KHL - Round Up - October 23-31, 2017

Every athlete dreams of the chance to be the very best … and in Olympic year those dreams gain extra weight. As the first international break of the season beckons, the focus shifts to those hoping for a trip to Korea in February. Canada and Team USA both announced their rosters for the upcoming warm-up tournaments, and both named plenty of KHL players.
Next year’s Olympics might be a little early for Slovakian prospect Boris Sadecky, but the 20-year-old Slovan forward highlighted his potential with his first ever KHL goal … and what a goal it was!

Trans-Atlantic call-ups

With no NHL players heading to this season’s Winter Olympics, the KHL’s North American contingent is in with a great chance of representing Canada and the USA in Korea next year. Both nations are stepping up their preparations in November, with the Canadians sending a team to the Karjala Cup and the Americans going to the Deutschland Cup. And a total of 24 KHL players will be involved in the two tournaments.


Canada selected 16 KHLers last week, and the number increased to 17 when Chris Lee confirmed his return to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Kunlun Red Star is the most visible club, with four players called up for the tournament in Finland.
The full list of Canadian KHLers is: Ben Scrivens (Salavat Yulaev); Jesse Blacker, Geoff Kinrade (both Kunlun), Simon Despres (Slovan), Chay Genoway (Lada), Chris Lee (Metallurg), Mat Robinson (CSKA), Karl Stollery (Dinamo Riga); Gilbert Brule, Wojtek Wolski (Kunlun), Matt Ellison (Metallurg), Quinton Howden (Dinamo Minsk), Rob Klinkhammer (Ak Bars), Brandon Kozun (Lokomotiv), Matt Frattin, Linden Vey (both Barys) and Eric O’Dell (Sochi).


USA has seven current KHLers heading to Augsberg, including four from Jokerit Helsinki. Goalie Ryan Zapolski, D-men Mike Lundin and Matt Gilroy and forward Brian O’Neill all make the trip from Helsinki, while defenseman Jonathon Blum (Admiral and forwards Dan Sexton (Neftekhimik) and Ryan Stoa (Spartak) are also in the party.


Finland Jokerit's teenage sensation Eeli Tolvanen is one of 14 players from the KHL selected by Team Finland for the Karjala Cup, the first stage of the Eurotour. The Finns will host matches against Russia, Sweden and Canada in the tournament, which runs from the 8th to the 12th of November. Goaltenders: Eero Kilpelainen, Orebro HK (SHL); Mikko Koskinen, SKA; Joni Ortio, Skelleftea AIK (SHL);
Defense: Miro Heiskanen, HIFK (Liiga); Jyrki Jokipakka, HC Sochi; Miika Koivisto, Karpat (Liiga); Lasse Kukkonen, Karpat (Liiga); Ville Lajunen, Spartak; Mikko Lehtonen, Tappara (Liiga); Sami Lepisto, Jokerit; Niko Mikkola, Tappara (Liiga); Atte Ohtamaa, Ak Bars; Jesse Virtanen, Farjestad BK (SHL);
Forwards: Marko Anttila, Jokerit; Antti Erkinjuntti, SCL Tigers (NLA); Teemu Hartikainen, Salavat Yulaev; Julius Junttila, Karpat (Liiga); Joonas Kemppainen, Salavat Yulaev; Petri Kontiola, Lokomotiv; Jarno Koskiranta, SKA; Jani Lajunen, HC Lugano (NLA); Sakari Manninen, Orebro HK (SHL); Mika Niemi, Jokerit; Jukka Peltola, Tappara (Liiga); Antti Pihlstrom, Jokerit; Mika Pyorala, SC Bern (NLA); Veli-Matti Savinainen, Ugra; Eeli Tolvanen, Jokerit.




