Penguins - Pouliot, Archibald, Schultz and Wilson all re-sign

Pouliot

Derrick Pouliot was thrilled to sign a one-year, one-way contract with the Pens.

"It's exciting," he said. "I was real excited when Pittsburgh offered me that and I'm really happy to be back and with the team again. It's been an exciting couple days here."

However, that excitement was tempered for the 23-year-old defenseman knowing that a consistent spot in the lineup isn't necessarily guaranteed with that contract. But coming in, he wants to earn one and knows the mindset he must have in order to accomplish that.

"I think I'm just going to try and take it day by day," he said. "It starts with camp, coming in shape again and having a good camp and building from there. Once I start to play some games, playing consistent, playing solid defensively. As the season goes on, trying to progress and becoming a regular guy that's in the lineup."

Last season, Pouliot reported to training camp in the best shape of his life after training with Gary Roberts in Toronto. He had undergone a transformation physically and was noticeably thinner after adapting his diet and cutting a lot of body fat. Pouliot was looking to take the next step in his career, but he sustained an injury early in the season that had him out until December. From there, he played just 11 games in Pittsburgh before going to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the remainder of the year.

"It was a little bit of a crazy year," admitted Pouliot, who has played 67 total games with Pittsburgh since entering the league in 2014-15. "There were some ups and downs and I didn't play as well as I can at times. I think once I got settled in in Wilkes, though, I was playing regularly and I really got my confidence back. I started to feel good about my game and how I was playing there. I think that really helped in my development, for sure."

The eighth-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft knows his development hasn't necessarily tracked as quick as some may have expected at the pro level, but at this point, he's learned to just embrace the process, as head coach Mike Sullivan always says.

"It hasn't necessarily happened as quick as a person would like, but you've got to stick with it," he said. "It's not an overnight thing for some guys, it takes a little longer. I think with the season I had last year once I got going, it helped in my development and I hope to continue that coming into this year."

 

Archibald

 

When Josh Archibald received a qualifying offer from the Pens earlier this summer, he had a pretty good idea he was going to be back with the organization. But to get a two-year, one-way contract extension with an average annual value of $675,000 was pretty awesome.

"To be able to get that one-way, it's a really good feeling," Archibald said. "We were up to accepting anything with Pitt, but this was definitely kind of icing on the cake. It was something I'd been trying to work for and for them to have that faith in me that they can hopefully see me as an NHLer hopefully soon, it's a nice relieving feeling."

The Saskatchewan native called from Omaha, Nebraska, where he played three years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He's there training and preparing to take on a bigger role this season in Pittsburgh.

"I was talking to my dad and mom and they were like, 'well, the hard work really begins now,'" Archibald said with a laugh. "You've got to prove to them that you deserve to be there and everything. It's really exciting."

The 24-year-old is certainly putting in the work for his professional life, and there's a lot going on in his personal life as well. Archibald and his wife, Bailey - who got married last summer - are expecting their first child on Aug. 13. They're hoping he or she - they aren't finding out the gender ahead of time - will be here in time for his day with the Stanley Cup. In the midst of everything going on for the couple, including planning a baby shower, Archibald hasn't had time to sit and reflect on what has happened. But he hopes he'll have time soon to do that.

"I haven't really had time just to sit back and soak things up," he said. "But I might have to take some time to reflect here within the next couple weeks and just sit down and realize what truly just happened. It's pretty amazing."

Archibald spent most of the 2016-17 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, but did play 10 games at the NHL level this past season, registering three goals and a plus-4, after playing in one game in the 2015-16 season. He also skated in four playoff games in 2017. One of Archibald's appearances this spring was in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against Nashville, which means his name will be engraved on the Cup. The team's confidence in Archibald has, in turn, given him confidence moving forward.

"For them to have the confidence to put me in against Ottawa and even in that Nashville game, it's definitely a boost for me just showing that 'yeah, we have confidence in you,'" he said. "We know what you can do as long as you go out and do it. It was a really good feeling and hopefully I can just build on that and continue moving in the right direction."

For Archibald, that means continuing to be what he called an "energy guy" who uses his speed in all areas, but in particular to create havoc for the other team's defensemen with his forechecking and physicality. He also hopes to showcase one of his other strengths, which is penalty killing.

"I didn't get to show it as much at the NHL level as I did at the AHL level, but hopefully as the years continue, I'll get to improve on that in the NHL," he said. "Just going out and being consistent and bringing the energy every shift and every night that I can."

 

Schultz

In late February of 2016, Justin Schultz sat on his couch in his Edmonton home. Waiting. Schultz, a member of the Edmonton Oilers for the previous three-plus seasons at that time, was waiting to learn his future. With the Oilers on the cusp of missing the playoffs for the 10^th straight season, the organization wanted to make changes. One of those changes was the team's desire to move Schultz. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound blueliner had heard the rumors of his trade. In the early afternoon, Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli made it official with a call to Schultz informing the defenseman that his new destination would be in Pittsburgh. Over the course of the next season-and-a-half with the Pens, Schultz would take his game to new heights while winning back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the club.

"It's crazy how it worked out," Schultz said. "How I got such a good opportunity to come play with a great team, a great organization, help anyway I could. It's been unbelievable. It's obviously the best two years of my life. To win it once was awesome. To win it last year was crazy. It was so much fun, so rewarding. It was just awesome."

Schultz will now have an opportunity to add to his magical run after signing a new three-year contract with the Pens on Saturday with a $5.5 million average annual value. Re-signing with the Pens was the easiest decision of Schultz's career. There was no place he'd rather be than in Pittsburgh.

"I wanted to come back. It was always Pittsburgh and I knew something would get done," Schultz said. "It's nice to be back in Pittsburgh for another three years. It's where I want to play. I'm excited to come back and help the team as much as I can."

There is no doubt Schultz resurrected his career in Pittsburgh. He was a highly touted prospect entering the 2008 NHL Draft and was selected in the second-round (43^rd overall) by Anaheim. After opting not to sign a contract with the Ducks, Schultz was sought after by many NHL teams. He eventually chose to sign with Edmonton and earned a spot on the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 2012-13 after posting 27 points (8G-19A) in 48 games. But Schultz struggled over the course of his tenure with the Oilers. At the time of his trade he was a combined minus-78 in 248 career games with Edmonton. Schultz posted 8 points (1G-7A) and a plus-7 in 18 games with the Pens to finish the 2015-16 season. He then added four assists in 15 postseason games to help Pittsburgh capture the Stanley Cup. Although Schultz hit the open market in the summer of 2016, he opted to take a pay cut and re-signed with the Pens for a one-year deal for $1.4 million. The deal ended up being a steal as Schultz enjoyed his best season in the NHL, setting career highs across the board in goals (12), assists (39), points (51) and a plus-27 in 78 contests.

