KHL - Results - Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Admiral Vladivostok 3 Dynamo Moscow 4 (SO)
The first shoot-out of the KHL season went to Dynamo following a 3-3 tie in Vladivostok. Shoot-out strikes from Daniil Tarasov and Alexander Rybakov proved sufficient as Alexander Lazushin denied Alexander Gorshkov and Dmitry Lugin at the other end. In regulation, Admiral came from behind three times to frustrate the Moscow team. The latest of those goals came in the 56^th minute when Artyom Zemchyonuk’s slap shot from the point flew past Alexander Lazushin to make it 3-3. That cancelled out Semyon Kokuyov’s first KHL goal for his new club following his move from Chelyabinsk to Moscow in the summer. Alexei Sopin led a two-on-one break and Kokuyov converted the opportunity to put the Blue-and-Whites up with 15 minutes to play.
Dynamo came into the game on the back of an undefeated pre-season and showed off that confidence to strike early; the game’s first power play yielded a goal for Konstantin Gorovikov in the third minute. It might have been the energy-sapping penalty kill that cost Admiral as two defensemen backed off Gorovikov and allowed plenty of space at the top of the circle to unleash a shot past Ivan Nalimov. That lead lasted until the start of the second period when Admiral tied it up on a counter attack. Kirill Voronin’s shot was saved but Yegor Yakovlev had no trouble in tapping the loose puck into an empty net. Dynamo got back in front when Daniil Tarasov spun away from Jon Blum in front of the net to shoot past Nalimov, but Admiral tied it up again late in the middle stanza. Once again it was a counter-attacking goal after Dynamo’s Denis Barantsev got caught in possession on the host’s blue line. Alexander Gorshkov was off to the races, taking the puck to Alexander Lazushin’s net and scoring with a wrist shot from the edge of the right-hand circle. But Gorshkov couldn’t reprise that form in the shoot-out and, for the second season running, Dynamo begins with a victory following a 3-3 tie.
Amur Khabarovsk 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1
Young Pavel Kraskovsky had a memorable start to his season, opening the scoring in Lokomotiv’s win at Amur. The 19-year-old emerged from the Yaroslavl youth system and established himself in the first team last season, when he chipped in 2+3 points from 40 games, mostly playing in the bottom six. This season, though, he’s starting out on Loko’s second line and reacted to the added responsibility with a power play goal to break the deadlock in the 34^th minute. Kraskovsky snaffled up the rebound after Brandon Kozun’s shot was pushed back out into the danger zone by goalie Alexander Pechursky. That strike proved enough to give Lokomotiv victory in its first game of the season. Goalie Alexei Murygin, who last year established a new KHL record time without conceding a goal, began the new campaign in similar mood with a shut-out and 22 saves to secure a narrow win on the road for Alexei Kudashov’s team.

KHL - Results - Tuesday, August 23, 2016

 
Avangard Omsk 1 Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk 0
A single goal from Joonas Ahnelov was enough to give Fyodor Kanareikin a winning start to life as Avangard’s head coach. The Hawks had a hard time breaking down a resilient Ugra team, mustering just six shots on goal in the first period and only 20 in total. Ahnelov’s breakthrough came early in the second with a well-placed wrister from the point beating Vladislav Fokin. The home team failed to capitalize on that advantage, still struggling to get clear sights of Fokin’s net, but Ugra was unable to find a way back into the game. In the final period, with the visitor trying to chase an equalizer, Avangard’s defense allowed just three shots on Dominik Furch’s net as the team ground out a narrow victory.
Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (OT)
It should have been a triumphant return for Pavel Datsyuk, back in his homeland and playing in the KHL for the first time since the lock-out of 2012-13. Instead, though, Traktor snatched an overtime win thanks to a far less heralded summer signing. Kirill Koltsov, a Gagarin Cup winner in 2011, didn’t make many headlines when he moved from Torpedo to Traktor this summer. But the 33-year-old D-man, who once had a stint at SKA, was part of some astute trading in the Southern Urals and game one reinforced the positives from Traktor’s pre-season. Facing a star-studded SKA roster coached by Oleg Znarok and expected to be a dominant force this season, Traktor refused to step back.
Paul Szczechura, another summer arrival in Chelyabinsk opened the scoring in the seventh minute and Traktor held that lead until shortly after the midway point, when Evgeny Dadonov tied the scores off a Vadim Shipachyov pass following a defensive mistake. Neither side could find a winner in regulation but Koltsov settled it midway through the extras, firing home from close range off Alexander Chernikov’s assist. That was Traktor’s first shot on target in overtime after SKA set the pace for much of the extras, but it was enough to claim an impressive opening win for the home team.



Spartak Moscow 1 Jokerit Helsinki 2
Former Newcastle Jester's boss, Jukka Jalonen’s return to the KHL as head coach of Jokerit gave him an opening game in Moscow, where a new-look Spartak was hoping to improve on last season’s failure to reach the playoffs. And while Spartak, unusually playing a home game at the VTB Arena more often used by Dynamo, made the brighter start, Jokerit’s Danish duo turned the game around in the closing minutes. The opening stages were evenly matched and it wasn’t until midway through the second period that Spartak broke the deadlock. Ryan Stoa, a summer arrival from Neftekhimik, got the goal on the power play in the 34^th minute.
That lead lasted long enough for the Red-and-Whites to feel that victory was within reach, but their hopes were dashed when Danish international D-man Oliver Lauridsen marked his Jokerit debut with the equalizing goal in the 49^th minute. His shot from the blue line came through traffic to bamboozle Markus Svensson between the piping for Spartak. The winner came five minutes later when Charles Genoway’s shot from the blue line got tangled up in a crowd scene on the slot and dropped for another Dane, forward Peter Regin, to squeeze his shot home from a tight angle even as Svensson’s dive dislodged the net from its moorings. That was enough to give the Finns the verdict despite a frantic effort from Spartak in the dying seconds. I was lucky enough to watch this game live from Russian TV!

Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5
Sibir’s young goalie Alexei Krasikov started his first ever KHL game as Czech international Alexander Salak began the suspension he was handed at the end of last season – but the prospect finished on the wrong end of a high-scoring defeat. The 20-year-old had a tough introduction to life in the big league, picking the puck out of his net after just 87 seconds following Alexander Torchenyuk’s opener. Another Sibir debutant, forward Joonas Kemppainen, tied the game but Torchenyuk struck again to give the visitor the lead at the first intermission. Penalty trouble midway through the second ultimately sunk Sibir. Power play goals for Petr Koukal and Dmitry Monya – the latter assisted by the impressive Torchenyuk – stretched the lead to 4-1 and left Sibir with too much ground to make up. The Siberians tried hard, making it a one-goal game through Artyom Voroshilo and summer signing Evgeny Artyukhin but Jan Buchtele’s empty-netter gave Avto the win. Krasikov lasted the whole game, making 33 saves but could not start on a winning note.
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 - Severstal Cherepovets 2

Veteran D-man Konstantin Korneyev made an immediate impact on his Salavat Yulaev debut, claiming the game-winner in a 3-2 success at home to Severstal. The former CSKA and Ak Bars blue-liner struck in the 46^th minute to make it 3-1, and while that two-goal cushion lasted just 35 seconds before Evgeny Mons reduced the deficit, Severstal could not force overtime. Earlier Alexander Loginov and Stepan Khripunov put Salavat 2-0 in front before Vitaly Sitnikov’s 26^th-minute goal got Severstal back in contention.
Ak Bars 2 - Severstal Cherepovets 1
Jiri Sekac was another game-winning debutant as his Ak Bars team edged Slovan 2-1 in Kazan. Sekac grabbed a short-handed goal off an assist from his former Lev Prague colleague Justin Azevedo late in the second, adding to Mikhail Varnakov’s opener in the 31^st minute. Slovan hit back through Ivan Svarny, who got a power play goal seconds after Sekac’s short-handed effort. But the Slovaks could not find a way through in the third period and the host held on to make a winning start to the season. This game marked the first I was able to watch with the new Russian TV coverage.
Lada Tolyatti 2 - Medvescak 3
Medvescak began their season with an entertaining victory at Lada thanks to a late goal from Derek Smith. The defenseman struck on the power play in the 56^th minute, beating Ilya Ezhov with his third attempt from the blue line to snap a 2-2 tie. Earlier Mark Katic had given Medvescak a very early lead, only for Lada to turn the game around thanks to Georgy Belousov and Viktor Komarov. Gilbert Brule tied it up early in the third before Smith’s decisive strike.
HC Sochi 3 - Dinamo Riga 1
HC Sochi made a fast start to the season, racing into a 2-0 lead inside five minutes of its game at home to Dinamo Riga. Ilya Krikunov got both of them, and when Igor Ignatushkin made it 3-0 in the 16^th minute it seemed that Dinamo could be facing a rout. The Latvians did not buckle, though, taking the game to Sochi in the middle frame and clawing back one goal thanks to a debut marker from Canadian forward Colton Gillies. In the final frame Dinamo dominated, only to find home goalie Konstantin Barulin in fine form. He finished with 31 saves on the night, 13 of them in the final stanza.
Metallurg Novokuznetsk 4 - Barys Astana 2
After a controversial pre-season, Barys began its KHL campaign with a 2-4 defeat at Metallurg Novokuznetsk. First-period goals from Kirill Lebedev and Ignat Zemchenko gave Kuznya the early initiative, but Barys hit back early in the second when new signing Cam Barker and Ivan Kuchin tied the game. It was still level going into the third but Kirill Semyonov snapped a 2-2 tie early in the final stanza and Alexander Komaristy made the points safe in the last two minutes. Even without Damir Ryspaev, Barys managed to get embroiled into two fights. Roman Savchenko tangled with Evgeny Viksna in the 51^st minute before Nigel Dawes and Alexei Vasilchenko got their rumble on with three seconds left on the clock.

