KHL - Pre-Season 2017 Round Up - Part 5

Many fans know the feeling: you wait all summer for a preseason hockey tournament, and then there are suddenly three at once. In addition to the Nizhny Novgorod Governor’s Cup and the Sochi Hockey Open, on Sunday the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Cup got underway in Astana. There was no doubting the game of the day, however, and it took place in the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi.
SKA vs. Metallurg Magnitogorsk – 4-2 (2-1, 2-0, 0-1)
The tournament organizers kindly treated the fans to a repeat of the 2017 Gagarin Cup final, and the result was a repeat of the reigning champion's 4-2 victory over Kunlun in the previous game. Magnitka boss Ilya Vorobyov was in upbeat mood after the defeat, praising the Petersburg Men and pointing out that – in preseason games, at least - the stronger the opponent, the better. And Metallurg fans will be pleased that Sergei Mozyakin has recovered from his injury well enough to register a goal and an assist against the best team in the land. Two wins out of two means SKA has won Group A, and boss Oleg Znarok said he would like to face the Russian Olympic team in the final.
06.08.17. Sochi Hockey Open. SKA (St.Petersburg) - Metallurg (Magnitogorsk)
Goals: 1-0 – Shirokov (Zub, Yakovlev, 09.23), 2-0 – Khokhlachyov (Kovalchuk, Rykov, 11.17), 2-1 – Mozyakin (Kosov, Kovar, 13.25), 3-1 – Rukavishnikov (23.44), 4-1 – Barabanov (Shirokov, Koskiranta, 24.13), 4-2 – Filippi (Schaus, Mozyakin, 47.30)
Goaltenders: Koskinen - Samsonov

SKA - Metallurg Mg

HC Sochi vs. Team Canada – 0-1 OT (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
Sochi suffered a second successive home defeat by a pre-Olympic outfit, this time a Team Canada whose roster boasts no fewer than 15 players from the KHL, and it was Kunlun Red Star's Jesse Blacker, assisted by Ak Bars danger man Justin Azevedo, who sealed the win in overtime.
New Sochi boss Sergei Zubov was defiant in defeat:
“It was a tough game, and we didn't have enough time to recuperate after the previous match against the Russian Olympic Team. Yes, we failed to score, but the way the guys are playing I'm sure the goals will come... and what could be a tougher test than consecutive games against Russia and Canada?”
06.08.17. Sochi Hockey Open. HC Sochi (Sochi) - Canada Team
Goals: 0-1 – Blacker (Azevedo, 61.36)
Goaltenders: Barulin – Peters

HC Sochi - Team Canada

Meanwhile, in Astana, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Cup opened with three closely fought and high scoring games. The tournament runs from the 6th to the 12th, and the participating clubs are as follows:
Barys (Astana, Kazakhstan), Traktor (Chelyabinsk), Avangard (Omsk Region), Admiral (Vladivostok), Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk) , Davos (Davos, Switzerland).
Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk) vs. Traktor (Chelyabinsk) 5-4 OT (1-0; 2-2; 1-2; 1-0)
Few could complain about the entertainment value in this encounter.
Head coach Andrei Nazarov's team twice built a two-goal winning margin, 2-0 and 4-2, and Anvar Gatiyatulin's men twice fought back to level, most dramatically when Kirill Koltsov made it 4-4 in the penultimate second of regulation, until eventually, Neftekhimik's American forward Dan Sexton had the last word.
06.08.17. President Kazakhstan Cup. Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk) - Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Goals: 1-0 Zdunov (Yakimov, Shiksatdarov, 17-03), 2-0 Poryadin (Nestrasil, 24-13), 2-1 Yakutsenya (Sharov, Shinin, 30-05), 2-2 Szczechura (Videll, Bailen, 32-54, b.), 3-2 Avtsin (Poryadin, 34-38), 4-2 Sexton (Ganzl, 42-10), 4-3 Bailen (Vishnevsky, 42-38), 4-4 Koltsov (59-59, PPG), 5-4 Sexton (Sergeyev, Hanzl, 65-54).
Goaltenders: Yezhov — Francouz