Sweden Avangard's Linus Omark, Dennis Everberg, Erik Gustafsson and Jonas Ahnelov are among 11 Kontinental Hockey League players selected for Team Sweden's roster for the forthcoming Karjala Cup. The Swedes will face off against the Czech Republic, Canada, and the hosts, Finland, in the tournament, which runs from the 8th to the 12th of November.
Goaltenders: Jhonas Enroth, Dinamo Minsk; Magnus Hellberg, Kunlun Red Star; Linus Soderstrom, HV71 (SHL);
Defense: Simon Bertilsson, Brynas (SHL); Staffan Kronwall, Lokomotiv; Mikael Wikstrand, Farjestad (SHL); Patrik Hersley, SKA; Johan Fransson, Geneve-Servette (NLA); Rasmus Dahlin, Frolunda (SHL); Erik Gustafsson, Avangard; Magnus Nygren, Davos (NLA); Jonas Ahnelov, Avangard;
Forwards: Patrick Cehlin, Lulea (SHL); Robert Nilsson, ZSC Lions (NLA); Joakim Lindstrom, Skelleftea (SHL); Fredrik Pettersson, ZSC Lions (NLA); Par Lindholm, Skelleftea (SHL); Dick Axelsson, Farjestad (SHL); Dennis Everberg, Avangard; Andre Petersson, Avangard; John Norman, Jokerit; Oscar Moller, Skelleftea (SHL); Anton Lander, Ak Bars; Johan Ryno, Farjestad (SHL); Linus Omark, Salavat Yulaev; Joakim Andersson, Orebro (SHL). 

Announcement of the week
Sometimes, a player introduces himself in some style. Last week, Slovan’s 20-year-old forward Boris Sadecky did exactly that. It wasn’t just his first goal in the KHL, it was the manner in which he scored on Lokomotiv, showing pace, composure and skill to rip through the visitor’s defense and beat Alexander Sudnitsin. There haven’t been too many highlights in Bratislava this season, but Sadecky’s big moment was definitely one of them.


Magnitka rebuilds
The return of Chris Lee to Metallurg Magnitogorsk was the headline trade of the week in the KHL. Lee, hugely successful in his four seasons at the club, had returned to North America in the summer and had trials with the LA Kings. But the two-time Gagarin Cup winner ended up back in the KHL – and back in Team Canada’s plans ahead of the Olympics. Lee wasn’t the only new arrival. Denis Kokarev came from Salavat Yulaev, and scored on his debut in Saturday’s game at Sochi. Another forward, Andrei Chibisov, also arrived from Ak Bars as last season’s runner-up looks to perk up its performances this time around



Jokerit’s happy anniversary
Friday saw the 50^th anniversary of Jokerit’s first ever game – and the Finns celebrated with a 2-0 home victory over Dinamo Minsk. In a festive atmosphere at the Hartwell Arena, Ryan Zapolski showed the form that earned him his international call-up with a shut-out, and first-period goals from Brian O’Neill and Petteri Wirtanen secured the three points.




Croatian connections Medvescak Zagreb may no longer be playing in the KHL, but the league’s link-up with Croatia continues following the signing of Borna Rendulic. The 25-year-old forward, famous as the first Croatian born and trained hockey player to make the NHL, joined Vityaz after a stint with Pelicans in Finland. Rendulic, a regular in Croatia’s national team, got his first goal for his new club in Wednesday’s 2-4 defeat against SKA.





CIBC Canada Russia Series squad, Karlamov sculpture and unbeatable Spartak. JHL week in review Coaching staff of Russia U20 national team led by Valery Bragin put out the list of candidates for participation in CIBC Canada Russia Series – an annual November six match series with the national teams of Canadian junior leagues (series will start on November 6th). On October 25th in the territory of the sports Luzhniki complex the ceremonial opening of a sculpture of the famous Soviet hockey player, the forward of CSKA and USSR national team Valery Kharlamov was held. The main trophy of JHL is called by the name of Kharlamov. In eight years Kharlamov's Cup was lifted over the head by captains of six teams from five cities of Russia.
Dinamo SPb player Vladimir Mikhailaki was awarded for the help during terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg subway. Mikhailaki, 17 at the time was in the subway at the Institute of technology station and took active part in the rescue.
MHC Spartak won 13 games straight and now 2013/14 season champion is leading Western Conference with 60 points after 24 games.
Tayfun beat Kunlun Red Star Junior on Friday (4:0). In the end both teams engaged I a big brawl causing referees to give 304 penalty minutes combined.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Kirill Ustimenko (Dinamo SPb)
Best defenceman – Daniil Zhuravlyov (Irbis)
Best forward – German Voloshin (Amurskiye Tigry)

