did not want to play in the minor pros, and he and the club parted ways. Chistov returned to Russia for the 2005-2006 season, where he enjoyed a solid campaign playing on Evgeni Malkin"s line for the Super League"s Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
In the summer of 2006, Chistov signed a two-year, one-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
On November 13, 2006, Chistov was traded to the Boston Bruins for a third round draft pick in the 2008 National Hockey League entry draft. In the summer of 2007, Chistov decided to sign with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Russian Super League. As of February 2008, Chistov has parted ways with Salavat Yulaev Ufa but has not been taken back by the Boston Bruins.
According to General Motors Peter Chiarelli, there is no room for Chistov at this time.
However, Chistov was reportedly skating with the Bruins" minor league affiliate, the Providence Bruins. On August 23, 2008, he moved from Avangard Omsk to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.