Neftekhimik - Traktor

Avangard (Omsk) vs. Admiral (Vladivostok) - 4-5 (2-2, 1-2, 1-0. 0-1)
The men from the Far East matched Traktor's exploits in fighting back from 0-2 to 2-2 but then surged into a 4-2 lead, only to see the men from Omsk show similar gritty determination to claw their way back to 4-4. The Vladivostok collective recovered to triumph in overtime, however, with defenseman Nikolai Glukhov scoring the golden goal.
Admiral head coach Alexander Andriyevsky:
”You get these high-scoring games every summer, when you have experimental line-ups and it's hard for the defensemen, but I'm glad our forwards are scoring and I'm happy with the performance..”
Goals: 1-0 Galimov (03.10.), 2-0 Martynov (Kugryshev, Fisenko, 04.10), 2-1 Gorshkov (Krasnoslobodtsev, Krikunenko, 05.23), 2-2 Voronin (Bartulis, 19.25), 2-3 Blum (Voronin, 30.26, b.), 2-4 Krasnoslobodtsev (Gorshkov, 30.44, b.), 3-4 Koshelev (Stas, Mikheev, 33.57, b.), 4-4 Kugryshev (Fisenko, Perezhogin, 48.49), 4-5 Glukhov (Tkachyov, 63.59).
Goaltenders: Furch — Bobkov
Barys (Astana) vs. HC Davos (Davos) 4-2 (1-1; 0-1; 2-0)
The men from the Kazakhstan capital twice fought back from a goal down against the plucky Swiss visitors, and the match could have gone either way until the dying minutes, when Artyom Likhotnikov finally gave Barys a go-ahead goal with a little over two minutes remaining, and Martin St.Pierre scored an empty netter just one second from the hooter.
Goals: 0-1 Little (Wieser 15.02), 1-1 Akolzin (Likhotnikov, 15.43), 1-2 Enzo (Little, Wieser 32.14), 2-2 Mikhaylis (Dietz, 40.42), 3-2 Likhotnikov (Maklyukov, Akolzin, 57.48), 4-2 St.Pierre (59.59, empty net).
Goaltenders: Karlsson - Pottelberghe

Barys - Davos

At the Nizhny Novgorod Governor’s Cup, Ak Bars and host club Torpedo strengthened their positions as tournament leaders.
Ak Bars (Kazan) vs. Spartak (Moscow) – 2-1 OT (0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 1-0)
A marked improvement in form for the Muscovites, who took the lead and held onto it for more than half the game before Ak Bars gained superiority in the third period and then clinched victory in overtime.
Spartak head coach Vadim Yepanchintsev:
”I was pleased to see that when we were winning 1-0, we didn't sit back on our lead. We created several more chances, and gave our opponents very few opportunities to score. But you have to keep playing like this right to the end, and keep your concentration in every shift and in every playing moment. I hope this match will serve as a lesson to us, so that we won't make the same mistakes again. But overall, I'm happy with the way we performed against a top team.”
Goals: 0-1 Lajunen (Leshchenko, Pepelyayev, 10.26. PPG), 1-1 Lazarev (Svitov, Sidorov, 42.47), 2-1 Lukoyanov (Chibisov 61.32).
Goaltenders: Garipov – Svensson.

Ak Bars - Spartak

Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) vs. Avtomobilist (Yekaterinburg) – 4-3 (1-2, 1-1, 2-0)
The team from Nizhny Novgorod is another contender for the title of Comeback Kings, after bouncing back from 0-2 and 2-3 to seal a thrilling win against the men from Yekaterinburg. The latter seemed in control until the 46th minute, when Mikhail Smolin's speculative shot from a tight angle surprised goalie Jakub Kovar and somehow found the back of the net. The goal seemed to disrupt Avtomobilist's rhythm, and less than three minutes later, Yegor Dugin scored the decisive goal in a 5-on-3 power play.
06.08.17. Cup governor of Nizhny Novgorod region 2017. Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) - Avtomobilist (Yekaterinburg)
Goals: 0-1 Pestunov (Cajkovsky ,Bodrov, 12.44, b.), 0-2 Megalinsky (Beck, 17.13, PPG), 1-2 Daugavins (Barantsev, 19-50, b), 2-2 Stolyarov (Grigoryev, Dugin, 24.24, PPG), 2-3 Obidin (33.17), 3-3 Smolin (45.49), 4-3 Dugin (Parshin, joiners, 50.37, b).
Goaltenders: Lisutin – Kovar

Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Ak Bars 5 16-10 10
2. Torpedo 4 11-7 9
3. Salavat Y. 4 10-5 8
4. Avtomobilist 5 12-12 6
5. Spartak 4 9-9 5
6. Metallurg N 4 2-17 0

Torpedo - Avtomobilist

Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Cup
The trophy was won by Salavat Yulaev under new coach Erkka Westerlund, but the men from Ufa had a huge helping hand from Spartak Moscow. The Muscovite Red-and-Whites defeated tournament hosts and favorites Torpedo, which allowed the Bashkortostan Boys to claim top spot with a hard-fought win over Metallurg (Novokuznetsk).
Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) vs. Spartak: 1-3 (0-0, 1-1, 0-2)