"I got my confidence back, started playing my game again," he said of his success. "I had great teammates and leaders that help you along the way. I can't thank them enough."

Schultz was a major reason the Pens were able to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 2017. With the club missing its top defenseman in Kris Letang, whose season ended in February due to a shoulder injury, Schultz took on a larger role. The Kelowna, British Columbia native took over as the club's power-play quarterback and chipped in 10 points (3G-7A) in 15 playoff games. An injury forced him out of the lineup for four games during the Eastern Conference Final. Schultz returned for the crucial Game 7 and posted a goal and two points in Pittsburgh's dramatic double-overtime victory. Schultz appreciates both championship seasons, but said the second one was more meaningful because he was with the Pens for the entire season and played a larger role in the achievement.

"They're both unbelievable," Schultz said. "I think this one for me was a little sweeter because of the bigger role and it was tougher for us. We got the end result and it was everything you dream of."

And now that he's a Penguin for the foreseeable future, the dream is to help the team three-peat next season.

"I always wanted to come back," he said. "It was a great team. It helped me a lot. We won the second Cup in a row. It doesn't get much better than that. It's been a fun two years obviously and looking forward to doing it more."

Garrett Wilson

The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Garrett Wilson to a two-year contract, it was announced by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. The deal is a two-way contract that runs through the 2018-19 season, and it has an average annual value of $650,000 at the NHL level. Wilson, 26, spent his first season in the Pittsburgh organization in 2016-17, adding leadership and toughness to the Pens' minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as an alternate captain. In 59 regular-season games with WBS, Wilson produced 11 goals, 20 assists, 31 points, a plus-16 and 83 penalty minutes. He added two assists in five playoff games. A 6-foot-2, 199-pound Barrie, Ontario native, Wilson enjoyed a solid NHL training camp with Pittsburgh last September, scoring twice in four preseason appearances. Wilson returned to Pittsburgh as a member of the 'Black Aces' practice squad throughout the Penguins' march to a 2017 Stanley Cup championship.

Originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round (107th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Wilson appeared in 34 regular-season contests and six playoff games at the NHL level with Florida before joining the Pittsburgh organization as a free agent on July 1, 2016. He picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Alex Petrovic's game-winning goal in Game 4 of the 2016 First Round series against the New York Islanders. Wilson has played in 275 career AHL regular-season games with San Antonio, Portland and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tallying 59 goals, 66 assists and 125 points. He has served as an alternate captain for his AHL team in each of the last three seasons.

 

Three new players arrive

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed three players who played key roles in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finishing with the American Hockey League's best regular-season record in 2016-17, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. Forward Tom Sestito and defenseman Frank Corrado both signed one-year, two-way contracts. Goaltender Casey DeSmith inked a two-year, two-way deal, and it marked the first NHL contract of his career. All three contracts contain an average annual value of $650,000 at the NHL level.

Sestito, 29, saw the most NHL action of the trio last season, skating in 13 regular-season games with Pittsburgh, where he picked up two assists and collected 48 penalty minutes. At the AHL level with WBS, Sestito had 16 points (6G-10A) and collected 121 penalty minutes in 33 games. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound Sestito has spent the last two years with the Penguins organization. He has three assists and 67 penalty minutes in 17 NHL games. Sestito has added 30 points (11G-19A) and 225 penalty minutes in 74 AHL regular-season contests with WBS, plus five points (2G-3A) in 12 AHL postseason games.

Corrado, 24, was acquired by the Penguins from the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 1 in a deal that sent Eric Fehr and Steve Oleksy, plus a 2017 fourth-round draft pick, to the Leafs. Corrado saw most of his action with WBS after his arrival, but he did suit up for two regular-season games with Pittsburgh in March. A 6-foot, 205-pound right-handed defenseman, Corrado appeared in 17 regular-season games with WBS, notching four points (1G-3A) and a plus-3. He also played in one postseason game. A 2011 fifth-round (150th overall) draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks, Corrado has suited up for 71 NHL regular-season games with the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Penguins, picking up eight points (3G-5A).

DeSmith, 25, earned his first NHL contract with this deal after providing the WBS Penguins with excellent numbers on a minor-league deal his first two seasons a pro. This past year, DeSmith was one-half of the AHL's best goaltending duo alongside Tristan Jarry. The two combined to win the Harry 'Hap' Holmes Memorial Award, which is awarded to the goaltenders that post the lowest goals-against average in the AHL. A 6-foot, 180-pound Rochester, New Hampshire native, DeSmith was named to the AHL's All-Rookie Team this year after leading all AHL netminders with a 2.01 goals-against average. DeSmith went 21-5-4 with one shutout and a .926 save percentage in 29 regular-season games. His save percentage tied for second-best in the AHL. An undrafted free agent, DeSmith has appeared in 35 career AHL regular-season contests, compiling an overall record of 23-7-3 to go with his 2.00 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. During the last two AHL playoff runs, DeSmith has assumed the starting role for WBS with Jarry backing up at the NHL level both years. DeSmith has gone 7-7 with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Before joining WBS, DeSmith played three seasons of college hockey at the University of New Hampshire, where he made the Hockey East All-Rookie Team as a freshman. DeSmith also saw action with the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League for two seasons before advancing to the collegiate level.

Penguins - Development Camp

Development Camp

The Penguins' 2017 development camp concluded on Saturday with a 3-on-3 scrimmage in front of packed stands at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. We talked with director of player development Mark Recchi afterward to get his thoughts on how the week went…

- Recchi said that a lot of players stood out during the scrimmage, particularly Zach Aston Reese, Sam Lafferty, Anthony Angello and free-agent invitee Adam Johnson from Minnesota-Duluth. "It was a very talented development camp," Recchi said. "We had a lot of these guys who we thought were very, very good and what we expected and it's great."

- Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong were two of the biggest names at this camp, and general manager Jim Rutherford was asked about them when he spoke to the media about the Penguins' free agent signings. He said they're both tracking very well and he's expecting them both to have impressive training camps. "They'll put themselves in the conversation as to where they should start the season," Rutherford said. "I do believe that it's in their best interests to follow the tracks of a (Jake) Guentzel, where you play at a minimum half the season there (in WBS) or full season. But we'll see how it goes. Injuries will dictate how much of a chance they'll have at the big camp and of course their play. But they're young guys. They still have some things to learn but they're very, very good prospects."

I asked Recchi what those things to learn are. His response:

"They've all got to keep working on everything. Sidney Crosby works on something every day. They know what they got to get better at. Spronger's obviously a very talented kid, he's a goal scorer, but he's got to continue his progression and maturity and developing and keep getting his legs stronger and the two-way game is going to be very important. Zach, he's got to maybe work on his first three or four steps, but he's a man. He's ready. He's a big, strong guy, very high character guy that is going to be a good Penguin at some point."

- As Recchi put it, this isn't a tough camp - it's a teaching camp. The off-ice activities take on a bigger importance for the prospects than the on-ice sessions. This year, the prospects partook in several strength and fitness presentations, participated in team-building exercises and listened to guest speakers provide tips on becoming, and then succeeding as, a professional athlete.

"It's learning how to be a pro," Recchi said. "We don't kill them physically. We set it up and we practice like we normally practice, with pace, and we show them that and then we have a lot of the off-ice stuff." Among the guest speakers were Penguins director of sports science Andy O'Brien, former Penguin Kevin Stevens and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert. "We some great people come in and speak and I think it has an impact on these guys," Recchi said.

- It's been absolutely nonstop for the Penguins since they lifted the Stanley Cup in Nashville three weeks ago. After taking a couple of days to celebrate, the team then began preparing for the draft, free agency and this camp, which all happened in the last week. It's been crazy busy - as Recchi said with a laugh, now that they're getting a break they're going to have a drink or two tonight - but they like it this way. Having development camp right after the draft instead of mid-July like they used to has been more beneficial, and it helps that hockey operations personnel from Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling are there to assist.

"We've got a lot of great people," Recchi said. "You can't do it without those guys, especially when we're running up and down. We had meetings this morning, we finished at five to 12 and Billy (Guerin) and I ran upstairs and he's got to start getting on with agents. It's what we do. We like it right after the draft. We just think it's better because then everybody's done, they've got a full July of incorporating our training and stuff like that instead of having them come back in the middle of July where it takes a couple of weeks out of their time. We think it's just important right now to do it then and it's worth it for everybody to deal with the busy and do that."

Johnson

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed undrafted free agent forward Adam Johnson to a two-year, entry-level contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. The deal will run through the 2018-19 campaign. Johnson, 22, attended the Penguins' prospect development camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry last week. He is coming off an impressive sophomore season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he scored 18 goals and tallied 37 points in 42 games. He finished second on the club in both goals and points.

A 6-foot, 174-pound product of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Johnson clinched Minnesota-Duluth's berth in the 2017 Frozen Four when he scored an overtime, power-play goal to defeat Boston University, 3-2. Johnson and the Bulldogs eventually fell to Denver, 3-2, in the NCAA championship game. Johnson proved himself to be plenty versatile at Minnesota-Duluth, as he played all three forward positions in 2016-17 - center, left wing and right wing - before filling in on defense late in the season when the Bulldogs had a rash of injuries on the back end. He also manned the point on the power play. 

Johnson was Minnesota-Duluth's top-scoring freshman in '15-16, racking up 18 points (6G-12A) over 39 games. He wrapped his two-year college career with 81 games played, 24 goals, 31 assists, 55 points, nine power-play goals and five game-winning markers. Before advancing to the college ranks, Johnson skated for two-plus seasons in the United States Hockey League. He broke in with the Indiana Ice near the conclusion of the '12-13 campaign, before spending his final two campaigns with the Sioux City Musketeers. In his second and final year with Sioux City in '14-15, Johnson produced 31 goals, 40 assists, 71 points and a plus-25 to earn First-Team All-USHL honors. That year, Johnson's 71 points ranked second in the league, while his plus-25 and seven game-winning markers placed third overall.

KHL - Season 2 Review

One in, one out
The league continued with 24 teams, but Khimik Voskresensk dropped out after struggling in the previous season. It’s place was taken by Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. The league also adopted a conference system, dividing teams into East and West and reorganizing the four divisions on geographical lines. Teams still played 56 games in regular season, but the travel was greatly reduced. The KHL also established its youth league, the MHL, encouraging its member teams to enter development rosters for under-21s.

Big-name arrivals

Jiri Hudler’s move from Detroit to Dynamo Moscow was seen as a big coup for the KHL. The Czech international, aged 25 at the time of his transfer, was an established player with the Red Wings and his decision to leave the NHL in the prime of his career highlighted the impact that the KHL was making in the hockey world. There was another unexpected KHL debutant during the season. CSKA, faced with an injury crisis among its defensemen, quickly registered veteran Vyacheslav Fetisov and on December 11 he joined the roster for a game against SKA. In total, the legendary D-man, who was club president at the time, spent eight minutes on the ice, generating world-wide media interest. CSKA lost the game 2-3.

Match abandoned!

There was a unique, and embarrassing, incident when Vityaz played Avangard in early January. Just four minutes into the game, a bench-clearing brawl broke out. Just 39 seconds later, hostilities were renewed, with players and coaches steaming in from team benches and penalty boxes alike. In total, 707 penalty minutes – a world record – were handed out and, with only four players available to play, the game had to be abandoned. The KHL awarded both teams a 0-5 defeat, suspended seven players and imposed 5.9 million rubles ($191,000) in fines. The incident also contributed to Darcy Verot’s career PIM tally of over 1,000 in Russian hockey.

Olympic medals for four KHLers

Russia, as back-to-back World Champion, went to the 2010 Olympics with high hopes of success in Vancouver. It wasn’t to be. A heavy defeat in the quarter-finals against host nation Canada kept the Russians off the podium. The KHL was well represented at the Games, with 63 players from the league getting a call-up from their respective nations. Belarus and Latvia, with 19 and 17 players, relied most heavily on KHL talent. Four players – Lasse Kukkonen (Avangard), Jarkko Immonen and Niko Kapanen (both Ak Bars) and Ville Peltonen (Dinamo Minsk) – won bronze medals with team Finland.