KHL - Results - Monday, August 22, 2016

Back in April, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and CSKA served up a thrilling Grand Final. On Monday they met again to get the KHL season underway.
It’s been a tale of contrasting pre-seasons for last season’s Gagarin Cup finalists. In Magnitogorsk, the champion largely kept its roster together, trusting the players that have won it all twice in three seasons. In Moscow, meanwhile, CSKA faced bigger changes.
The big challenge for Dmitry Kvartalnov and his team will be replacing the talents of Alexander Radulov and Nikita Zaitsev, both of whom have moved to the NHL. The head coach admits that it’s impossible to find direct equivalents for two of Russia’s most talented players and is looking to add greater depth to the roster. That was especially evident during the Mayor of Moscow’s Cup, which ended last Thursday with CSKA taking second place behind Dynamo.
However, that runners-up spot was achieved with a youthful line-up as Kvartalnov offered an opportunity for the brightest prospects in the Krasnaya Armiya youth set-up a chance to prove their worth. The likes of 18-year-old Artyom Chmykhov certainly made an impact, even if it wasn’t enough to lift the cup.
Kvartalnov himself was fairly content with his team’s performances, but offered a caveat. “We still have a few questions before the start of the season,” he said. “We’re still waiting for every player to join the system. Some aren’t ready, some are injured, but everyone should be fit for the opening night.”
That opening night could see a new-look top line of Bud Holloway, Gregg Scott and Dmitry Kugryshev. The two Canadians are new to the KHL, but both have extensive experience of European hockey. Kugryshev is a familiar face and was expected to shrug off an injury to be available for Monday’s game.
The goaltending role at CSKA could also be hotly contested in the coming weeks. Last season Ilya Sorokin, aged just 21, kept experienced Swedish international Viktor Fasth out of the crease for much of the campaign. Fasth, however, has impressed with his form and attitude in the summer. “I’ve been pleased to see that he hasn’t given up and is fighting for his place,” Kvartalnov added. “He really is in good shape.”

Metallurg’s stars have stayed in place: colorful rumors linking Danis Zaripov with a move to newcomer Kunlun Red Star proved to be nothing more than gossip while his partners-in-crime Sergei Mozyakin and Jan Kovar are also back for a fourth season of terrorizing KHL defenses.
Observers seeking evidence of a post-championship hangover might point to Magnitka’s failure to wrap up pre-season with victory on home ice in the Romazan Memorial Trophy. The team’s back-to-back defeats against Avangard split opinions among Metallurg’s fans; some felt it highlighted underlying problems with the roster, others argued that pre-season is all about shaking off the rust of the summer months and means nothing when the action starts.
Head coach Ilya Vorobyov tends towards the second view. Asked about the “food for thought” served up by Avangard, Vorobyov highlighted individual flaws rather than systemic problems.
“If you give your opponent a goal and that opponent is as strong defensively as Avangard no amount of skill will get you back into the game,” he said after the Omsk teams 2-0 victory in the Romazan final. “And that’s what happened to us here.”
Metallurg Magnitogorsk hosted CSKA Moscow for the Opening Cup on Monday, Aug. 22. The game faced off at 1900 Moscow time.

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 CSKA Moscow 2 

Metallurg Magnitogorsk raised the Opening Cup for the second time after edging CSKA in a hard-fought curtain raiser to the ninth KHL season. In the now-traditional repeat of the previous season’s Gagarin Cup final, Magnitka and CSKA served up a game that echoed many of the events of April’s dramatic finale. Both teams had long periods in the ascendancy as the game’s momentum ebbed and flowed; Evgeny Timkin came up with a key contribution at a vital moment for Metallurg and, almost inevitably, Sergei Mozyakin came up with another great goal. 
For CSKA Dmitry Kugryshev – fit again after missing last week’s Mayor of Moscow Cup – scored twice. It wasn’t enough to salvage anything from the game but it did underline his status as the key creative forward in the post-Radulov era in Moscow. 
Kugryshev initially lined up with Greg Scott and Ivan Telegin; something of a surprise after Scott and fellow Canadian Bud Holloway had played together for much of the pre-season campaign. But Dmitry Kvartalnov was happy to shuffle his lines from the start – it took just two-and-a-half minutes for Kugryshev to find himself on the ice with Holloway and the pair combined for the opening goal of the KHL’s ninth season. Admittedly, Magnitka’s defense left something to be desired as Kugryshev collected the puck at the foot of the circle and found his path to the net largely unimpeded but the forward’s finished highlighted his claims to be one of the key creative forces for the Moscow club this season. 
Early dominance did not lead to more goals for CSKA, and that allowed the home team to turn the game around thanks to two familiar tormentors. Timkin’s two goals in Moscow in game seven of the Gagarin Cup final shattered CSKA’s championship dream back in April: his juddering check on his own blue line set up a counter-attack that ended with Oskar Osala firing the teams level. Then Mozyakin conjured up his 425^th career goal in top-flight Russian hockey. A single maneuver out at the point left two defensemen clutching at thin air as Magnitka’s captain moved into the deep slot and found a shooting lane that left Viktor Fasth with no chance. 
Fasth had forced his way back into the starting line-up after a strong pre-season, but the Swede’s evening was destined to end early. Metallurg’s first power play of the game came early in the second and Sergei Tereshchenko made it 3-1 with a shot from the point that seemed to take a deflection of Gennady Stolyarov’s stick. Whether that deceived Fasth was unclear, but it was enough to persuade Kvartalnov to introduce young Ilya Sorokin between the piping. 
Metallurg could – maybe should – have extended that lead after carving out some presentable chances on a power play, but instead it was CSKA that raised its game. Kugryshev’s second of the night reduced the arrears after he wove a mesmerizing pattern across the Magnitogorsk zone. Then there were opportunities for Andrei Kuzmenko and Stephane da Costa to tie the game before the final stanza. 
That set the scene for a nerve-jangling finish. Could CSKA complete its fightback and force overtime or even a win in regulation? Or would Magnitka find the way to shut down the Army Men and preserve the lead to the end? In the event it was defenses who came out on top: neither team could find a way to score, although CSKA created the bulk of the chances. And so, just as at the end of the last campaign, Metallurg claimed the silverware by the narrowest of margins as the season got off to an entertaining start.

Former Penguin Max Talbot Joins KHL

A returning coach, a replacement of the ‘old guard’ and the arrival of a Stanley Cup winner – it’s been a busy summer in Yaroslavl as Lokomotiv looks to improve.
For Lokomotiv, 2016-17 ended in disappointment. A strong regular season campaign held out high hopes of a good run in the playoffs, only for SKA to shut down Alexei Kudashov’s team in the first round. When post-season came around, Loko’s offense froze. Three straight shut-outs saw the team’s campaign end with a whimper.
That obscured many of the good things that happened in Kudashov’s first season beside the Volga. The emergence of goalie Alexei Murygin into a record-breaking presence between the piping after years as a journeyman. The team’s push to the top of the table before CSKA finally pulled away in the new year. Daniil Apalkov’s growing maturity to become the team’s scoring leader after the departure of Sergei Plotnikov.