Goals:
20.31 Kostitsyn (Barantsev, Daugavins) 1:0 PPG
37.06 Bobrov (Komaristy) 1:1
42.48 Voronin (Nikontsev) 1:2
59.26 Chistov 59.26 1:3 Empty net.
Goaltenders: Galimov - Bespalov
07.08.17. Cup governor of Nizhny Novgorod region 2017. Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) - Spartak (Moscow)

Torpedo - Spartak

Metallurg (Novokuznetsk) vs. Salavat Yulayev (Ufa): 1-2 (0-1, 1-0, 0-1)

Goals: 0-1 Larsen (Kulyash, 12.29, PPG), 1-1 Shtaiger (Mraz, 38.32), 1-2 Lazarev (Korotkov, 48.34)
Goaltenders: Kasutin – Kareyev

Final standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Salavat Y. 5 12-6 11
2. Ak Bars 5 16-10 10
3. Torpedo 5 12-9 9
4. Spartak 5 12-10 8
5. Avtomobilist 5 12-12 7
6. Metallurg Nk. 5 3-19 0

Sochi Hockey Open

Russia beat Canada in the battle of the pre-Olympic teams to seal top place in Group B and earn a place in tomorrow's final against a rampant SKA Saint Petersburg. In Group A, Magnitogorsk bounced back from yesterday's defeat at the hands of SKA to claim victory over former Magnitka boss Mike Keenan and Kunlun Red Star. There was an ominous sign for defensemen in the KHL - a second goal in successive days for Sergei Mozyakin.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs. Kunlun Red Star: 3-1 (1-0, 2-0, 0-1)

Goals: 1:0 – Ellison (Dronov, Osala, 12.08), 2:0 – Kovar (Denisov, Mozyakin, 33.22), 3:0 – Mozyakin (Kovar , 39.39), 3:1 – Squires (41:41)
Goaltenders: Koshechkin – Hellberg
07.08.17. Sochi Hockey Open. Kunlun Red Star (Beijing) - Metallurg (Magnitogorsk)

Final Group A Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. SKA 2 8-4 6
2. Metallurg Mg. 2 5-5 3
3. Kunlun RS 2 3-7 0

Metallurg Mg - Kunlun Red Star

Team Russia vs. Team Canada: 3-2 (2-0, 1-2, 0-0)

Goals: 1:0 – Galiyev (Kaprizov, 04.52), 2:0 – Fyodorov (Grigorenko, 10.13), 2:1 – Noreau (Ebbett, Kozun, 23.02), 2:2 – Brule (Raymond, Kozun, 29.53), 3:2 – Lyubimov (Fyodorov, Grigorenko, 34.29)
Goaltenders: Shestyorkin – Poulin
07.08.17. Sochi Hockey Open. Russia Team - Canada Team

Final Group B Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Team Russia 2 8-3 6
2. Team Canada 2 3-3 2
3. HC Sochi 2 1-6 1

Team Russia - Team Canada

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Cup

On Day 2 of the Astana tournament, there were victories for Andrei Skabelka's Avangard over Traktor and for Andrei Nazarov's Neftekhimik over the hosts, Barys.
Avangard (Omsk) Traktor (Chelyabinsk): 2-0 (0-0, 1-0, 1-0)

Goals: 1:0 Galimov (Stas, Lisov, 33.42), 2:0 Galimov (Osipov, Stas, 59.47, PPG).
Goaltenders: Shilin – Demchenko
07.08.17. President Kazakhstan Cup. Avangard (Omsk region) - Traktor (Chelyabinsk)

Avangard - Traktor

Barys (Astana) vs. Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk): 1-2 (0-0,1-2,0-0)

Goals: 0:1 Nestrasil (Sexton, 23.50), 0:2 Poryadin (Sharipzyanov, Nestrasil, 37.00, PPG), 1:2 Starchenko (38.15, PPG).
Goaltenders: Karlsson – Yezhov

Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Neftekhimik 2 7-6 5
2. Avangard 2 6-5 3
3. Admiral 1 5-4 3
4. Barys 2 5-4 3
5. Traktor 2 4-7 1
6. Davos 1 2-4 0

Barys - Neftekhimik

Hockeyades Tournament

Day One of this competition, which runs from the 7th to the 12th of August in Le Sentier, Switzerland, featured the sole KHL participant, CSKA, and Moscow's Army Men hit three unanswered goals against Swiss side Geneva-Servette.
Geneva-Servette (Switzerland) vs. CSKA (Moscow): 0-3 (0-0, 0-1, 0-2)
Goals: 0:1 Kuzmenko (Robinson, 29.40), 0:2 Telegin (Karnaukhov, 56.25, SHG), 0:3 Chmykhov (Svetlakov, 59:55 – empty net).
In the other preseason friendly played on Monday, Sibir, currently at camp in Valkeakoski, Finland, suffered a 1-5 loss at the hands of HPK Hameenlinna.
Sibir (Novosibirsk) vs. HPK (Finland): 1-5 (0-0, 0-1, 1-4)
Sibir goal: Sharov (Artyomov).