On the ice

The first ever Opening Cup got the season underway in Kazan with a rematch of the previous year’s final. Once again, it was tight; once again Ak Bars won. This time it finished 3-2 in overtime, Alexei Morozov grabbed the game-winning goal with nine seconds to play.
In regular season play, Salavat Yulaev came out on top again, seven points clear of Western Conference leader SKA St. Petersburg. Alexander Radulov led the scoring with 63 points, with Patrick Thoresen and Sergei Zinovyev making big contributions. Again, though, the leading scorer for the season was Sergei Mozyakin (27+39=66 points).
HC MVD, an unfancied team from the Moscow Region town of Balashikha, was the surprise package. Under the guidance of young head coach Oleg Znarok, best known at that time for his efforts with Team Latvia, MVD came second in the Western Conference despite a decidedly un-stellar roster.
That form continued into the playoffs: a sweep of CSKA in round one was followed with a 4-1 win over Dinamo Riga in the second phase. In the Conference Final, MVD faced last year’s runner-up, Lokomotiv. Midway through the series, back-to-back thrashings, 1-6 and 0-4, seemed to have Znarok’s men on the brink of defeat. But they rallied bravely to win the final two games and claim a 4-3 series win.
On to a Gagarin Cup final showdown with might Ak Bars and again MVD showed the kind of grit and character associated with a Znarok team. Down 0-2 in the series after two games on home ice, the team responded with two road wins in Kazan and forged ahead in when Roman Derlyuk’s third-period goal secured a 3-2 win back in Balashikha. The dream was alive, but Ak Bars proved ruthless in the closing games: a 7-1 romp in Kazan was followed by a 2-0 win in the decider. Petri Vehanen’s shut-out was a fitting end to a fine season from the Finn, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov coached his team to a second successive title.

KHL - Season 1 Review

Breaking down borders
From day one, the KHL aimed to take the game outside of Russia. Famous names from the Soviet era – Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Riga – came back for the first time since the end of the short-lived International Hockey League of the early 1990s. In recognition of Kazakhstan’s proud hockey tradition, Barys Astana joined the league.

Moscow calling

The new-look league had a strong Moscow accent. As well as CSKA, Dynamo and Spartak in the capital itself, there were four teams from the surrounding Moscow Region. Vityaz is still competing, although it has moved from Chekhov to Podolsk, while the newly-renamed Atlant (based in Mytishchi) joined MVD (relocated into Balashikha) and Khimik (the top team of the prominent hockey program in Voskresensk). Khimik played just one season, MVD managed two and Atlant dropped out in 2014.

Big-name arrivals

A new league demanded new stars, and the promise of big budgets encouraged the KHL’s top clubs to aim high. A batch of high-profile signings arrived from the NHL – Alexander Radulov’s move to Salavat Yulaev was the most controversial, Jaromir Jagr’s return to Avangard outside of a lock-out season was perhaps the biggest coup. Canadian goalie Ray Emery was the biggest-name North American player to head East, signing a reported $2 million contract with Atlant barely a year after backstopping Ottawa’s run to the Stanley Cup finals.

Tragedy and troubles

It wasn’t all plain sailing. A game between Vityaz and Avangard ended in tragedy when young Avangard forward Alexei Cherepanov collapsed on the bench and died in hospital the following day. Subsequent studies found that the 19-year-old was suffering from a heart condition that should have prevented him from playing pro hockey. The league handed out punishments to members of the Avangard medical staff, for failing to pick up and treat their player’s condition, and to the arena management in Chekhov for failing to provide the necessary emergency medical aid.
The season also coincided with a global financial crisis that put pressure on the value of the ruble and caused several clubs to struggle with money problems. It was the first and last time that the league’s four divisions were not organized on a geographical basis.

Red Square gala

The KHL’s first All-Star game turned into an iconic event. A challenge match between Team Jagr and Team Yashin pitted Russia’s leading players against the league’s best imports … and the venue was an open-air rink on Moscow’s Red Square.
Beneath the Kremlin Walls, the teams played out an exciting game, with Jagr’s international All-Stars claiming a 7-6 verdict.

On the ice

The regular season was dominated by Salavat Yulaev. Alexander Radulov showed why he was a sought-after property, contributing 42 points. There were even bigger contributions from Alexei Tereshchenko and Alexander Perezhogin as the team blasted 203 goals in 56 games to top the regular season table, seven points clear of Ak Bars. Nobody from Ufa could top the scoring charts, though. That honor, slightly surprisingly, went to a relatively unheralded forward from Atlant. His name was Sergei Mozyakin, he posted 34+42=76 points and the KHL would hear much more about him in years to come.
Salavat’s scoring form didn’t help much in the playoffs, though. Avangard, struggling to cope with the death of Cherepanov, limped into post-season in 16^th place … and duly beat the top seed in round one! The Omsk men then pushed Ak Bars all the way in round two, eventually losing 2-3 in the best-of-five series.
Ak Bars, powered by Alexei Morozov and Danis Zaripov, made it through to the inaugural Gagarin Cup Final, where it faced a Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team backstopped through the playoffs by five shut-outs from Georgi Gelashvili. Loko also boasted the talents of Alexei Yashin up front, another big-name NHLer who had returned to his homeland.
Lokomotiv began the series at express pace: two goals from Zbenek Irgl earned a 3-0 win in the opener in Kazan; 14 minutes into game two the Railwaymen led 3-0 once again. Ak Bars battled back, tying it in the 59^th minute thanks to Ilya Nikulin and winning in overtime on Andrei Pervyshin’s goal. In Yaroslavl, the teams traded victories again but when Josef Vasicek gave Loko a 3-2 win in Kazan and a 3-2 lead in the series, the cup seemed to be heading to Yaroslavl. It took overtime to separate the teams at Arena 2000, with Danis Zaripov getting the tying goal to keep Ak Bars in the contest before Jukka Hentunen struck 68 seconds into the extras to set up a game seven decider.
Fittingly, Alexei Morozov got the only goal of that game with just under 10 minutes left to play. The captain of Ak Bars and Russia delivered the season’s decisive blow and delivered the first ever Gagarin Cup to Kazan.