WHL week in review After the first pause in the season, the WHL returned to action this week with no fewer than five matches taking place Biryusa played twice at home in Krasnoyarsk against SKSO (Sverdlovsk Region), while Agidel of Ufa traveled to Saint Petersburg for two games against Dynamo, who then welcomed Skif (Nizhny Novgorod) to Russia's “northern capital” for a pair of matches – the hosts emerged victorious in the first encounter while the second is schedued for tomorrow. Thanks to impressive back-to-back road victories, Agidel has added six points to its account and remains on top of the standings, but this feat was matched by Biryusa, so the Krasnoyarsk outfit is still breathing down the Ufa team's neck in second place. The win over Skif by the Petersburg women was enough to put them third in the standings. After tomorrow's Dynamo-versus-Skif game, the Women's Hockey League embarks on its second mid-season break

KHL - Ak Bars Round Up - October 2017

Monday 9 - Ak Bars @ Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5-0
Vladimir Tkachyov fired a hat-trick as Ak Bars enjoyed a crushing victory at Torpedo. The Eastern Conference leader took control early. Justin Azevedo and Vasily Tokranov scored within 48 seconds of each other before the game reached the first ad break. Torpedo replaced starting goalie Ivan Lisutin with 22-year-old Nikolai Molkov, but the youngster’s second career appearance in the KHL proved to be a brief affair. Molkov had already been beaten once, only for Ak Bars’ third to be ruled out for kicking at the start of the second period. But it wasn’t long before Tkachyov opened his account for the night with a 25^th minute power play marker. That brought Lisutin back to the crease, but Tkachyov demonstrated that he had the measure of the (re)starting goalie as well, scoring in the 39^th and 60^th minutes.
Torpedo’s goal-tending problems were underlined by the shot count. Ak Bars had just 17 shots on the net, and scored five. Torpedo tested Emil Garipov 38 times, but could not beat the visiting goalie.


Wednesday 11 - Ak Bars @ Dynamo Moscow 2-3 SO



Mikhail Varnakov waited until his former club came to town before grabbing his first goals for Dynamo. The forward, who enjoyed four seasons in Kazan, struck twice in this one as the teams took it to overtime. Then he finished his day by grabbing the shoot-out winner to snap Dynamo’s four-game losing streak. Varnakov opened the scoring late in the first period, looping the puck over Emil Garipov’s grasp after Juuso Hietanen slid it into the danger zone. Then, after Vasily Tokranov tied the game early in the second, Varnakov struck again. This time, he had just emerged from the box at the right time to collect Yakov Rylov’s pass from deep in Dynamo territory. Through one-on-one with Garipov, Varnakov won the duel to reinstate his team’s lead. Ak Bars responded with a power play goal from Andrei Markov but neither team could break the deadlock without a shoot-out.

In the 58th minute the referee handed a major plus game misconduct penalty (5+20 minutes) to Kazan forward Stanislav Galiyev for spearing and injuring an opponent. After reviewing the incident, the KHL Disciplinary Committee supported the decision, and ruled that Galiyev must pay a fine and serve a one-game suspension.