Barys
In Astana, the fearsome scoring power of Bochenski, Boyd and Dawes have guaranteed goals since 2011 – until now. Brandon Bochenski hung up his skates, Dustin Boyd has joined Dynamo Moscow, and Barys faces the challenge of building a new strike force. The hope is to go further than last season’s second-round playoff exit – something the club has yet to achieve in its KHL career.

Changing faces

Outgoing head coach Eduard Zankovets may have suffered for the failures of the national team, rather than his results in Astana. Barys, despite the shock of losing Andrei Nazarov early in the season, produced a good season. The team came fifth in the Eastern Conference and defeated Traktor in the playoffs before losing out to Metallurg. But coaching Barys goes hand-in-hand with taking charge of Kazakhstan’s national team, and here Zankovets fell short of his targets. Missing out on promotion to the Elite Pool for 2018 when his team was overtaken by Korea, the Belarusian’s deal was not extended beyond the end of the season. Evgeny Koreshkov is the new man, and he’s overseen a busy summer of trading. Ten new faces give the roster a youthful look compared with past seasons, although there’s still deep experience from the likes of Nigel Dawes and Kevin Dallman, the KHL’s longest-serving import on defense. Those two, now naturalized Kazakh citizens and members of the national team’s roster, enjoy legendary status in Astana and will shoulder more responsibility than ever in the coming campaign. Most of the new arrivals have been playing VHL hockey, or learning their trade in the Kazakh Championship, but there are two new imports as well, both from the AHL. Linden Vey, 26, is a creative forward who arrives from Stockton Heat, the Calgary Flames’ farm-club. He top-scored for his team last season, with 55 (15+40) points in 61 games. He also has 138 NHL appearances, making his big-league debut in Los Angeles before two seasons with Vancouver. He’s joined by defenseman Darren Dietz. Now 24, Dietz showed potential as a powerful two-way D-man in his youth, but has struggled to settle in a team since then. A somewhat nomadic spell in the AHL – punctuated by 13 NHL games for the Canadiens – came to an end when he signed up for a move to Astana and a new challenge.

Nigel Dawes and Kevin Dallman

Seeking All-Stars

Astana is due to host the KHL’s All-Star Week of Hockey in January. In previous seasons, the Barys strike force has played a big part in that event, but now it may be time for a new All-Star to emerge on home ice. Marty St. Pierre, a 33-year-old forward, could be the man to step up and assume some of the goalscoring responsibilities left by Bochenski and Boyd. Another one to watch could be local youngster Dmitry Grents. He only turned 21 in June, but his season included 31 games in the KHL and a call-up to the Kazakh national team. Prolific at youth level, this forward opened his KHL account with two goals and three assists last term. Grents is exactly the kind of young talent that Kazakh hockey needs to develop, both for Barys and for the national team, as the country hopes that the season will be memorable for more than just one week in January.

Dmitry Grents

Yaroslavl

Beaten in last season’s Western Conference final, Lokomotiv has made few changes to its roster for the coming campaign. Head coach Alexei Kudashov, whose reputation is steadily growing, oversaw the return of three players from the Far East, where Kirill Kapustin, Alexander Yelesin and Denis Alexeyev spent some time developing the skills they took from the youth ranks in Yaroslavl. But there have been no high profile in-bound players this summer as the team looks to continue its progress.

Disappointing departures

A calm summer, then, but one with a couple of significant departures. Lokomotiv lost the services of defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov and Mikhail Pashnin. Gavrikov, a young graduate of the famed Yaroslavl hockey school, has opted to move to SKA. For a player whose career is burgeoning, and whose ambitions of international action are starting to be realized, it makes sense to move to arguably the wealthiest and highest-profile club in the KHL. But back home, it’s a bitter disappointment to many in Yaroslavl. Not just because Gavrikov is maturing into a highly-effective player, but because his local connections had many pencilling him in as a future Loko legend. Pashnin, at first glance, is a less painful loss. He’s an older player, returning to CSKA, the club where he began his pro career. Again, though, there’s a sense that the strides he made at Loko last season have taken him in a direction that will benefit others, rather than the organization that furthered his development. There’s also uncertainty over the future of Andrei Loktionov, who has a try-out contract in the NHL with Los Angeles. The club has suggested that it isn’t interested in working with players who miss out on pre-season, which could see the forward frozen out even if he doesn’t reach a deal with the Kings.