KHL - Pre Season Round Up Part 1

Enroth arrives, Anisin returns
Jhonas Enroth, an Olympic silver medallist with Sweden in Sochi, is all set to spend this Olympic season in the KHL. The goalie several seasons in the NHL, mostly at Buffalo but also in a stint as Jonathan Quick’s back-up in LA and short spells in Dallas and Toronto. Now 29, his greatest international success came not in Sochi but in his home town of Stockholm, where he backstopped Sweden to World Championship glory in 2013. That earned him a trip to the Olympics, but he did not make it onto the ice in Sochi as Henrik Lundqvist played the entire tournament for the Tre Kronor.
Mikhail Anisin, whose goal rush in the 2012 playoffs fired Dynamo Moscow to Gagarin Cup glory, is back with the Blue-and-Whites. Anisin, now 29, had 14 goals and 19 points from 21 games in Dynamo’s title run, but struggled to live up to his potential after that. Leaving Dynamo midway through the following season, he had spells at Severstal, Neftekhimik, Donbass, Sochi and Metallurg Novokuznetsk before finishing last season in the VHL at Saryarka Karaganda of Kazakhstan. Now he will be hoping that a return to the scene of his greatest achievements can help him maximize his undoubted abilities on a regular basis.
There was also confirmation that Ilya Kovalchuk was staying at SKA and news that 2014 Gagarin Cup winner Francis Pare was heading to Avtomobilist.

Fixtures unveiled

With little over a month to go until the Opening Cup curtain-raiser, the KHL officially unveiled the 2017-18 fixtures last week.
The season opens with that SKA-CSKA showdown on Aug. 21 in St. Petersburg, and the regular season action continues in relentless fashion from then on. Despite the demands of an Olympic year, the KHL has managed to squeeze in 145 game days out of a possible 193, ensuring that the 27 teams in the 10^th season of competition will complete their 56-game regular season programs by March 1.
Dates to look out for in the opening month of the season include:
Aug. 22: two big coaching debuts as Mike Keenan’s Kunlun Red Star and Erkka Westerlund’s Salavat Yulaev start their seasons. Kunlun travels to Sochi while Salavat entertains Admiral;
Aug. 25: the first Moscow derby of the season sees Dynamo entertain CSKA. It’s likely to be a big night for Mat Robinson, the D-man who moved from the Blue-and-Whites to the Army Men over the summer;
Sep. 7: as usual, Russian hockey pauses to remember the victims of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster of Sep. 7, 2011;
Sep. 9: Jokerit travels to Beijing for the first game since the Finnish team agreed to help promote hockey in China;
Sep. 15: SKA entertains Metallurg Magnitogorsk in a re-run of last year’s Gagarin Cup Final.

SKA - CSKA

Belgibayev opens the scoring

Barys Astana was the first team to get out on the ice this year, beginning its pre-season program with a friendly against Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk. Incoming head coach Evgeny Koreshkov took the opportunity to assess the depth of his organization, calling on several players from the youth team and farm club; the experienced Marty St. Pierre and Nigel Dawes are on their way back to Kazakhstan, negotiations with Kevin Dallman continue.
Against that backdrop, a youthful Barys team suffered a 2-6 reverse against last season’s VHL Bratin Cup finalists, but Nursultan Belgibayev claimed the honor of the first goal by a KHL player in the 2017-18 campaign. Koreshkov felt that the early work-out delivered some positives, but added that mid-July was far too soon to reach any conclusions about the shape of his team this season.

Barys

FRIDAY 14/07 Strictly, the first practice match involving a KHL club took place during the previous week, in Kazakhstan, when Torpedo of Ust-Kamenogorsk hosted Barys. The hosts beat the men from the capital 6-2, but we should note that most of the Astana players were from the Snow Leopards youth team or the Nomad farm club.

TUESDAY 18/07

Four days later, and around 2,500 miles to the West, we had our first all-KHL clash of the preseason, when the Pajulahti Sports Complex in Finland played host to a meeting between Traktor and Neftekhimik. Chelyabinsk boss Anvar Gatiyatulin fielded three full lines of youngsters, with the purpose, in his own words, of “giving them a taste of hockey at KHL level.”
The plan seemed a good one when home-grown forward Artyom Penkovsky fired Traktor ahead, but Neftekhimik, captained by former Chelyabinsk defenseman Oleg Piganovich, hit back with goals from Hanzl, Volgin, Sergeyev, Ogurtsov and Rau to seal an impressive 5-1 win for Andrei Nazarov’s men, who surely deserve the Performance of the Week title.
Meanwhile, in Central Europe, the new-look Kunlun Red Star team took a long bus journey from its camp in Switzerland to play a friendly in the Austrian town of Sankt Pölten, against a team assembled from players plying their trade in the local and German leagues, and boasting the grand title of Stars of Lower Austria. It was Mike Keenan’s Red Stars who were in the ascendancy, however, as a double from Rudi Ying, plus additional goals from Yuen, Jaw, Wong, Bellemore, Werek and Lyuduchin, gave the Chinese team an emphatic 8-0 victory.

Rudy Ying

WEDNESDAY 19/07

Slovan head coach Milos Riha was in his native Czech Republic to watch his Bratislava Boys taken on local side Dynamo Pardubice in the first of two games on successive days. It was not an entirely joyful homecoming for the coach, who saw his team go into the first interval trailing 0-1 and then endured a second period in which neither side could trouble the scoreboard operator further. Slovan’s spirits were lifted in the third period with a goal from Boris Sadecky, but the optimism was short-lived and the home side triumphed 2-1 via the shootout.

THURSDAY 20/07

Following Wednesday’s loss, the scene was set for “Riha’s Revenge” and similar post-rematch headlines, but unfortunately for the Slovaks, the previous day’s defeat was repeated and not avenged. The final score: Dynamo Pardubice 5-2 Slovan Bratislava.
There was some consolation for Milos Riha in the fact that he sent on an experimental side, and goals from Sloboda (to make the score 1-2) and Hrnka(2-3) kept the team in contention going into the second interval, but the Eagles allowed two unanswered goals in the final stanza to give the coach plenty on which to ponder.
It was a happier day for new Ugra head coach Igor Zakharkin in Belarus, as he saw his team fight back to overcome a two-goal deficit and seal a thrilling win over Neman Grodno via the shootout.
The Khanty-Mansiysk boss, who endured a turbulent 2016-17 season at Salavat Yulaev and would no doubt wish for as smooth a preseason as possible, saw his new team take a 7th-minute lead with a powerplay goal from Ivan Lekomtsev, but the Belarusians replied with three goals – two short-handed and one in powerplay – in a lively second period. However, Ugra’s stirring fightback began within 30 seconds of going 1-3 down.  Konstantin Panov halved the deficit, Vitaly Shulakov leveled the score with 10 minutes of regulation remaining, and Andrei Ankudinov clinched a 4-3 win in the shootout.
After the game, Igor Zakharkin was full of praise for his players, but sounded a note of caution:
“What pleased me most about the team today was the movement and the desire, and I could see that some of the tactical work we’ve been doing over the last two weeks was put to good use on the ice. However, I did not like the fact that we spurned a lot of the scoring chances we created. When you play in the KHL, if you don’t convert such chances into goals, you get punished.”
There were no games on Friday, but the preseason campaign picks up pace next week with no fewer than 18 matches scheduled over the coming seven days.