Daniil Apalkov

It’s also prompted a reshuffle within the club this summer. Dmitry Yushkevich, renowned for his ability to lock down defenses, is back on the coaching staff after a season behind the bench at Severstal. Experienced goalie Vitaly Kolesnik is moving back to his native Kazakhstan, joining up with national team coach Andrei Nazarov at Barys. More experience is leaving – Ilya Gorokhov and Jiri Novotny, two players who have gone all the way to the Gagarin Cup final at Dynamo Moscow and Lev Prague respectively, are off to Sochi and Chelyabinsk.
But the ‘in’ column also generates excitement, not least in the form of Max Talbot. The 32-year-old Canadian arrives from the Bruins with a wealth of NHL experience on his resume. He broke into the Penguins team in 2005-06 and went on to make 788 league and playoff appearances in Pittsburgh, Phillie, Colorado and Boston. The most notable of those, undoubtedly, came in 2009. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, Pittsburgh against the Red Wings … and two Talbot goals claimed a 2-1 victory and brought the big cup to the Steel City.
The center is an exciting acquisition for Lokomotiv, a player who is capable of garnering headlines on and off the ice. A radio interview in 2010 saw him trash talking Alexander Ovechkin ahead of the Winter Classic series between Pittsburgh and the Caps – a half-forgotten incident that could gain new notoriety in a land where Ovi’s popularity is beyond question.

Brandon Kozun

A second big signing on offense is Brandon Kozun from Jokerit. The 26-year-old Canadian had a good first KHL season in Helsinki, potting six points in six playoff appearances after returning 15+34=49 in regular season. With a year’s experience of the league he is likely to play an important role in helping Talbot to adapt quickly, as well as contributing valuable scoring of his own to reinforce Apalkov’s ever-growing effectiveness.
On the blue line, the departure of Gorokhov is offset by the arrival of Denis Osipov, fresh from helping Metallurg Magnitogorsk lift the Gagarin Cup. The 29-year-old first showed his potential with a strong campaign in Admiral’s debut KHL season and moved to Metallurg midway through the campaign just finished, making a useful contribution to the roster in the playoffs.

KHL - Metallurg Magnitogorsk Preview

It’s been a quiet summer in Magnitogorsk, where the defending champion won’t be changing a winning formula.

After Ilya Vorobyov’s team downed red-hot favorite CSKA in seven thrilling games to lift the Gagarin Cup for the second time in three years, some began talking about a Metallurg Dynasty. Others warned of the dangers of over-confidence, a championship hangover, in a roster long on top-level experience but perhaps short on new talent breaking into the team.
But the transfer activity this summer has been minimal: Vorobyov clearly sees little reason to change a winning team and with the renowned Mozyakin-Kovar-Zaripov line still capable of plundering points against all-comers it’s not hard to see why.
That’s why the ins and outs have been fairly incidental. Two defensemen – Rafael Batyrshin (Ak Bars) and Sergei Osipov (Lokomotiv) – have departed; two forwards, Dmitry and Denis Kazionov of Sochi, have arrived. The rest, even the formal departure of Mike Keenan from the advisory role he took on after Vorobyov moved behind the bench, has been very quiet.

Yaroslav Kosov: staying with Ilya Vorobyov

Not even the lure of the NHL has disrupted Metallurg. Forward Yaroslav Kosov was linked with the Florida Panthers but couldn’t agree a deal. “It was only ever a conversation [with Florida],” he told Sport Express. “I don’t want to go into detail about it. I’m staying with Metallurg, playing for my home-town team.”
Yet all that continuity hasn’t garnered great results in pre-season. Playing at the annual warm-up tournament in Chelyabinsk, Metallurg was some way short of championship form. One overtime win over Ugra was all the team had to show from its three games; a third-place playoff won on Monday was not really in line with expectations.
So is there a hangover from last season’s champagne? Vice-president Gennady Velichkin insists not.
“There are different meanings to this phrase but I’m well used to every nuance,” he told Sport Express. “It’s difficult to avoid – some of the younger players start to believe that they are already great stars and begin to turn up their noses a bit. But at Metallurg we have proven antibodies to this ‘star disease’ and this year’s hangover was quick and fairly painless.”

Gennady Velichkin: optimistic as always

That’s resulted in several established Metallurg players signing up for longer deals at the club and ensured that Vorobyov’s team will have a familiar look when it starts its campaign on August 22 against CSKA in the Opening Cup.
Where replacements are needed – such as new D-men to cover Batyrshin and Osipov – Velichkin expects the youth system to deliver. “We’re bringing in young guys with talent and potential,” he told the club’s official site. “It’s important that we stick to our path, keep moving in the same direction and carry on with the plans we established a few years ago.”
According to head coach Vorobyov, if all goes to plan Magnitka’s entire blue line – with the exception of Canadian Chris Lee – could comprise local lads who emerged from the Stalny Lisy youth team. “It would be great to see a team competing at the top of the table with almost all its defensemen coming out of its own youth program,” he said. “We hope that these guys can realize their potential and play at this level for Metallurg.”

KHL - Ak Bars Kazan Preview

Last season was a disappointment for Ak Bars – so what’s changed in the build-up to 2016-17?

This time last year, most in Kazan were resigned to a season of transition. The departures of Ilya Nikulin and Evgeny Medvedev, for so long the foundation of Ak Bars’ defense, sent ripples through the team. New faces came, but the likes of goalie Jussi Rynnas and forward Mattias Sjogren didn’t quite click into gear. Still a solid team, Ak Bars no longer conjured the kind of fear it once inspired in opponents. A first-round playoff exit in seven games against Salavat Yulaev was the underwhelming outcome.
The upcoming season looks like another case of adaptation. Long-serving coach Valery Belov, who took over the head coaching role while Zinetula Bilyaletdinov led Team Russia, is off to Vityaz Podolsk. The Bill-and-Belov double act has been topping the bill in Kazan since 2006; the departure of Bilyaletdinov’s right-hand man cannot fail to have an impact on the team.

Alexander Zavyalov

Ak Bars moved quickly, though. Alexander Zavyalov is joining the coaching staff after a move from Torpedo. He’s a man steeped in Kazan hockey after a record-breaking 14 seasons with the club. When he joined in 1990 the team was still called the Uritsky Sports Club, then had a few years as Itil (the Tatar name for the Volga river) before adopting its current identity as Ak Bars. He played 570 games, helping to win the Superleague title in 1998.
“I can’t call myself a graduate of the Kazan hockey school,” he admitted in an interview with Vremya I Dengi. “But I absolutely regard myself as a Kazan hockey player. This return to Ak Bars, to my home club, is my latest challenge. This is where I took my first steps in pro hockey.”

Jiri Sekac

The playing staff is also refreshed. Jiri Sekac, part of the Lev Prague team that reached the 2014 Gagarin Cup final, returns to the KHL after a spell in North America. During that time he managed 108 NHL games, 50 of them for Montreal, his first NHL club. But after a February 2015 trade to Anaheim he struggled to establish himself, with short spells at Chicago and Arizona before signing for Ak Bars.
There are bigger changes on defense. Experienced duo Konstantin Korneyev and Yakov Rylov both move on. Gagarin Cup winner Rafael Batyrshin arrives from Magnitogorsk, Ziyat Paigin returns to the club after a spell at Sochi and Avangard’s Yury Alexandrov is linked with a move to Kazan.
One more player is returning from across the Atlantic: 19-year-old forward Nikita Soshnin is back after two years with Saskatoon Blades. He previously played with Ak Bars’ youth team before taking the chance to sample life in Canada but was cut by the WHL outfit in the summer to free up another place for an overseas player.

KHL - Chernyshev Division Preview

AmurLast season: failed to make playoffs
Amur’s on-going struggles at the foot of the table continued last year and the Khabarovsk club is still struggling to live up to the hopes of its loyal support. This season sees Marat Fakhrutdinov, long regarded as one of the brightest coaches in the VHL, try to break into the top eight. Two Finnish imports are expected to supply the firepower: Kristian Kuusela, 33, has been in impressive form for Tappara Tampere in the last three seasons and is now embarking on his first campaign outside of his homeland. Teemu Ramstedt, 28, managed 3+5=8 points in SKA’s 2013 playoff run and returns to the KHL after a couple of productive seasons at HIFK.
AvangardLast season: lost to Salavat Yulaev in playoff second round
In the past, Avangard hasn’t always been slow to replace head coaches during the season if things weren’t going to plan – but the dismissal of Evgeny Kornoukhov and his replacement with Fyodor Kanareikin barely a week before the season began surely sets a new record. The news was all the more surprising considering that Avangard had announced it had completed its transfer activities for the summer just a few days before. The club’s rationale was that it needed an experienced Russian coach to meet its ambitious aims for the coming season. Kanareikin certainly fits that bill, and it’s great to see him back in the game after his health problems last season. And the coach himself has been straight into action, taking over the team at the Romazan Cup pre-season tournament and lifting the trophy thanks to back-to-back wins over the host, Metallurg Magnitogorsk. “The team accepted me straight away,” he told KHL.ru. “I’ve come into a really good, strong group and there are great expectations ahead us of. In fact, that was crucial for me when I took the job.” There’s been a further boost with reports that Czech international Vladimir Sobotka is heading back to Omsk having previously quarrelled with Kornoukhov and missed pre-season.
For a big club, it’s been a long time since Avangard was seriously contesting the top prizes. Regular contenders for hardware in the Russian Superleague era, when it won gold, two silvers and a bronze in seven seasons, the Omsk team has fared no better than its runner-up spot in 2012 since the foundation of the KHL. But this season, once again, the club’s backers are demanding success.
Viktor Nazarov, governor of Omsk Region and in charge of one of the key contributions to Avangard’s budget, expects a strong campaign. “We always set ourselves ambitious targets,” he told TASS. “So it goes without saying that this team should go deep into the playoffs and compete for the Gagarin Cup. Right now the players are still getting to know each other; soon it’s time for them to play.”
Nazarov reckons the club has shuffled about one third of its roster, creating two new lines in the process. The most significant changes seem to be coming in defense with the arrival of Evgeny Medvedev after a year in Philadelphia and the return of Swedish international Erik Gustafsson after a season in Switzerland. The 27-year-old blue-liner had 22 points in 56 games for Avangard in 2014-15. He also played 100 NHL games for the Flyers and helped Sweden to World Championship gold on home ice in 2013. Medvedev, for so long a lynchpin of Ak Bars’ defense, took the chance to test himself in the NHL last season, making 45 appearances (13 points) for Philadelphia. His honors list includes two Gagarin Cup wins (2009, 2010) and two World Championship golds (2012, 2014) as well as a call-up to Russia’s 2014 Olympic squad.