Mikhail Pashnin

Familiar faces

That said, there are still reasons for optimism. Last season, Loko lost Patrick Hersley from its defense, and adapted well. This season, Staffan Kronwall will be patrolling the blue line once again, and the Swede is likely to be one of many leaders on the Loko roster. Kronwall’s importance was best illustrated in his absence through injury for part of last season: the Yaroslavl defense floundered, regular partner Jakub Nakladal struggled without the captain’s reassuring presence alongside him. On offense, Brandon Kozun and Max Talbot will, like Kronwall, be hoping for an Olympic call. The expected absence of NHLers from Korea has thrown open a window of opportunity for many European-based players, and the two Canadian forwards have every chance of a call-up. Then there’s the home-grown combination of Pavel Kraskovsky, Yegor Korshkov and Alexander Polunin. These three have spent much of their career – at youth, junior and even international level – playing on the same line and they posed an increasingly potent threat in last season’s KHL. This could be the year that the trio really makes a name for itself: the evidence of their performances for Russia’s team at the Sochi Hockey Open suggests they are tuning up nicely for 2017-18. And there’s another home-grown prospect to look out for. Artur Kayumov isn’t a name on many people’s lips outside of Yaroslavl at the moment – but that could change very soon. A wonder-goal in a warm-up game against Amur highlighted the potential of this 19-year-old Blackhawks prospect; he backed it up with a strong showing at the Minsk Cup. Last season, Kayumov made his KHL debut, going pointless through four games, and got a greater taste of the adult game at Loko’s farm club. Now he’s pushing for more time on the ice.

Brandon Kozun and Maxime Talbot

Sochi Hockey Open
SKA (Saint Petersburg) vs. Russian Olympic Team: 3-4 SO (2-1, 1-1, 0-1, 0-0)
If you are going to lose in a final, it may as well be to a team which has borrowed many of your players. SKA's highly-rated young goalie Igor Shestyorkin guarded the Team Russia net and Petersburg's formidable defenseman Maxim Chudinov grabbed a goal against his team-mates in an entertaining grand finale to the Sochi Hockey Open tournament. Team Russia drew first blood in the 6th minute through Lokomotiv's Yegor Korshkov, but SKA stormed ahead with two goals in 67 seconds – via Dergachyov and Kovalchuk – and Viktor Tikhonov added a third soon after the interval. The deficit was soon halved with Chudinov's goal, and as we entered the final five minutes of regulation time, Ufa's Vladimir Tkachyov made it 3-3 to enable Kazan's Vladimir Tkachyov to clinch victory in the shootout.
Russian Olympic Team head coach Oleg Bratash reflected on his team's triumph:
“I would like to thank the organizers for a superb tournament. As for today's game, our aspiring Olympians got a little carried away in the first period. They took unnecessary risks and left themselves open to the counter-attack. We could have allowed even more goals, but the guys pulled themselves together and they did really well to get back into the game. They showed a great desire to win from the very first second.”
Goals: 0-1 – Korshkov (Rafikov, Kraskovsky, 05.49), 1-1 – Dergachyov (Rukavishnikov, 10.50), 2-1 – Kovalchuk (Komarov, 11.57), 3-1 – Tikhonov (Karpov, Gusev, 22.13), 3-2 – Chudinov (Lyubimov, Grigorenko, 36.24), 3-3 – Fyodorov (Grigorenko, Nesterov, 55.53), 3-4 – Tkachyov (SO)
Goaltenders: Koskinen – Shestyorkin

SKA (Saint Petersburg) vs. Russian Olympic Team

Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) vs. Team Canada: 1-3 (0-1, 1-0, 2-0)
Before this third-place playoff got underway, Sergei Mozyakin was presented with the award for being the tournament's best forward, thanks to his 4 (2+2) points in the group stage. In the game itself, however, victory went to Canada and center stage belonged to Mason Raymond. The SC Bern forward opened the scoring, and then, after Sergei Tereshchenko had leveled, Raymond produced a Mikael Granlund-style scoop-and-score goal, which turned out to be the game-winner. Justin Azevedo of Ak Bars made it 3-1.
Goals: 0-1 – Raymond (Ebbett, Brule), 1-1 – Tereshchenko (Denisov, Ellison), 1-2 – Raymond (O'Dell, Clark), 1-3 – Azevedo (Buck, Scott)
Goaltenders: Koshechkin – Peters

Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) – Team Canada

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Cup

Admiral (Vladivostok) – Davos (Davos) 0-4 (0-2, 0-2, 0-0)
It was another bad day for Alexander Andriyevsky's Admiral as the men from the Far East were kept off the scoreboard for the second time in 24 hours, shipping four unanswered goals against Davos of Switzerland. Young Swiss forward Dario Simion inflicted the most damage with a double and an assist.
Goals: 0-1 Simion (Little, Schneeberger, 10.31, PPG), 0-2 Wieser (Ambuhl, Kousal, 10.59), 0-3 Simion (Little, 24.48, PPG), 0-4 Simion (Kindschi, Heldner, 36.09)
Goaltenders: Bobkov – van Pottelberghe

Admiral — Davos

Barys (Astana) vs. Avangard (Omsk): 4-3 (2-1; 1-1; 1-1)
Barys boss Evgeny Koreshkov decided to give a run-out to local legend Nigel Dawes, and the tactic tipped the balance of this match in the hosts' favor. After 20-year-old forward Dmitry Zhukenov - back in Russia after two QMJHL seasons with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens - gave the Omsk Men a surprise lead a mere 23 seconds into the game, Dawes replied before the three-minute mark. Further strikes from Vey and Dallman seemed to have put the game out of Avangard's reach, but Nikita Lisov's goal kept the result in doubt until Dawes grabbed the game-winner halfway through the third period. Semyon Koshelev scored a late 6-on-5 goal for the Omsk Men but it was too little, too late.
Goals: 0-1 Zhukenov (00.23), 1-1 Vey (Dawes, St.Pierre, 02.58), 2-1 Shevchenko (Starchenko, 05.44), 3-1 Dallman (Dietz, 21.50, PPG), 3-2 Lisov (Berezin, Fisenko, 28.16, PPG), 4-2 Dawes (St.Pierre, 51.12, PPG), 4-3 Koshelev (Faizullin, 58.53)
Goaltenders: Karlsson – Furch

Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Neftekhimik 3 11-9 8
2. Barys 3 9-7 6
3. Traktor 3 7-7 4
4. Davos 3 9-8 3
5. Avangard 3 9-9 3
6. Admiral 3 5-11 3

Barys - Avangard

Wingas Cup

Dinamo Riga vs. Vityaz (Moscow Region): 2-5 (2-1, 0-4, 0-0)
Vityaz continued its stunning preseason form with a convincing victory over Dinamo Riga in Kassel, Germany. The men from the Latvian capital swiftly surged into a 2-0 lead, but Valery Belov's men stormed back with five unanswered goals, leaving Sandis Ozolins with plenty on which to ponder.
Goals: 1-0 Kristo (Bicevskis, 1.14), 2-0 Bicevskis (Galvins, 12.24, PPG), 1-2 Pankov (Semenov, 16.46), 2-2 Burstrom (Kopeikin, 25.46, PPG), 2-3 Shvets-Rogovo (Gimayev, Mankinen, 33.32), 2-4 Horak (Rissanen, 34.41 PPG), 2-5 Mankinen (Rissanen, Kopeikin, 35.02 PPG).
Goaltenders: Kalnins - Saprykin.
EC Kassel Huskies (Germany) – Slovan (Bratislava): 3-2 (1-0, 2-1, 0-1)
In the game between the other two tournament participants, Milos Riha's Slovan extended its losing streak with a 2-3 reverse against the hosts.
Goals: 1:0 Pimm (Little), 2:0 Koziol (Little, Klinge),3:0 Della-Rovere (Reiss), 3:1 Hrnka (Zvarny, Smolenak), 3:2 Repik (Kaspar, Ramstedt)


Avangard

It feels like Avangard has struggled to fulfil its potential in recent seasons. After reaching the Gagarin Cup final in 2012, the Hawks have rarely shown signs of getting to that level again. Last season was a case in point: second in the Eastern Conference, Avangard looked underpowered in post season, stumbling past Admiral before falling to Ak Bars.

New direction

The club’s management acted swiftly and decisively: Fyodor Kanareikin left, and Andrei Skabelka took over as head coach. Skabelka is well known for his work with Avangard’s Chernyshev Division rival Sibir, a team that he lifted up a level after several seasons as an also-ran. After making progress with a tight budget in Novosibirsk, he’s now got a chance to reinvigorate one of the biggest clubs in Russia. Skabelka’s game demands a high work-rate. His teams have a different set-up, compared with Kanareikin’s approach. It could take time for the roster to adapt to some new demands, but an extensive overhaul of the playing staff gives the incoming coach a line-up closer to his own image.