SATURDAY 22/07 HC Sochi – Neftekhimik – 5-2
Four days after opening the preseason with a resounding 5-1 win over Traktor, Andrei Nazarov‘s Neftekhimik found itself on the receiving end of a similar beating from HC Sochi at the Pajulahti Sports Complex in Finland.
Both these clubs had a disappointing 2016-17, and as a result, both have made significant changes to the roster over the summer. However, the men from the Black Sea went one step further and brought in a new head coach, and the man chosen to lead the Olympic City team is an Olympic gold medalist, legendary defenseman and two-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Zubov.
The former Rangers, Penguins, Stars, SKA and CSKA man turned 47 on Saturday, and maybe it was eagerness to give the new boss a happy birthday that motivated the men from Sochi to make a flying start to this friendly match. Whatever the reason, a mere three-and-a-half minutes into the game the Southerners had stormed into a 2-0 lead, thanks to powerplay goals from the USA’s Casey Wellman and Canada’s Sean Collins.
That is the way it stayed until late in the second period, when Neftekhimik‘s new American import Chad Rau replied with a powerplay goal, but 90 seconds later, Canada’s Eric O'Dell restored Sochi’s two-goal advantage with a penalty shot. The match became a contest again midway through the final session, when American Dan Sexton made it Sochi 3 Neftekhimik 2 (and USA 3 Canada 2), but then the Russians took over. Svyatoslav Grebenshchikov made it 4-2 just 50 seconds after Sexton’s strike, and in the dying minutes, Pavel Padakin‘s empty netter sealed a 5-2 win.
Afterwards, Sergei Zubov summed up his first game in charge:
“I wouldn’t say the two early goals set the tone of the game. Yes, we earned the powerplays and managed to make them count, but then our opponents seized the initiative and put us under concerted pressure… In all, it was a tough game for us, and there were times when the opposition showed better movement, but we took our chances, played well in defense, and put in some fine work in our own zone, and that brought us the victory.”

SUNDAY 23/07
Lokomotiv Severstal 3-2 SO
On Thursday the 27th, the Pajulahti Sports Complex in Finland will welcome another KHL team, Alexander Gulyavtsev‘s Severstal, while on Tuesday the 25th, Alex Kudashov‘s Lokomotiv sets off for Belarus to play in a tournament dedicated to Minsk’s 950th birthday. Before packing their bags, however, the two teams met for an unscheduled practice match in Yaroslavl. The game had an unconventional format, with four 20-minute periods, two rosters each (one for the first two periods and another for the final two), for technical reasons, no spectators.
Neither side managed to score in the opening 20 minutes, but Lokomotiv’s Maxime Talbot struck twice in the second period (echoes of the deciding seventh game in the 2009 Stanley Cup final) before Daniil Vovchenko and Dmitry Kagarlitsky swiftly pulled the Cherepovets men level.
The second rosters failed to trouble the scoreboard throughout the third and fourth periods, and it was left to 10-year-old Artur Kayumov to seal victory for Lokomotiv in the shootout.

Ugra - Neman Grodno 2-3

Meanwhile, in Belarus, Ugra faced off against local side Neman Grodno for the second time in four days.  On Thursday, Igor Zakharkin‘s Khanty-Mansiysk Men achieved a narrow 4-3 victory via the shootout, but on Sunday, the Belarusians exacted revenge.
Unlike in Yaroslavl, this match had the usual three periods, but it more resembled the “game of two halves” of soccer folklore. Kirill Belyayev opened the scoring in the final minute of the first period, and six minutes into the second, Evgeny Skachkov doubled Ugra’s lead. The visitors faded after the halfway mark, however, and Neman Grodno hit three unanswered goals to seal a 3-2 win in regulation.
Ugra head coach Igor Zakharkin decided to focus on the positives:
“We performed better today than we did in Thursday’s game. I saw the players produce much better combination play and much better understanding, despite my having changed the lines… The main thing is that we have now seen all the players in the roster.”

Dynamo eyes recovery It’s been a difficult summer for Dynamo Moscow. Changes in the management structure at Russia’s oldest club resulted in almost every player becoming an unrestricted free agent, with many influential figures leaving the club. The pre-season preparations were abruptly amended; the traditional summer camp in Pinsk, Belarus, was cancelled and all activity was moved to Moscow.
But now the Blue-and-Whites believe that the worst is over, and they are ready to compete next season. At an open training session last week, incoming head coach Vladimir Vorobyov and summer signing Mikhail Anisin spoke about their hopes for the coming campaign.
Anisin is back for a second spell at Dynamo after his blistering form in the 2012 playoffs helped then head coach Oleg Znarok to win his first Gagarin Cup. Back then, the hockey world was at his feet, but the dynamic forward seemed to trip over, stumbling from club to club in search of his best form. The prospect of a return was a no-brainer, he explained … and he’s determined to deliver the goods.
“The first time I came back to [Dynamo’s base at] Novogorsk, I felt like I was back in my first home,” the forward said. “I didn’t need to think about the offer, it all happened really quickly and there were never any problems.
“In my last 20 games, I’ve only managed two assists. Of course, that’s on me. There’s no point trying to look at other people. I needed to learn from my mistakes; I think I’ve done that and going forward we’ll see the results.”

Mikhail Anisin

Vorobyov, meanwhile, insists that the team-building process is still on-going, despite celebrating the signings of Juuso Hietanen, Gleb Koryagin and former Barys star Dustin Boyd. He’s looking to reach an agreement with Alexei Tereshchenko, one of the team’s leaders last season, and was bullish about his team’s prospects in the coming season, despite Dynamo’s difficult summer.
“If you don’t aim high, why bother?” he said. “We’ll battle, we’ll take it seriously. We have good goalie, a reliable defense. I think we’ll need some work on offense to get a good mix of youth and experience but things are already better than they were a couple of months ago.”