IIHF 2015 World Championships. Evgeny Medvedev training with Team Russia

Those two arrivals offset the loss of Czech international Michal Kempny, who leaves for Chicago, and experienced club captain Denis Kulyash. The latter moves to Salavat Yulaev, ending a three-season stint with the club where, back in the late 90s, he took his first steps in the game.
Kulyash isn’t the only player to leave behind long associations with Avangard. Alexander Popov made his debut for the Hawks way back in the 1998-99 season and stayed for 18 seasons. The forward has 246 points in 376 regular season KHL games for Avangard and was a regular in Russia’s national teams under Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, who selected him for the Sochi Olympics. But now, at the age of 35, he’s moving to CSKA with fellow forward Mikhail Yunkov heading the other way.

2015 KHL All-Star Game. Erik Gustafsson in SuperSkills contest

 

The big-name arrival on offense is Denis Roy, who signed from SC Bern, Switzerland. The 33-year-old Ontario native is best known for his years in Buffalo, where he made the bulk of his 738 NHL appearances for the Sabres. He moved on to Dallas at the start of the 2012-13 campaign, and played for five different teams in the subsequent three seasons before heading to Europe last year and posting 30 points in 36 games as he adapted to the bigger ice.
Amid all the high-level transfer activity, though, Nazarov is also keen to see more players emerge from the club’s youth system. “One task that we’ve always set ourselves is bringing kids through from our hockey schools into the first team,” he added. “That’s the key thing that we have to encourage: calling up youngsters to the team and making that the base to build what we want to achieve.”
SibirLast season: lost to Metallurg Magnitogorsk in playoff second round
Previous summers have seen Sibir replacing a host of senior players, but this time around things have been quieter in Novosibirsk. With the team now established as a real contender in the Eastern Conference, this is more of a destination for players than a stepping stone. So Andrei Skabelka has been able to concentrate on adding to his roster. Joonas Kemppainen is the big-name capture, a powerful Finnish center looking to re-establish himself after a tough time at Boston. Evgeny Artyukhin also joins the club, suggesting that Skabelka is looking for more muscle up front. Artyom Artemov, 19, carries high hopes after a good season in Ontario with Saginaw Spirit. On defense, former Sparta Prague man Adam Polasek performed well in his homeland last season and makes his first move to Russia.
Another season, and another chance for Kirill Fastovsky to demonstrate why he’s rated as the smartest GM in the KHL.
The Sibir supremo has garnered a reputation for top-notch trading to keep the Novosibirsk team punching above its weight in the Eastern Conference. A year ago, faced with the departure of the team’s first line, Fastovsky and head coach Andrei Skabelka went back to the drawing board, shuffled the pack and nurtured a new crop of stars. By the end of another season, Sibir had reached the second round of the playoffs and sent Stepan Sannikov off to play at the World Championship. Another success for the Siberians – and this time much of the roster has remained intact.
This summer, the exodus has not been so acute. David Ullstrom, Tomas Vincour and Kalle Ridderwall are the most notable departures among the forwards – but they leave after a season where Sibir shared its scoring liberally, with seven players pitching in with 20 or 30 odd points. This isn’t a club that hires – or can easily afford – stellar forwards; instead it relies on teamwork to get its goals.
Defensively, likewise, there are notable departures but not catastrophic ones. Slovak international Andrej Meszaros leaves after half a season, while some experience departs in the form of Sergei Gimayev (Vitzyaz) and Konstantin Alexeyev (CSKA), but the youthful talent of 21-year-old Ivan Vereshchagin remains. The youngster saw some serious game time last season, posting over 14 minutes in his 54 regular season engagements and notching 13 points to make him the second most productive blue-liner at the club.

Ivan Vereshchagin

Coming in to the club, Finnish center Joonas Kemppainen looks set to fit the template of a solid team player. He’s a big, strong forward, nurtured in the Finnish league. After five seasons with Karpat he got a call from the Boston Bruins, but found it tough to step up to the NHL in a single season and was discarded over the summer. That alerted Sibir to another player with plenty to offer – and perhaps with a point to prove. Observers in Boston noted that he offered as much defensively as he did going forwards, suggesting that the larger European ice might offer more useful outlets for his skating ability.

Eero Elo

He’s joined by his compatriot Eero Elo, who took his KHL bow last season at Avtomobilist. The 26-year-old had a productive regular season, with 18+10 points in 56 games, but failed to score in the playoffs as Avto lost out to Magnitka in six games. There are also two new Russians on the roster: Evgeny Artyukhin needs little introduction after picking up 785 penalty minutes in a colorful KHL career at SKA, Atlant and CSKA; 19-year-old Muscovite Artyom Artemov arrives after leading the scoring at Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario League last season.

Adam Polasek

The key defensive reinforcement is likely to be Adam Polasek, a Czech blueliner who arrives from Sparta Prague. He returned to Europe at the end of 2013 after picking up AHL experience with the Chicago Wolves and the Utica Comets. Last season he had 10+26 points for Sparta.
BarysLast season: failed to make the playoffs
Controversy and Andrei Nazarov tend to go hand-in-hand, so it’s little surprise that the most notorious incident of pre-season involved Nazarov’s Barys team. Just three minutes into the game against Kunlun in the President of Kazakhstan’s Cup, Damir Ryspaev got embroiled in a fight. Or at least, he tried to. Struggling to find a willing combatant from Beijing, he skated around the rink attacking anyone and everyone, even heading to the visitor’s bench in search of a brawl. Kunlun refused to play on, Ryspaev – who has some previous with the league’s disciplinary committee – was handed an indefinite suspension. That overshadowed some decent summer trades, with goalies Henrik Karlsson (ex Jokerit) and Vitaly Kolesnik (Lokomotiv) arriving along with former Slovan D-man Cam Barker. Admiral-bound Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev, a long-standing servant of Kazakh hockey, was the notable departure.
AdmiralLast season: lost to Sibir in playoff first round
Admiral reached last year’s playoff, fulfilling the club’s ambitions for the campaign, and Alexander Andrievsky’s men are largely unchanged over the summer. The most interesting new signing looks to be Robert Sabolic, an experienced Slovenian international forward who comes from Sparta Prague. There’s also a famous name joining the goaltending brigade – Maxim Tretiak, grandson of the legendary Vladislav, has joined from CSKA and will be looking to make his KHL debut in the coming campaign.
Metallurg NovokuznetskLast season: failed to make the playoffs
The big news in Novokuznetsk this summer was the return of local hero Sergei Zinovyev to his hometown club. The predatory forward, once part of the formidable Zinovyev-Morozov-Zaripov troika for Ak Bars and Team Russia, is back at his first club as GM. Hopes in this Siberian mining region are that he can unearth a roster capable of making the playoffs for the first time in the KHL era. But the seam of local talent continues to supply other clubs – Kirill Kaprizov is the latest prospect to move on, heading for Salavat Yulaev. Experienced goalie Mikhail Biryukov is the most prominent new arrival.
Salavat YulaevLast season: lost to Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Conference Final
Igor Zakharkin’s rescue mission last fall revived Salavat’s season and finishing second in the East was no disgrace. The big arrivals this summer are on defense, with Konstantin Korneyev and Denis Kulyash bringing valuable experience to the blue line. Up front the departure of Nikolai Prokhorkin to SKA is a blow, but the arrival of promising 19-year-old Kirill Kaprizov from Novokuznetsk could be something of a straight swap – as one potential star leaves, a new one comes in to replace him.
Kunlun Red StarLast season: did not compete
The league newcomer is bringing the KHL into uncharted territory – never before has hockey of this level been played in China. It’s a boost for both sides: Beijing gets a taste of top-level action as it prepares for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the KHL becomes the first big league to break into the vast Chinese market. On the ice, of course, progress is cautious. Head coach Vladimir Yurzinov has assembled a roster that blends KHL experience – Janne Jalasvaara, Anssi Salmela, Oleg Yashin – with a raft of promising Chinese talent headed by Rudi Ying, one of a small group of local players with North American experience. The likes of French international Damien Fleury add extra seasoning to a multinational mix that has steadily improved through pre-season and will hope to spring a few surprises once the season starts.
After three games and three defeats at a training camp in Finland, Kunlun Red Star moved to Kazakhstan to step up its pre-season preparations. Next week the Chinese team will take part in the President of Kazakhstan’s Cup, Astana’s traditional curtain-raiser. First, though, came a warm-up game against the host team, Barys.


