"It Takes A Village"

They say it takes a village.
Vadim and Rumiya Kaliyev would probably agree. Hailing from Uzbekistan, the couple decided they wanted a change of scenery and moved to Staten Island, New York with their one-year-old son, Arthur, in tow.
When Arthur was around the age of seven, a family friend who was involved in hockey convinced him to hit the ice for a skate. Arthur, never having skated before, took him up on his offer and that's all it took to hook him on hockey.
"I just went out for a skate and it was all good. Ever since then I played every day," recalls Arthur on the simplicity of his humble beginnings.

As a kid, Arthur worked hard and played hockey every day with hopes of improving his craft, and his love for the game convinced his parents to allow him to focus on hockey more than academics, rather than insist he half-heartedly attempt to excel at both.
"Obviously I wanted to play hockey way more than school. I didn't like school, I hated school growing up," admits Arthur indignantly.
Arthur's dedication to hockey required everyone else's dedication to hockey, as needing to be transported to games, practices and tournaments meant a big commitment for Vadim and Rumiya. Luckily, Rumiya's parents also moved to New York around the same time as the Kaliyevs and when Mom and Dad were unable to get time off work to accompany Arthur, Grandma and Grandpa were there to step in.

If it's not already a big task to be a hockey parent, Arthur's younger sister by two years, Elvina, was heavily involved in her own sport - tennis. When Arthur was 14, he moved to Detroit, Michigan with his mom to further pursue hockey, where he played for two seasons. That same year, Elvina moved to Florida for her tennis training, and it was her grandparents that moved with her. Vadim, who owns a tractor truck shipping company, was still based in New York and commuted back and forth between New York, Michigan and Florida in order to see his family when he could manage time away from work.
Not even a decade later, it would seem that everyone's hard work and sacrifices are paying off. After not realizing he could play in the NHL one day until he started playing junior hockey, Arthur was drafted 33rd overall in the second round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He played his first NHL game on February 2, 2021 against the Anaheim Ducks, during which he scored his first-ever NHL goal.
When he was a kid, although he enjoyed watching all the NHL teams, Arthur particularly followed the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Pittsburgh Penguins, and his favorite player was Chicago winger Patrick Kane. One of the most memorable moments from Arthur's NHL career thus far was facing off against Kane for the first time, which happened in a game at Chicago on March 24, 2021. Fast forward a couple of weeks to April 12 of last season, and both players collected a point in the rematch.
"It was pretty funny. Growing up you'd never think you'd be playing against them one day, so that was pretty special," says Arthur, who caught himself staring a bit during the game, "I thought 'wow, I grew up watching him when I was a kid.' He was one of the best players and I would never expect to play against him in the future."
Meanwhile, Elvina has done quite a job carving a place for herself on the professional tennis circuit in both singles and doubles events. She currently possesses a career-high WTA singles ranking of 200 as well as a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 208. She made her US Open debut in 2021 in the mixed doubles category, and her WTA Tour debut at the Indian Wells Open in March of this year. For the Kaliyev family, watching Elvina play in the US Open is particularly special since they've been attending the New York City tournament for many years as spectators.
"Every year we go to [the US Open] and it's really fun. I think it's one of my favorite tournaments outside of hockey," explains Arthur, whose favorite tennis players are Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, both of whom he's seen play live.
Although he did play a little tennis for fun while growing up and became a fan of the sport when Elvina started playing, Arthur's sole focus has always been hockey. One can argue, however, that Arthur tapes the knob of his hockey stick similar to the tape job on a tennis racquet, something he's done since he was a kid, just because he likes the way the thicker knob feels.

The crossover between the siblings and their sports may end there, though, as Arthur concedes that he and his sister have different personalities, she was the better student in school, and right now they live on opposite coasts, with Elvina and the rest of the family in Florida, and Vadim still commuting to New York for work. They spend summers together though, and the siblings will workout together whenever Elvina's tennis schedule allows, being that the tennis season runs through hockey's off-season.
This year Elvina will spend the holidays with Arthur in LA, where she visits regularly whenever she's off from tournaments, often with the rest of the family.
"I don't think we ever thought we would be two high-level athletes, we were just going day-by-day, work hard and see where it takes us," shares Arthur, who keeps in touch with his family every day during the hockey season. "I'm glad it worked out."
With the support of a village - or a family - it often does.