All-star logo unveiled

Six months ahead of the 2018 All-Star Week, the KHL and the event organizers in Astana, Kazakhstan, have unveiled the logo for the big event. The design, inspired by the blue and yellow national colors of Kazakhstan, incorporates the contemporary skyline of Astana – one of Asia’s most modern cities – within the outlines of the yurt, the traditional dwelling of the ancient nomads of the Kazakh steppe. 

Hudacek’s Olympic hopes

Slovak goalie Julius Hudacek only managed one appearance in his previous stint in the KHL. That was with Sibir in 2013, where things just didn’t work out for him. Now, though, the netminder is back in the league, replacing Jakub Kovar at Severstal.
In an exclusive interview with KHL.ru last week, the Slovak international explained why moving from Orebro to Cherepovets can help him forge into his country’s Olympic roster. He also spoke about the exciting challenge of playing in “the best league in Europe” … and hinted at some new high jinks in his famous post-game ‘Huda-show’. 

Julius Hudacek

Slovan rebuilds its roster

In Hudacek’s homeland, Slovan Bratislava confirmed its first signings of the summer. Milos Riha snapped up three names familiar to KHL followers, bringing Jakub Stepanek, Ivan Svarny and Juraj Mikus back to the KHL.
Goalie Stepanek, best known for spells with SKA and Severstal, joins from Lukko, in the Finnish League. Mikus, who once played on the same team as his namesake at Lev, is back for a second stint in Bratislava after also appearing for Lokomotiv. He spent last season with Olomouc in the Czech Republic. Finally, defenseman Svarny makes a swift return to Slovan after leaving towards the end of last season for Karpat in Finland.
Slovan also began its pre-season practice games, but suffered defeats in its two outings against Dynamo Pardubice.

Jakub Stepanek

Mixed fortunes for veteran coaches

For Igor Zakharkin, a coach who once ruled the hockey world in tandem with Vyacheslav Bykov at the helm of Team Russia, a pre-season scrimmage in provincial Belarus might seem a little tame. Having left Salavat Yulaev at the end of last season, Zakharkin is now with Ugra. From the outside, it may seem like a modest position, but Zakharkin is still demanding total commitment from his players, even in a warm-up game.
At Neman Grodno, the Belarusian champion, he saw his team recover a two-goal deficit to tie the game and win in a shoot-out. Immediately, he urged his charges to do more. “I could see that some of the tactical work we’ve been doing over the last two weeks was put to good use on the ice. However, I did not like the fact that we spurned a lot of the scoring chances we created. When you play in the KHL, if you don’t convert such chances into goals, you get punished.”
Mike Keenan, meanwhile, had no such worries after his first game with Kunlun Red Star. Up against a Select roster of players from the Austrian and German leagues, he saw the Chinese team romp to an 8-0 victory. There was a strong Chinese accent to the scoring as well, with two goals from Rudi Ying and further markers from Zach Yuen, Jaw, Brandon Wong, Brett Bellemore, Ethan Werek and Roman Lyuduchin.

Mike Keenan

The anti-doping program in the KHL Championship 2016-17 season was conducted jointly with the IIHF and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in accordance with the SportAccord Convention – DFSU (Doping Free Sport Unit), and other international agencies accredited by WADA and concerned with the collection of tests and laboratory analysis of results. A total of 377 tests were conducted during the 2016-17 Championship.

The IIHF has informed the KHL that three players - forward Danis Zaripov (then with Metallurg Magnitogorsk), defenseman Andrei Konev (Admiral Vladivostok) and defenseman Derek Smith (Medvescak Zagreb) - have tested positive for banned substances.

Derek Smith tested positive for a category S6.а stimulant.

Andrei Konev tested positive for a category S6.b stimulant.

Danis Zaripov tested positive for a category S6.b stimulant plus category S5 diuretics and masking agents.

On the 21st of July, 2017, having investigated all the available evidence related to the case outlined above,  the IIHF Disciplinary Committee ruled that Danis Zaripov should be banned from competitive hockey until  the 22nd of May,  2019; that Andrei Konev should be banned until the 19th of November, 2017; and that Derek Smith should be banned until the 2nd of September, 2018.

The Kontinental Hockey League has formally excluded all three players from paricipation in the Championship for the terms set down by the IIHF Disciplinary Committee.

KHL - Pre-Season Schedule

Key to abbreviations:
FM – Friendly Match,
MNC – Minsk Cup,
NGC – Nizhny Novgorod Governor’s Cup,
SHO - Sochi Hockey Open,
PKC – President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Cup,
HAT - Hockeyades Tournament,
WGC - Wingas Cup,
IRM – Ivan Romazan Memorial Tournament,
LRC – Latvian Railways Cup,
NPT – Nikolai Puchkov Tournament,
RBC – Republic of Bashkortostan Cup,
VBM – Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament,
MMC – Mayor of Moscow Cup,
BDC - Bodensee Cup.
Venues are shown in brackets. 

18 July, Tuesday
FM Traktor – Neftekhimik (Pajulahti, Finland)

19 July, Wednesday
FM Slovan – Dynamo Pardubice (Pardubice)

20 July, Thursday
FM Slovan – Dynamo Pardubice (Pardubice)
FM Ugra – Neman Grodno (Belarus)

22 July, Saturday
FM HC Sochi – Neftekhimik (Finland)

23 July, Sunday
FM Ugra – Neman Grodno (Belarus)

24 July, Monday

25 July, Tuesday
FM HC Sochi – Traktor (Pajulahti, Finland)

26 July, Wednesday
MNC 15:00 Lokomotiv – Dinamo Riga, 19:00 Dinamo Minsk – Dinamo Мoscow
FM Neftyanik Almetyevsk – Ak Bars (Almetyevsk)
FM Traktor – Salavat Yulaev (Pajulahti, Finland)

27 July, Thursday
MNC 15:00 Yunost – Dinamo Minsk, 19:00 Ugra – Lokomotiv
FM Slovan – Torpedo (Maribor)
FM 18:00 Vityaz – Avangard (Fussen, Germany)
FM Sibir – opponent to be confirmed (Novosibirsk)

28 July, Friday
MNC 15:00 Dinamo Riga – Ugra, 19:00 Yunost – Dynamo Moscow
FM Jokerit – Kunlun Red Star (Espoo, Finland)
FM Ak Bars – Neftekhimik (Kazan)
FM Traktor – Severstal (Pajulahti, Finland)
FM Barys – HC Almaty (Almaty)