The hockey rivalry between Kazakhstan and China has usually been played out in the Asian Games, with the Kazakhs having much the better of things at international level. And home hopes must have been high going into this first club clash between the oriental nations. Barys, after all, is steeped in KHL experience. By contrast, Kunlun’s first forays onto the ice had brought 0-2 losses against Traktor and Spartak, followed by a 3-5 defeat at the hands of Amur. Those games, played in front of sparse crowds at a training rink in the Finnish provinces, had the feel of practice sessions. In Astana, at the Kazakh capital’s impressive new arena, a larger crowd came along. This one felt like a real game with a real audience.


On this bigger stage, Kunlun showed determination. Despite falling behind to Yaroslav Yedokimov’s power play goal in the last minute of the opening stanza, the newcomer tied it up early in the second through Chad Rau. Then, in the 47th minute, Finnish forward Tuukka Mantyla followed up his goal against Amur – Kunlun’s first ever – with the game winner in his new club’s inaugural victory. Rau got his second of the night late on to complete the scoring.


The game may have been a warm-up, but there was certainly no lack of competitive spirit: the teams traded 196 penalty minutes, most of them coming after a brawl in the 54th minute saw three men from each side handed 5+20 penalties for fighting. The teams are due to meet here again on Monday in the President’s Cup – and there already seem to be some scores to settle.
mFollowing an appeal from Kunlun Red Star of Beijing, the Kontinental Hockey League has decided to impose a lifetime ban on Barys Astana defenseman Damir Ryspayev.
The KHL’s competitions department considered Kunlun’s appeal and also reviewed the incident that occurred during the game on August 8, 2016, between Barys and Kunlun during the President of Kazakhstan’s Cup pre-season tournament. The department reviewed all material connected with the incident.
In reaching a verdict on this incident, the competitions department also studied the opinions of league’s sporting and disciplinary committee and took into account Damir Ryspayev’s previous infractions of the rules of the game.
In accordance with articles 1, 11 and 33 of the disciplinary code of the KHL concerning breaches of rule 527 (extreme roughing) and 528 (fighting or roughing) in the “Rules of the Game of Hockey 2016/17”, Damir Ryspayev was duly handed a lifetime ban from sporting and corporate activity within the league.
This ban cannot be appealed through the courts or any other procedure. However, it may be reversed if the Disciplinary Committee agrees to review any statement from the individual concerned. In addition the KHL paid close attention to the fact that neither the training staff nor the directors of Barys Astana took adequate measures to stop Damir Ryspayev from acting in a manner that violated the rules of the game of hockey.

Gennady Timchenko, representative of the KHL’s Council of Directors:

It goes without saying that hockey is a contact sport. But above all, it is a fair contest in which rival players are guided by the rules of the game and spirit of sporting ethics. The League acts as a guarantor of these rules and laws, and cannot allow them to be systematically and grotesquely violated. It is utterly unacceptable to intentionally endanger the safety and fitness of opposing players. Every player’s professionalism is demonstrated by the ability to play a hard, uncompromising game while maintaining full respect for fellow sportsmen and their fans.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, KHL president:

In hockey there has always been space for a fair fight between equal opponents under the principles of fair play. But in hockey, as in any other professional sport, the can be no place for the outright violence displayed by Barys defenseman Damir Ryspayev in the game against KHL newcomer Kunlun Red Star. We are constantly working to attract a new audience and broaden the game’s geographical reach and Ryspayev’s behavior is not merely harmful in a sporting context, it also blackens the image of the league. As directors of the league, we could not allow this incident to go unpunished and so we have taken this decision.

KHL - Tarasov Division Preview

CSKALast season: beaten in the Gagarin Cup final
After two seasons of impressive hockey under Dmitry Kvartalnov, CSKA is facing a season of transition. Alexander Radulov, Nikita Zaitsev and Roman Lyubimov are off to North America; Geoff Platt moves on to Sweden and there’s a sense that an era is coming to an end. But the incoming players have potential. Bud Holloway of the St. John’s IceCaps had an impressive pre-season while ex SKA and Sibir man Joonas Enlund has proven scoring talent despite a frustrating campaign last time around. The big challenge might be replacing Zaitsev’s ever-growing composure on the blue line – Sibir’s Konstantin Alexeyev brings experience while 21-year-old Yury Sergienko returns to the Army Men after impressing at Torpedo last time out.
For two seasons under Dmitry Kvartalnov, CSKA has been a model of consistency. Regular season champion twice running, the Army Men have gone deep into the playoffs – culminating in last season’s agonizing game seven loss to Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Gagarin Cup final.
But success on the ice attracts attention off it and this summer has seen a shift in the club. Big-name stars Alexander Radulov and Nikita Zaitsev are off, heading to Montreal and Toronto respectively. Roman Lyubimov, another strong performer last season, is also crossing the Atlantic to play for Philadelphia while Geoff Platt, the second-highest scorer for CSKA in the regular season, goes to Sweden.
That adds up to a big loss of productivity: Radulov, Platt and Lyubimov combined for 34 post-season points last time around, even though Kvartalnov’s roster rotation limited Platt to just 12 games and Lyubimov to 15. Zaitsev was also a big scorer, leading the defense with a career-best 13 post-season points to go with the 26 he posted in the regular season.


In response, Kvartalnov and GM Sergei Fedorov have been scouting for North American talent. Bud Holloway, a Saskatchewan native with several years’ experience of hockey in Sweden and Switzerland, arrives after a career-best campaign with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps. He made a blistering start alongside Swiss international Sven Andrighetto, tallying 20 points in 20 games and earning a short-lived call-up to the Montreal Canadiens NHL roster. Despite managing just seven minutes in the NHL, Holloway, 28, continued to impress in St. John’s, finishing with 61 (19+42) points to lead his team in scoring.
Another Canadian, Greg Scott, arrives after three seasons with Brynas in Sweden. The 27-year-old left winger is rated by Fedorov as a good two-way option and a strong skater who can also make a contribution at the face-off. Before coming to Europe, Scott played AHL hockey with the Toronto Marlies, posting 131 points in 270 appearances over three seasons.

Greg Scott made his debut yesterday in a friendly vs. Admiral...

A third player to come from across the Atlantic is still more intriguing. Pavel Karnaukhov was part of CSKA’s youth set-up before moving to Calgary, where he played for the hitmen and was drafted by the Flames. Born in Minsk, Karnaukhov was 56th pick in the CHL draft in 2014 and spent the last two seasons with the hitmen. He scored 31 points in 49 games last season and, at the age of 19, is looking to make the step up to adult hockey.