Andrei Skabelka

A Swedish accent

Three of the new faces have their roots in Scandinavia. Andre Petersson is well-known to KHL fans after a successful spell at HC Sochi. The 26-year-old has quietly but efficiently tallied up the points for the past three campaigns, and was leading the league’s scoring charts early last season before injuries slowed his progress. The Swede is especially strong on the power play – 30 of his 58 KHL goals have come against depleted opposition. His countryman, Dennis Everberg, is another forward with a growing reputation. He was part of Sweden’s World Championship-winning roster in Cologne last May, cementing a somewhat belated breakthrough onto the international scene. Everberg, now 25, spent the early part of his career at Rogle, an elevator team in the Swedish leagues, before getting a shot at the NHL with Colorado. After a promising start in Denver, a shoulder injury slowed his progress and his second season was mostly spent in the AHL, prompting a return to Europe. Last season, he was among the leading scorers for Vaxjo Lakers, with 37 points from 53 regular-season games.
The third representative of the Tre Kronor is another forward, Johan Sundstrom. He’s won the Champion Hockey League twice with his home-town team, Frolunda, and had a stint as part of the Islanders organization, making 11 NHL appearances amid three seasons largely spent in the AHL. The trio will be expected to replace the scoring potential of Anton Burdasov – Avangard’s most productive in terms of points-per-game last season – and Vladimir Sobotka, a talented but frustratingly inconsistent import.

Andre Petersson

Experience and youth

With all the changes on the roster, club captain Evgeny Medvedev will have a key role to play. The 34-year-old was one of the foundation stones of the Ak Bars team until he took his chance to play in the NHL in 2015-16. That season with Philadelphia was mixed, but he wasted no time in showing why Avangard invited him back to Russia: 22 points in regular season, plus the kind of presence that keeps a locker room together, speak for themselves. While Medvedev was doing that in the KHL, Anton Kovalyov was lighting up the Junior League. The 20-year-old only has one KHL appearance – indeed only one shift – to date, but 87 points in 53 games at junior level last season point to a serious talent. This could be the year that he establishes himself in the big league.

Evgeny Medvedev

Neftekhimik and Vityaz have been the in-form teams of the 2017 preseason and both teams continued their winning streaks on Thursday, albeit on different continents. The Nizhnekamsk team is in Asia, crushing all President's Cup opposition in Astana, Kazakhstan, while the men from Moscow Region are dominating the Wingas Cup in Kassel, Germany.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Cup

Avangard (Omsk) – Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk) - 2-3 (1-1, 1-1, 0-1)
The men from Nizhnekamsk needed to draw on all their reserves of strength to overcome spirited resistance from Andrei Skabelka's Avangard. The teams went into both intervals with the score tied, but victory for Neftekhimik was sealed by a 58th-minute strike from much-traveled defenseman Oleg Piganovich – his first goal for his new employers, and his first goal after a year without hockey.
Neftekhimik head coach Andrei Nazarov:
“I'm glad the guys found the energy for this, as it was our fourth game in five days, which is tough mentally and physically. All the guys are tired and want to go home. I asked the team to just keep it simple today, and I think that worked. Once again, we had a bit of luck in certain episodes toward the end of the game, but I hope we can keep playing like this. Avangard is a good team, and I'm glad this tournament is providing us with such worthy sparring partners.”
Goals: 0-1 Sharipzyanov (Shiksatdarov, 04.24), 1-1 Sundstrom (10.57), 2-1 Koshelev (Semyonov, 22.09), 2-2 Sexton (Rau, 38.43), 2-3 Piganovich (Sexton, Hanzl, 57.21)
Goaltenders: Kostin – Yezhov.

Avangard – Neftekhimik

HC Davos (Davos) – Traktor (Chelyabinsk) - 1-3 (0-3, 1-0, 0-0).
Traktor moved up into second place in the tournament standings with this confident win over Swiss side HC Davos. The Chelyabinsk men began this match in ruthless mood and went into the first interval with a 3-0 lead, thanks to a double from Szczechura and a goal from 17-year-old Vitaly Kravtsov. The Swiss scored a consolation goal in the 35th minute, but failed to threaten Traktor's lead.
Traktor head coach Anvar Gatiyatulin:
”Davos is a team with impressive movement and this turned out to be a tough game. The rest day before the game helped us a lot, as before it we had played three games in as many days. Our guys had a good rest yesterday, and as a result, they were skating much faster. We managed to create chances and make use of them, and that is why we achieved this impressive result. The guys showed commitment and had a good understanding, plus we were very disciplined in defense ”
Goals: 0-1 Szczechura (Videll, 08.40), 0-2 Kravtsov (Chernikov, 16.03), 0-3 Szczechura (Bailen, 19.06, PPG), 1-3 Kousal (34.07, PPG)
Goaltenders: Senn - Demchenko