Friday 13 - Ak Bars @ Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2-6
Since appointing Dmitry Kvartalnov as head coach, Lokomotiv’s fortunes have enjoyed an upswing. Friday’s victory was the third in four games under the new boss as Loko impressively defeated Eastern Conference leader Ak Bars.
The home team took an early lead when Daniil Apalkov fired home a wrist shot as Ak Bars struggled to clear after a face-off, but it was the second period that really decided the course of the game. Alexander Polunin converted Rushan Rafikov’s pass to double the lead, then Yegor Korshkov added two more as Loko jumped to a 4-0 advantage. Andrei Markov got a goal back for Ak Bars as the second intermission approached and the veteran defenseman had a helper as Mikhail Glukhov made it 2-4 after 47 minutes. For a moment, the fightback seemed to be on, but Dmitry Lugin settled home nerves when he stuffed home the rebound from Denis Alexeyev’s shot a couple of minutes later. Jakub Nakladal completed an emphatic victory with Loko’s sixth of the night.

In the 58th minute the referee handed out a major plus game misconduct penalty (5+20 minutes) to Kazan defenseman Roman Abrosimov for tripping and injuring home team defenseman Rushan Rafikov. Following the incident, during a heated exchange with a Lokomotiv player, Abrosimov shoved a linesman who was trying to diffuse the conflict. As a result, the player received a game misconduct penalty (20 minutes) for unsporting behaviour toward a match official. The KHL Disciplinary Committee has investigated the two episodes, and in each case supports the match official's decision. Such offenses are subject to additional disciplinary measures. In this case, the player receives a fine and a one-game supension for the foul on Rafikov, plus a fine and a five-game suspension for the push on the linesman. Roman Abrosimov is therefore banned for a total of six games.

Sunday 15 - Ak Bars @ SKA 3-2 OT
Vladimir Tkachyov, a player on the fringes of Russia’s national team, delivered a reminder to the country’s head coach Oleg Znarok with a game-winning performance in St. Petersburg. The 24-year-old decided this match-up of the two conference leaders with one goal in regulation and another in overtime, taking his tally for the season to 17 (11+6) points and frustrating Znarok in his other role behind the bench at SKA. His winning goal came on the power play, with Ilya Kovalchuk sitting out a holding call. Tkachyov exchanged passes with Stanislav Galiyev before letting rip with a one-timer from the top of the circle. For SKA, unbeaten in its first 20 games, that meant two losses in three, although Znarok’s team has yet to lose in regulation this season. This summit clash was a typically tight affair. Goalless for 39 minutes, the game exploded in the final minute of the second period with Tkachyov putting Ak Bars ahead only for Kovalchuk to respond immediately with a power play goal of his own. SKA then went in front early in the third when Sergei Kalinin forced home the rebound after Nikita Gusev’s attempt was saved. Fyodor Malykhin tied it up with 11 minutes of regulation  remaining
Vladimir A. Tkachyov was voted best forward of the week, the 24-year-old Russian sniper was in lethal form, ending the week with a +1, firing off 11 shots, and scoring 8 (5+3) points (more than any other player in the KHL). Tkachyov's impressive haul included a hat-trick on the road at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and a double in Saint Petersburg, where his overtime goal sealed victory for the Kazan Men over League leaders SKA

Tuesday 17 - Ak Bars @ Jokerit 1-3
Ak Bars ended Ryan Zapolski’s impressive shut-out streak after 245 minutes, 36 seconds, but Jiri Sekac’s goal was too little to deny the Finns a 15^th successive victory. By the time the Czech found a way past Zapolski, Jokerit was already 2-0 up. The opening goal came on the first power play of the night, with Matt Gilroy’s close range slap shot making it 1-0. Peter Regin’s helper on that play made it six games in a row that the Dane has been among the points. The Finns were in complete control of the early stages – the first-period shot count finished 14-2 in Jokerit’s favor – and Antti Pihlstrom soon doubled the lead.
Ak Bars improved in the middle stanza, and stepped up another gear in the third. Deep into the final session, Jokerit had yet to force a single face-off at its opponent’s end of the ice. It had also seen Sekac reduce the deficit in the 51^st minute. But Marko Anttila added a third goal for the host in the 57^th minute, securing the victory and maintaining that winning run. Could SKA’s record be overtaken so soon?