... as did Pavel Karnaukhov

While these signings all have the potential to contribute to CSKA’s offense, there’s an obvious opportunity for a player with KHL experience to take over as the club’s key forward. From within Kvartalnov’s ranks, Ivan Telegin could be the man to step up after impressing at the World Championship back in May. Telegin was the subject of a bid from SKA St. Petersburg, but agreed an extension to his contract in Moscow, where he is likely to enjoy an enhanced status in the new roster.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Jonas Enlund could be about to join from SKA. The Finnish forward has years of KHL experience – 325 appearances, yielding 197 points since he joined Sibir in 2010. He’s also very familiar with Kvartalnov and his training staff, having played under the head coach in Novosibirsk from 2012-2014. Enlund had an unhappy time after leaving Sibir at the start of last season. He first went to Lokomotiv, but his scoring form deserted him and he posted just five points in 27 games for the Yaroslavl team. A December switch to SKA saw him play just once, gaining an assist in a 5-4 win at Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Dec. 24 before picking up an injury in the second period of that game. He did not feature for the rest of the season and would doubtless relish a chance to get back on his game with the coaching staff that helped him to some of his best form.
Dynamo MoscowLast season: lost to SKA in playoff round 2
Last season was a frustrating one for Dynamo. Head coach Harolds Vitolins paid the price from some indifferent regular season form and his replacement, Sergei Oreshkin, managed to steady the ship but struggled to make much impact on the playoffs. Over the summer, Oreshkin has resisted the temptation to meddle too much with the line-up. Instead he’s brought in experience – former Ak Bars D-man Yakov Rylov will renew acquaintance with Ilya Nikulin, while Czech international forward Lukas Kaspar arrives from Slovan after enjoying a good World Championship campaign in Dynamo’s VTB Arena. Maxim Pestushko, a reliable 30-point forward, is the most notable departure; he concluded his second spell in Blue-and-White before moving to Avangard.
TorpedoLast season: lost to CSKA in playoff round 2
The big pre-season headline for Torpedo was not one the team would have wanted to see: a fight between head coach Peteris Skudra and his opposite number Evgeny Pipikhin of Neftekhimik. That kind of pugnacious spirit seeped through the Torpedo roster last season, helping the team to upset Jokerit in the first round of the playoffs and become the only Western Conference team to manage a post-season victory over CSKA. Since then assistant coach Alexander Zavyalov has moved to Ak Bars, but the big summer signing of John Norman from Skelleftea AIK is an exciting prospect. The 25-year-old Swede was part of his country’s World Championship roster after three strong seasons at Skelleftea, where he won one championship and collected two runner-up medals. With 42 points last season, he was the club’s second leading scorer. Another new face, Maxim Kityn, is more familiar. The 24-year-old was a World Junior Champion in 2011 but has struggled to establish himself in a senior team since then. After some impressive scoring in the East Coast Hockey League for Manchester Monarchs he took up the option to return to Torpedo for a second stint rather than continue to play second-tier hockey in the USA.
LokomotivLast season: lost to SKA in playoff round 1
At times last season Loko looked like real contenders for silverware – but the playoffs ended with a whimper as the Railwaymen’s offense was derailed by SKA. Alexander Kudashov has brought an experienced assistant in the form of Dmitry Yushkevich and has also moved to reinforce his team’s firepower. Brandon Kozun will be expected to reprise the form he showed at Jokerit last time out, while Maxime Talbot comes from Boston with a big reputation after his Stanley Cup-winning exploits for Pittsburgh. They will need to offer some serious production in support of the fast-improving Daniil Apalkov, who was last season’s leading scorer.
SeverstalLast season: failed to reach the playoffs
Severstal lost head coach Yushkevich to Loko and opted to look to the VHL for a replacement. Alexander Gulyavtsev, previously of Molot-Prikamiye, has a good reputation for getting teams with modest resources to over-perform – which is exactly what Severstal needs. The capture of goalie Jakub Kovar from Avtomobilist could be a key move while Kyle Wilson looks a ready replacement for the departing Ondrej Nemec in defense. However, Severstal struggled badly last season and Gulyavtsev may well find that it takes more than one campaign to lift the Cherepovets team back into the playoff places. 
VityazLast season: failed to reach the playoffs
Still the only Western Conference team never to feature in a KHL playoff campaign, Vityaz is looking to Valery Belov to end that unwanted record. Belov, a former Vityaz player, cut his coaching teeth at the club back in the early years of this century before linking up with Zinetula Bilyaletdinov at Ak Bars. After achieving great success as assistant in Kazan he had a short stint as head coach while Bill worked with Team Russia. Now he’s in charge at his former club and his arrival has raised hopes that the long-running hoodoo can be broken at last. Many are looking out for young defenseman German Rubtsov, a first-round draft pick for the Philadelphia Flyers, to show his credentials – although Belov is warning against expecting too much too soon. Veteran forward Alexander Stepanov, who played under Belov at Ak Bars, is also back on the ice after a year’s absence: at the age of 37 he’ll be looking to prove his fitness at the start of the season. Two signings from Sibir, forward Alexei Kopeikin and D-man Sergei Gimayev, look like handy acquisitions as well.
HC SochiLast season: lost to Dynamo in playoff round 1
Sochi proved to be a tough opponent in regular season last time around, taking fourth place in the West. But it couldn’t carry that form into the playoffs, where it was swept by Dynamo. Vyacheslav Butsayev has been active in the summer market, bringing in defensive experience in the form of Roman Derlyuk and Ilya Gorokhov to cover for the loss of Janne Jalasvaara and young Ak Bars prospect Ziyat Paigin. A more intriguing arrival comes from Sweden, where Oscar Fantenberg won domestic and Champions League honors with Frolunda before stepping up to the KHL. However, the offense looks a bit lightweight following the departure of the Kazionov brothers to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

KHL - Bobrov Division Preview

A look at the Bobrov Division:
SpartakLast season: failed to make playoffs
Spartak struggled for consistency in its first season back in the KHL but will hope for better as the club celebrates its 70th anniversary. The arrival of the hugely experienced Dmitry Kalinin from SKA should add some valuable resilience on the blue line while Ryan Stoa – once something of a lynchpin at Metallurg Novokuznetsk – could add some valuable muscle on offense. There’s also a new-look goaltending brigade, with Sweden’s Markus Svensson coming from Skelleftea and Nikita Bespalov seeking to secure a #1 spot after being the understudy to Alexander Salak at Sibir.
JokeritLast season: lost in first round of playoffs
Jukka Jalonen replaces Erkka Westerlund at the helm in Helsinki – and as usual Jokerit is having to address the departure of some big players. Danish D-man Philip Larsen and Finnish forward Ere Sallinen are both crossing the Atlantic, veteran goalgetters Juhamatti Aaltonen and Niko Kapanen are moving to the Finnish Liiga and prolific Brandon Kozun will be at Lokomotiv next season. Incoming talent from the Finnish league will bear much of that burden, but the arrival of another Danish defenseman, Oliver Lauridsen, promises much. The 27-year-old former Flyers prospect enjoyed a successful campaign last time around, helping Frolunda to the Swedish title and Champions Hockey League gold before reaching a World Championship quarter final with Denmark. Olympic bronze medallist Sakari Salminen makes a KHL return with Jokerit having previously spent two seasons at Torpedo.
Jukka Jalonen is back in the KHL – and the Finnish coach may have a point to prove. The 53-year-old from Riihimaki takes over the reins at Jokerit hoping to maintain his record of claiming gold with every Finnish team he’s coached. That’s a record that goes back to 2006 when he led HPK to the SM Liiga title, and also includes World Championship triumphs with Finland’s senior team in 2011 and the juniors in January 2016. Jalonen once coached the Jokerit-owned Newcastle Jesters between 2000-01 in the old British Superleague.


A session with SKA
But the only time he failed to win the biggest available prize was his earlier stint in the KHL. Jalonen’s worked behind the bench at SKA St. Petersburg, where he arrived in December 2012 following the dismissal of Milos Riha. SKA topped the regular season table that year, but fell to Dynamo Moscow in the Western Conference final; Jalonen took charge for the whole of the following season, taking the team to second place in the Western Conference and losing out in the second round of the play-offs to Lokomotiv. Vyacheslav Bykov was hired in his place and SKA finally claimed its long-awaited championship.
Since then Jalonen has stayed out of club hockey, dividing his time between TV work and coaching Finland’s U20 roster. But the lure of Jokerit was too strong.
“It feels really good to be coming back to club hockey,” Jalonen told Finnish broadcaster Yle Urheilu. “I’ve followed Jokerit’s progress closely in the KHL and it’s played some really good hockey. We want to continue that and aim even higher.”


The Finnish style
Under Jalonen’s predecessor, Erkka Westerlund, Jokerit offered a masterclass in the traditional strengths of Finnish hockey. Disciplined, well-drilled, confident in its game and seeking to execute the same counter-attacking game plan against all opposition, the Helsinki team performed strongly in both its regular season campaigns in the KHL. But in the play-offs things did not go so smoothly: against Torpedo last season Westerlund’s team seemed to be bullied out of the game by a robust, physical opponent, crashing out in the first round.
While Jalonen is not proposing to tear up Westerlund’s playbook in the coming campaign, he is aware of a need to add more physicality to Jokerit’s roster. “KHL hockey forces teams to battle hard, especially in the play-offs,” he said. “We need players who can move well and we’ll be looking to add more physical strength and more power skaters to the team.
“Of course we still need skill, vision and scoring power, but if we can be stronger on the ice than we were last year that can only improve our team.”