Tournament standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Neftekhimik 4 14-10 11
2. Traktor 4 10-8 7
3. Barys 3 7-7 6
4. Avangard 4 1-12 3
5. Davos 4 10-11 3
6. Admiral 3 5-11 3

Davos — Traktor

Wingas Cup

Slovan (Bratislava) – Vityaz (Moscow Region): 2-4 (0-1, 2-2, 0-1)
Another defeat for Slovan, as Vityaz's excellent run of form continues.
Goals: 0-1 Denezhkin (Yatsenko, Lukin, 5.48), 1-1 Smolenak (Ramstedt, Buchtele, 22-10, PPG), 1-2 Kopeikin (Rissanen, 28-36), 2-2 Skalicky (Kozak, Mikus, 29.35), 2-3 Afinogenov (Voroshilo, 38.03), 2-4 Nikulin (Shvets-Rogovoi, Yepishin, 57.43).
Goaltenders: Stepanek (Janus) – Biryukov.


Minsk

Minsk is one of the most passionate hockey cities in the KHL, but big crowds haven’t yet seen Dinamo find a winning formula. The Bison have almost always been competitive in regular season, but have yet to get past the first round of the playoffs. In the past, the club has worked hard to bring imports to Belarus – in many cases, naturalizing North American players and seeing them go on to represent the national team – but this season the plan is a bit different. There are some key imports, but there’s a greater interest in promoting local talent. With Belarus failing to make the Olympics for the second time in a row, providing opportunities for a new generation of Belarusian stars is a new priority in the national program.

Young coach, young prospects

Incoming head coach Gordie Dwyer is the youngest in the KHL. But, even at the age of 39, he’s had a good look at this league during two seasons with Medvescak. He also had a brief spell in Switzerland at the end of last season, helping Ambri-Piotta escape relegation from the top league there. Now he’s taking on the Dinamo Minsk brief, and faces the challenge of balancing a reduced budget with demands for a strong team on the ice. Part of the focus on home grown talent brings Belarusian prospects back home. Dmitry Buinitsky, born in 1997, is a good example. The forward made his Dinamo debut in the 2014-15 season before heading across the Atlantic. Last season he played for Quebec Ramparts in the QMJHL; now he’s back home, and hoping that his North American experience can help him cement a place on Dwyer’s new-look Dinamo team and earn a call-up to the senior national roster. Defenseman Roman Dyukov has a similar resume: he emerged from the Belarusian League, made the World Championship roster in 2016 and went to join the Calgary Flames organization. He played last season with the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL and returns to his homeland at the age of 21 looking to establish himself.
It’s not just fresh-faced youngsters returning to Minsk, though. Vladimir Denisov, a veteran defenseman, is back at Dinamo for the first time since 2013. He spent the intervening years at Torpedo, Ak Bars and, most recently, Traktor; his long list of clubs also includes two AHL stints with Lake Erie and Hartford, plus a season in Switzerland at Ambri-Piotta. A regular for the national team, which he captained at the 2012 World Championship, his experience is vital for club and country. Experienced forward Charles Linglet – one of those naturalized Belarusians – is also back after spending part of last season with Tappara in Finland and Eisbaren Berlin.

Gordie Dwyer

The foreign legion

It’s not all about Belarus though: two key new faces come from overseas. Goalie Jhonas Enroth, 29, has plenty of international experience with Sweden. He helped the Tre Kronor to gold at the 2013 Worlds, where he was named the best goalie of the tournament and was on the Olympic roster that won silver in 2014, although he did not play in Sochi. By that time, he had gone to the Buffalo Sabres, beginning a tour of the NHL that saw him on the books of five clubs without ever establishing a place as a starter. He’ll be expected to fill the void left by Ben Scrivens’ move to Salavat Yulaev. The other eye-catching arrival is Justin Fontaine. The 29-year-old Alberta native graduated the University of Minnesota-Duluth and went on to spend three seasons in the NHL with the Wild. That time brought him 68 points from 197 games and when he was sent to the AHL last season his name was on the radar of several KHL teams. Dinamo secured the winger’s services and will hope that he can replace the scoring power of Matt Ellison, who left for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the summer.

Targets

For Dwyer, who has yet to sample KHL playoff action, a top-eight finish is the first big goal. Beyond that, Dinamo is still waiting to win a playoff series in this league. Can a roster trying to develop local talent finally break through that barrier?

Jhonas Enroth