Friday 20 - Ak Bars v Traktor Chelyabinsk 7-1
Vladimir Tkachyov dominated the game as Eastern Conference leader Ak Bars thrashed Traktor in Kazan. The forward finished with two goals and two assists in his team’s 7-1 victory, and had a hand in all of Ak Bars’ first three goals. First, he had a helper as Vasily Tokranov opened the scoring in the seventh minute. A minute later, Tkachyov got his second assist as Stanislav Galiyev converted the first power play of the night. Then, in the 10^th minute, another PP ended with Tkachyov potting his first goal of the game and his 12^th of the season. That was the end of Vasily Demchenko’s evening between the piping for Traktor, but Pavel Francouz didn’t have much more fun as Ak Bars scored three more before the first intermission. Another power play saw Damir Musin make it 4-0, then Mikhail Sidorov and Nikita Yazkov added two in 13 seconds as the visitor threatened to collapse to completed. Subsequently things improved for Traktor; indeed, they could hardly have got worse. Tkachyov made it 7-0 on 24 minutes, but that was the end of the home scoring as the visitor stayed out of the box for the rest of the game. There was even a late consolation goal for Alexei Kruchinin in the third period, putting a small blot on Timur Bilyalov’s 20-minute taste of action in the Ak Bars net.
Sunday 22 - Ak Bars v Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4-0Ak Bars strengthened its position at the top of the Eastern Conference with a resounding victory over Metallurg. The visitor, blanked by Emil Garipov, missed its opportunity to make up some valuable ground in a Conference where it has been dominant in recent seasons. Recent times have also seen Ak Bars struggle to claim home victories over this old rival, with Magnitka winning the last five encounters in Kazan. This time, things were about to change. The opening session was evenly-matched, but 53 seconds before the intermission Jiri Sekac raced away on the counter-attack to give Ak Bars the lead. To make matters worse for Magnitka, young defenseman Grigory Dronov suffered an injury in the same passage of play, adding to the pressures on Metallurg’s injury-hit blue line. The middle stanza began with Vladimir Tkachyov making it 2-0 with a shot from a tight angle, and Metallurg’s hopes were fading some time before Nikita Yazkov added a third midway through the final period. Sekac wrapped up the win with a fourth goal, Garipov made 29 saves for his second shut-out of the season.



Monday 24 - Ak Bars v Avtomobilist 1-2 SO

It took a shoot-out to separate Eastern Conference leader Ak Bars and Avtomobilist, seventh at the start of play. And the verdict went to the outsider, after Avto took advantage of its late equalizer to win the game thanks to Ilya Krikunov’s decisive attempt. The game went goalless until deep in the third period: Avto had the better of the opening stanza, Ak Bars responded in kind after the intermission, but Artyom Lukoyanov’s 52^nd-minute effort finally gave the home team the lead. It wasn’t enough to win the game outright, though: Francis Pare converted a power play chance in the 56^th minute, and it was off to overtime.
Thursday 27 - Ak Bars @ Kunlun Red Star 2-1
Red Star slipped to a fourth successive defeat despite a battling performance against the Eastern Conference leader. The opening exchanges were tight, with shots on goal at a premium in the first period. The home team made a brighter start to the second, and might have gone in front when Brandon DeFazio rattled the piping after dispossessing Andrei Markov, but Ak Bars eventually broke the deadlock in the deadlock thanks to Alexander Svitov’s power play effort. Red Star tied the game through DeFazio – a goal created by Wojtek Wolski’s hustling and harrying of Albert Yarullin behind the visitor’s net – but Ak Bars claimed the win thanks to youngster Nikita Yazkov’s fourth goal of the season.


The day before the game Metallurg and Ak Bars agreed to trade forwards, with 24-year-old Andrei Chibisov moving to Magnitogorsk and Russian international Yaroslav Kosov, also 24, heading to Kazan


Saturday 29 - Ak Bars @ Admiral Vladivostok 2-0
Conference leaders Ak Bars were given a tough test in Eastern Russia with a hard-fought victory. The early action brought no goals, but there was an intense confrontation with both goalies on top form. Admiral’s Igor Bobkov even pulled off a save from Artyom Lukoyanov’s penalty shot early in the second period after Jonathon Blum was called for hooking. The deadlock was finally broken late in the middle session when Atte Ohtamaa put the visitor in front. That prompted Admiral to step up its offense in the third period, but Emil Garipov was in unbeatable form, finishing the game with 30 saves for his third shut-out of the season. Ak Bars’ day was complete in the final second when Jiri Sekac shot into an empty net to complete the win.