A match-up to watch
Jalonen’s history with SKA – and with Oleg Znarok’s Dynamo Moscow team – add extra spice to this season’s games between Jokerit and the Petersburg team. It was Znarok’s Dynamo that ended Jalonen’s first play-off campaign, with the Moscow team going on to lift the Gagarin Cup. And some pundits in Finland believe that the disappointment of being sacked by SKA was one of the factors that kept Jalonen out of club hockey for two years before taking on the Jokerit job.
Now the teams will expect to battle it out for top spot in the Bobrov division. It promises to be a clash of cultures: SKA’s big money budget has funded the signing of Pavel Datsyuk and Viktor Tikhonov, adding to the NHL experience supplied by Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Voynov. Jokerit, as Westerlund often observed, runs on more modest financial resources and relies on unearthing gems from Finland’s domestic programs or the AHL. Perhaps the most successful of those players, Steve Moses, was a sensation in his debut season in the KHL, scoring a record 36 goals for Jokerit. Now he’s at SKA, adding another contribution to the rivalry that is growing across the Gulf of Finland.
SKALast season: lost in Conference final
By far the most headline-grabbing team in the close season, SKA has upped the ante for the coming campaign. Signing a clutch of players from the NHL, led by the great Pavel Datsyuk, sounded a warning to the rest of the league. Hiring Oleg Znarok to coach a stellar roster ensures that there should be no danger of big-name egos getting out of hand. The Petersburg team mounted a good-looking defense of the Gagarin Cup last season … right up until it was swept by CSKA in the Conference final. This time around, it’s serving as a serious contender for KHL hardware and a base club for the Russian national team – that double responsibility could be the only thing to inhibit such a powerful line-up. Barring a calamity when Znarok takes time out to lead Russia to the World Cup in the latter half of September, it’s hard to imagine SKA will fail to lead from the front in the West.
Dinamo MinskLast season: failed to make playoffs
One of the most passionate hockey cities in the KHL is still looking for the formula that can send Dinamo deep into the playoffs. This time Craig Woodcroft is the coach entrusted with finding the right blend. He knows his Belarusian hockey after two World Championship campaigns as assistant coach for the national team, and he’s recruited some big-name local talents in the form of D-man Kirill Gotovets and forward Sergei Kostitsyn. He’s also picked up two guys who have gone all the way to the grand final on an unfancied team - Marc-Andre Gragnari and David Ullstrom achieved it with Lev Prague in 2014. With a couple of new arrivals from North America in the shape of goalie Ben Scrivens and defenseman Rob Klinkhammer, there’s a lot of potential in Minsk – if the new roster can bed down in time.
Dinamo Minsk is rebuilding its roster after the disappointment of missing out on last season’s playoffs. But the team is bringing in plenty of players who are more than familiar with hockey in the Belarusian capital.
It starts with newly recruited head coach Craig Woodcroft, who arrives after serving as assistant coach for Team Belarus at the last two World Championships. That experience undoubtedly gave him an insight into the passion of the local fans, while his role in Belarus’ run to the quarter-finals in 2015 means he starts with the confidence of the Minsk public.
He’s also recruited one of Belarus’ most successful players – forward Sergei Kostitsyn has moved from Torpedo to play in his homeland, sealing the deal on August 1. The younger of the Kostitsyn brothers has almost 400 NHL appearances under his belt, tallying 187 points for Montreal and Nashville. He’s also played KHL hockey for Avangard and Ak Bars – and expects to continue playing at a high level in the coming season.

Sergei Kostitsyn

“I had a few options but, like any player, I want to be involved in the playoffs and not finish my season in February. So I chose Dinamo because we’re building a strong team here,” he told the club’s website. Kostitsyn has worked with Woodcroft in the Belarusian national team and added that they had met a few times over the summer while the head coach outlined his vision for the club.
Another experienced Belarus international, Kirill Gotovets, is also back in his homeland after four years of college hockey at Cornell and two seasons with the Rockford IceHogs. A solid defenseman and a familiar face in recent World Championships, Gotovets made his Dinamo debut in last week’s 3-1 win over Ugra. Coach Woodcroft commented: “With Kirill we knew exactly what we were going to get – and he lived up to those expectations.”
Canadian goalie Ben Scrivens has also played in Belarus – but never at Arena Minsk. He was Canada’s goalie during the 2014 World Championship, but a quarter final defeat against Finland meant that the Maple Leafs never got away from Chizhovka, the second venue for the tournament.

Marc-Andre Gragnani

The goalie, who made 144 appearances for Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal since making his NHL debut in 2011, had mixed feelings about his tournament – but gave Minsk the thumbs up. “It was a great event but I wish I could have played better,” he told Belarusian sports paper Pressboll. “They gave me a chance to represent my country, but it wasn’t easy to get used to the big ice so quickly. Even so, I really enjoyed the city.”
Scrivens holds an NHL record for the most saves in a shut-out after stopping 59 shots to blank San Jose in January 2014. Now he’s looking forward to a new challenge on his first assignment for a European club. “Russians are renowned for their skills,” he said. “Technique, possession of the puck, powerful shooting. I’m expecting to see a lot of highly skilled individuals on the ice, which is not something we see a lot in North America.
Scrivens is joined by Rob Klinkhammer, a former team-mate in Edmonton. The 29-year-old defenseman is another player preparing for his first season in Europe after several seasons in the North American game.

David Ullstrom

Two further Dinamo signings come with plenty of KHL experience, though. Marc-Andre Gragnani and David Ullstrom were both part of the Lev Prague team that stormed to the 2014 Gagarin Cup final. Swedish forward Ullstrom has been in the KHL ever since, playing for Severstal and Sibir. D-man Gragnani, from Quebec, moved to Berne after Lev folded and spent last season with the Devils organization, playing four NHL games for New Jersey and scoring 31 AHL points with Albany.
Dinamo RigaLast season: failed to make playoffs
Another arena where support outstrips success, the Latvian capital is hoping for an improvement on last season’s disappointment. Unusually, Dinamo has opted to make GM Normunds Sejejs the head coach for the coming season. Sejejs has been instrumental in the modern-day history of Latvia’s biggest sports club, perhaps doing more than most to resurrect the famous name in time to join the KHL. But even he admits he’s taking a huge risk by combining the demanding roles of GM and head coach. The transfer activity came in a rush – 24 contracts were concluded in a single day last week. Among the new arrivals were Georgijs Pujacs, a vastly experienced D-man who played at the Olympics for Latvia and helped Avangard to the Gagarin Cup final in 2012, and forward Colton Gillies, who has 154 NHL appearances on his CV. The pair arrive from Slovakia, where they were playing for Banska Bystrica.
SlovanLast season: lost in first round of playoffs
Milos Riha showed that he still had the old magic as he conjured a playoff spot for Slovan last season, pushing CSKA rather harder than the 0-4 scoreline suggested back in March. But the club has been ruthless in the summer and it’s a new-look roster that will aim to start winning post-season games this time around. Kyle Chipchura is the big new arrival, coming from Arizona with almost 500 career NHL games. The 30-year-old Canadian center will be expected to lead Slovan’s production at the head of a revamped offense. Radek Smolenak, Medvescak’s top scorer last time, is one new signing while Jonathan Cheechoo continues his KHL tour after stints in Zagreb and Minsk. Defensively the loss of Cam Barker (Barys) and the retirement of Lubo Vishnovsky will leave gaps in front of Justin Pogge, the Canadian goalie who arrives from Farjestad, Sweden.
MedvescakLast season: failed to make playoffs
At first sight it looks like another summer of frenetic activity in Zagreb. On closer inspection, though, Medvescak’s preparations have been rather more calm. Head coach Gordie Dwyer remains in place and while there has been extensive transfer action, many of the players coming in are returning to the club after short spells elsewhere in Europe. Dwyer has spoken at length of the need for Croatia’s KHL representative to quickly forge a strong team identity on the ice – and he hopes that this, combined with the typically intimidating atmosphere at Dom Sportova, can push the team back into playoff contention. Francis Pare, a Gagarin Cup winner at Metallurg, is a familiar figure in this league, while fellow forward Yann Sauve could be one to watch after impressing in pre-season.

KHL - Friendlies July-August 2016

Five preseason friendly games featuring the League’s member clubs were held on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 July, and four were encounters against lower-level opponents.
The all-KHL affair took place on the Tuesday in Pajulahti, Finland, where Traktor finished its first preseason camp with a game against the men of Amur Khabarovsk, who have just arrived. The latter have been limbering up with games against VHL teams, so for the new Amur boss, Miskhat Fakhrutdinov, this was a first chance to see his team in action against top-level opposition. It was the men from the Far East who opened the scoring, thanks to Nikolai Skladnichenko, and although parity was restored by former Florida Panthers man Michal Repik, marking his return to the KHL following a two-year absence, Amur sealed a 2-1 victory in the shootout. Traktor head coach Anvar Gatiyatulin had no complaints about the result, but was concerned about his forwards having been limited to a single goal.