29 July, Saturday
MNC 11:30 Match for 5th place, 15:30 Match for 3rd place , 19:30 Final
FM Vityaz – Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany)
FM HC Sochi – Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Sochi)
FM 17:00 CSKA – Sibir (CSKA)
FM 18:00 Avangard – Italy (Fussen, Germany)

30 July, Sunday
FM 12:30 CSKA – Sibir (CSKA)
FM Kunlun Red Star – Severstal
FM 14:00 Yunost Minsk – Lokomotiv (Minsk)

31 July, Monday
FM Vityaz – Italy (Brixen, Italy)

1 August, Tuesday
NGC 12:00 Ak Bars – Avtomobilist, 15:00 Spartak - Metallurg Novokuznetsk, 19:00 Torpedo - Salavat Yulaev
FM Vityaz – Italy (Brixen, Italy)

2 August, Wednesday
NGC 15:00 Metallurg Novokuznetsk– Avtomobilist, 19:00 Torpedo - Ak Bars
FM 19:00 Lokomotiv – Amur (Yaroslavl)
FM Sibir – Jokerit (Valkeakoski, Finland)
FM Slovan – Zlin (Bratislava)

3 August, Thursday
NGC 15:00 Ak Bars - Salavat Yulaev, 19:00 Avtomobilist - Spartak
FM Slovan – Kometa Brno (Brno)

4 August, Friday
NGC 15:00 Salavat Yulaev – Spartak, 19:00 Torpedo - Metallurg Novokuznetsk
FM 13:00 Lokomotiv – Amur (Yaroslavl)
FM 19:00 CSKA – Langnau (Switzerland)

5 August, Saturday
NGC 15:00 Metallurg Novokuznetsk- Ak Bars, 19:00 Salavat Yulaev - Avtomobilist
SHO 13:00 Kunlun Red Star – SKA, 17:30 Russia Olympic team – HC Sochi

6 August, Sunday
NGC 15:00 Ak Bars – Spartak, 19:00 Torpedo - Avtomobilist
PKC 12:30 Neftekhimik – Traktor, 15:30 Avangard – Admiral, 19:30 Barys - Davos
SHO 13:00 HC Sochi – Canada, 17:30 SKA – Metallurg Magnitogorsk

7 August, Monday
NGC 13:00 Metallurg Novokuznetsk- Salavat Yulaev, 19:00 Torpedo - Spartak
PKC 15:30 Avangard – Traktor, 19:30 Barys - Neftekhimik
SHO 13:30 Kunlun Red Star – Metallurg Magnitogorsk, 18:00 Russia Olympic team – Canada
HAT 19:30 CSKA – Geneva-Servette 
FM HPK – Sibir (Valkeakoski, Finland)

8 August, Tuesday
PKC 15:30 Neftekhimik – Davos, 19:00 Traktor – Admiral WGC, 16:00 Slovan – Dinamo Riga, 20:00 Kassel – Vityaz
SHO 19:30 Match for 5th place (3rd in Group А – 3^rd in Group В)
HAT 20:30 CSKA – Lausanne
FM 13:00 Dynamo Moscow – Amur (Moscow, VTB Ice Palace)
FM Jokerit – Sibir (Tikkurila, Finland)

9 August, Wednesday
PKC 15:30 Davos – Admiral, 19:30 Barys – Avangard
WGC 16:00 Vityaz – Dinamo Riga, 20:00 Kassel – Slovan
SHO 15:00 Match for 3rd place (2nd in Group А – 2nd in Group В), 19:30 Final (winner of Group А – winner of Group В)
HAT 19:30 CSKA – Langnau

10 August, Thursday
PKC 15:30 Avangard – Neftekhimik, 19:30 Davos – Traktor
WGC 14:30 Slovan – Vityaz, 19:00 Kassel – Dinamo Riga

11 August, Friday
PKC 15:30 Neftekhimik – Admiral, 19:30 Barys – Traktor
FM 13:00 Dynamo Moscow – Amur (Moscow, VTB Ice Palace)

12 August, Saturday
PKC 13:00 Avangard – Davos, 17:00 Barys – Admiral
IRM 15:00 Sibir – Kunlun Red Star, 19:00 Metallurg Magnitogorsk– Traktor
FM Spartak – Khimik Voskresensk (Voskresensk)

13 August, Sunday
LRC 15:30 Ak Bars – Lokomotiv, 19:30 Dinamo Riga – Dinamo Minsk

14 August, Monday
IRM 15:00 Traktor – Sibir, 19:00 Metallurg Magnitogorsk– Kunlun Red Star
LRC 15:30 Lokomotiv – Dinamo Minsk, 19:30 Dinamo Riga – Ak Bars
NPT

15 August, Tuesday
IRM 15:00 Kunlun Red Star – Traktor, 19:00 Sibir – Metallurg Magnitogorsk
VBM 15:00 Amur – Avtomobilist, 19:00 Avangard – Ugra
MMC 15:30 Dynamo Moscow – Vityaz, 19:15 Spartak - CSKA
RBC 15:00 Neftekhimik – Lada, 19:00 Salavat Yulaev - Admiral
NPT
FM Slovan – Kometa Brno (Bratislava)

16 August, Wednesday
LRC 15:30 Dinamo Minsk – Ak Bars, 19:30 Dinamo Riga – Lokomotiv
VBM 15:00 Barys – Ugra, 19:00 Avangard - Amur
RBC 15:00 Lada – Admiral, 19:00 Salavat Yulaev - Neftekhimik
NPT

17 August, Thursday
LRC 15:30 3rd place playoff or Final, 19:30 3rd place playoff or Final
VBM 15:00 Avtomobilist – Barys, 19:00 Amur – Ugra
MMC 16:00 Vityaz – CSKA, 19:15 Dynamo Moscow - Spartak
NPT
FM Slovan – HC'05 Banska Bystrica (Banska Bystrica)

18 August, Friday
VBM 15:00 Barys – Amur, 19:00 Avtomobilist – Avangard
MMC 16:00 Spartak – Vityaz, 19:15 CSKA – Dynamo Moscow
RBC 15:00 Admiral – Neftekhimik, 19:00 Salavat Yulaev - Lada
BDC 19:00 Thurgau – Torpedo

19 August, Saturday
VBM 13:00 Ugra – Avtomobilist, 17:00 Avangard - Barys
BDC 15:00 Schwenninger Wild Wings - Torpedo