“We’re not scoring enough,” he admitted. “Since last season, when we found goals hard to come by, we’ve been concentrating on sharpening our offensive edge. I can see some improvements, but we still need to work hard on this.”
Also on Tuesday, in the Belarusian town of Pinsk, Dynamo Moscow posted a confident 4-0 victory over local team Gomel thanks to goals from Semyon Kokuyov, Ansel Galimov, Yakov Rylov and Daniil Tarasov.
And in Novogorsk, Russia, SKA Saint Petersburg and SKA-Neva met twice on successive days. The Monday’s affair was a resounding 8-3 win for the KHL side, with Ilya Kovalchuk recording a double, and a goal apiece for Andrei Zubarev, Maxim Chudinov, Vadim Shipachyov, Vyacheslav Voynov, Sergei Plotnikov and Dinar Khafizullin, so few would have predicted the Army Men’s 2-3 loss in yesterday’s rematch. Oleg Znarok’s men were apparently coasting at 2-0, with goals from Nicholai Prokhorkin and Steve Moses. but contrived to ship two late goals and then proceeded to lose the shootout.
In Monday’s other game, Pavel Yezovskikh’s Ugra met another VHL side, Saryarka, and the Khanty-Mansiysk men edged an entertaining and competitive affair, finally securing a 4-3 victory. Oleg Pogorishny, Arseny Khatsei, Andrei Ankudinov and Konstantin Mayorov were the scorers.

Pre-season tournaments were underway at the beginning of August, with Torpedo, CSKA and Dynamo Moscow all picking up silverware over the weekend of 6th-7th.

The Army Men, rebuilding after the departure of Alexander Radulov and Nikita Zaitsev, claimed top spot in the Sochi Hockey Open. Much of the scoring came from new signings Gregg Scott and Bud Holloway, with the latter potting a hat-trick in the decisive 6-3 victory over Sochi that secured the tournament for CSKA.
Holloway admitted that he’d found some aspects of life in Russia tricky, but added that he was raring to go for the new season – and not even the prospect of long trips to the Far East gave him anything to worry about.
“I’m a traveller by nature,” he told khl.ru. “I’ve not looked at the schedule yet but long flights won’t be a problem.
“But our training camps were definitely the toughest I’ve experienced,” he said. “It was even harder than I thought – I’ve never encountered a workload like it. But it’s good, it gets us in shape for the new season.
“We’ve got a good team here and I hope I can bring something new to that. I’m still getting used to the bigger ice; I’ve got some experience of playing in Europe and that helps but I’m not fully adapted yet.”
CSKA won the Sochi tournament ahead of Russia’s ‘Olympic Team’, HC Sochi and SKA St. Petersburg.


In Moscow, Dynamo lifted the Arkady Chernyshev Memorial Trophy on home ice. After losing out on goal difference to Spartak last year, the Blue-and-Whites were out for revenge and got it in a winner-takes-all showdown on Sunday. Third-period goals from Artyom Podshendyalov, a recent signing from Admiral, and long-serving forward Denis Kokarev secured a 3-1 victory for Dynamo. Dinamo Minsk and Dynamo Balashikha rounded out the group.
But head coach Sergei Oreshkin was not getting carried away with pre-season success. “I think everyone could see that this team is still a work in progress and maybe wasn’t playing the kind of hockey we’d all like to see,” he said. “But the overall line-up of the team is more or less established. And now everything depends on the younger players, who still have every opportunity of playing their way onto the roster.”


Torpedo edged to top spot in its home tournament in Nizhny Novgorod, tying with Ak Bars and Dinamo Riga on 11 points and claiming the prize by virtue of a better goal difference. But the tournament was a big disappointment for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, beaten in all five games to finish bottom of the group table and give head coach Alexei Kudashov plenty to ponder.

Alan Yarrow Exclusive Interview - The Rocket Re-Signs for the Whitley Warriors

Fan’s favourite Alan Yarrow has agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Whitley Warriors ahead of the 2016-17 season. In an exclusive interview in it's entirety with HFATP, the explosive winger shared some of his thoughts for the season ahead and also said how delighted he is to be pulling on the maroon and gold jersey again.

‘It means everything to me to be able to play out in front of the best fans in the league. Being a local lad, there is no better feeling than stepping onto the ice and representing your hometown team.’ He said.

Yarrow is known within hockey circles as ‘The Rocket’, due to his fast pace and while most players would have used the summer break to ‘re-fuel’ the veteran forward spent his time working on his fitness and feels fired up and ready for take-off.

‘I am another year older now, which can be an issue once you pass the 40 mark but I feel great. I want to make sure I can keep up with the pace of the youngsters on the team so I spent the off season working hard on my fitness and not leaving anything to chance.’ He said.

‘Towards the end of last season I had a number of niggling injuries which reduced some of my minutes, so I used the summer break to work on my conditioning and overall fitness. I am already starting to feel the benefits of all that hard work as this is probably the fittest I have felt coming into a season for years and just can’t wait for the season to get underway.’ He continued.

The Warriors season begins with a tricky encounter against a much improved Solway Sharks on September 11. The Dumfries-based side have been busy assembling a much stronger line-up to the one that Whitley dispatched 3-0-1 last year, and The Rocket is well aware of the fact there will be no easy games in the league this season.

‘Last year Blackburn were the team to beat, but with the changes that have gone on over there the last few months and the fact other teams have all strengthened means the league is going to be more competitive than ever. Even Deeside, who won promotion, will be a tougher match for teams than the Sheffield Senators were, so I don’t think there will be any easy games.’

With a number of players having moved on from Whitley since April, I asked The Rocket if that could lead to more game time for him this season.

‘It can’t hurt can it?’ he joked. ‘Seriously though, I think we have lost some important players, Callum Queenan is going to be tough to replace especially with his skating speed, while Kyle Ross showed tenacity every time he stepped onto the ice. Both got opportunities they couldn’t turn down and all the lads wish them (along with netminder Mark Turnbull and d-man Scott Cooper), the best of luck.’

He went on to say: ‘I’m sure there will be opportunities to get some increased minutes this season. Last year was something of a comeback to see if I could do it after not having played the sport for so long, but with my fitness levels up this year I just have to make sure I am ready for whenever Lobby (Coach David Longstaff) needs me.’

Although The Rocket is best known around the league as an ‘enforcer’ the Cullercoats-born forward says he has more to offer the team than just dropping the gloves.

‘It seems players these days prefer to use social media to arrange when and where they will drop the gloves during a game, but I prefer to do my talking on the ice. Everyone knows I am a tough guy and won’t shy away from a fight. It’s important that guys like Andre (Payette), Jordan (Barnes), Watto (Callum Watson) and myself are here to help protect our team mates, and the three of us are not going to take any nonsense out on the ice, but I also have other roles to play.’ He said. ‘The coaches and the other lads have all commented that I have been flying in training, so I know I can compete and play hockey. From a personal point of view I would like to get a bit more ice time and a few goals would be nice too. I went close to finding the net a couple of times last season and with a few more games under my belt I’m sure I can score and that would mean everything to my sons Owen and Alex.’

Indeed it is Owen, who we have to thank for seeing Alan back in a Warriors jersey as he begged his dad to play again.

‘I had to think long and hard about returning last year. It’s never easy after being out the game for so long, but I also knew that because we were living in Australia, Owen had never seen me play before and that was all the motivation I needed.’ He said. ‘Last season was great! To be back with Whitley again after years away and getting to link up with my long-time friend Lobby was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. But mainly I want to go out there and make both my sons proud.’

The Rocket was in a determined mood when asked about what he wants for the Warriors this season but knows it will be a much tougher task than last time out.

‘It would be great if we made the playoffs again, but this time I want us to win some silverware for the fans. We went close last year but it was disappointing to lose to Solihull in the playoffs the way we did. The fans supported us in large numbers at Sheffield back in April so they deserve to see the lads win something this year.'

'It will be a tough challenge, every team is stronger with quality imports, but at the same time it’s good to be able to measure yourself against those types of players especially when they have that amount of skill.'

'There are players from Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Latvia that have arrived in our league, which are all strong hockey countries so that can only be a good thing, not just that we are playing against that type of quality but also that the league is able to attract those players in the first place. The league is getting more professional every year and it is a challenge to keep up with some of those players, but it’s a challenge I am enjoying.’

'We are a team that is mainly made up of local players, so Andre aside, we are all just a bunch of lads that grew up together. Of course it would be easier to bring in imports, but Whitley are a hockey club that is proud to nurture local talent and you can see that policy works by the three lads who have signed for teams in Canada.'

'Whenever we do come up against teams with imports it just makes us all work that much harder and has brought our team closer together and more determined to succeed. Let's not forget, just because our players are from the Whitley area, there are plenty of them that have experience of playing at a higher level. Lobby has played at the highest level possible in Europe when he was based in Sweden while the likes of Dean Holland and Dan Pye have played in the Elite League with the Newcastle Vipers.'

With The Rocket fully charged and ready to go for the new campaign, I'm sure every Warriors fan will be looking forward to seeing him back in action. Whether it's his fast skates or even faster fists, one thing is certain, it's never a dull moment when number 22 takes to the ice.