Monday 31 - Ak Bars @ Amur 1-3

An early goal, an opponent reduced to five defensemen after two players were ejected from the game … but Ak Bars could not manage any more than a 1-3 reverse at Amur in a Hallowe’en shock. The first period belonged the visitor. Alexander Svitov opened the scoring in the third minute, and Amur’s Denis Kuzmin was sent back to the locker room after a swipe between an opponent’s legs in the 13^th minute. But there was evidence of a ghost in the Ak Bars machine: that major penalty went unpunished, Amur got to the intermission just one goal behind. Then the nightmare began for Ak Bars. Tomas Zohorna tied the game on the power play early in the second, and Kirill Rasskazov put the home team in front shortly afterwards. Maxim Kondratyev was the second Amur player to be removed after a high hit in the 25^th minute, but once again Ak Bars was unable to convert the power play. Back at full strength, the Ushenin twins combined for Alexander Gorshkov to make it 3-1. There was no way back. Juha Metsola held Ak Bars at bay in the final stanza; Jan Kolar’s late misconduct penalty took Amur’s penalty tally to 64 minutes, but there was no power play goal for the visitor

NHL Flashback - Lindros Draft 1991

A complicated tale of three teams and two countries, the Eric Lindros case was resolved Tuesday when arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi ruled that the Philadelphia Flyers had the rights to the 19-year-old center from Canada.

At issue was whether the Flyers or the New York Rangers had secured the services of Lindros, the most promising player in hockey, from the Quebec Nordiques on June 20. The Nordiques apparently made two transactions involving Lindros in a little more than an hour the morning before the NHL's entry draft in Montreal.
The unprecedented dispute came before Bertuzzi, a Toronto lawyer. After the draft, Bertuzzi held a five-day hearing involving the three parties. He called 11 witnesses, Lindros among them. He reviewed 400 pages of handwritten notes during the weekend and issued an eight-page ruling, notifying the three teams of his decision during a conference call Tuesday morning.
"When I finished reading the decision to them, it was so silent I thought I was cut off," Bertuzzi said. "It was the conclusion of 10 difficult days. I wasn't about to ask if they had anything to say."

The silence didn't last in Philadelphia. A small group of Flyer front-office staff started screaming when Bertuzzi announced his decision.

"I really believed we were going to win," said Jay Snider, Flyer president. "Going into it, I'd have to say we were the dark horse. There were two teams that said they had a deal. Knowing that in a court, which, in essence was what this was, anything can happen."
Said Neil Smith, Ranger president and general manager: "I'm not mad. I can't be mad. I should learn from the experience. We dotted every i and crossed every t. There was nothing more we could possibly have done."
It took a combination of players, draft choices and money for the Flyers to land Lindros, who was drafted by Quebec a year ago but said he would never play there and boycotted the NHL season. At one point, Lindros said, he even turned down a 10-year, $50-million contract offer from Quebec.
For Lindros, the Nordiques got goaltender Ron Hextall, defensemen Steve Duchesne and Kerry Huffman, centers Mike Ricci and Peter Forsberg, a 1993 first-round draft pick, future considerations and $15 million.
Initially, Hextall and Ricci were contemplating not reporting to the Nordiques but seem to have reconsidered.
Lindros, meanwhile, was elated.
"I'm just happy to get out of there," Lindros said at a Toronto news conference. "(The Nordiques) lacked a winning spirit. I didn't want any part of it."
Although he spurned the NHL last season, Lindros wasn't exactly idle. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder played junior hockey and also helped the '92 Canadian Olympic team to a silver medal.
Lindros has been called the next Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. Because he is noted more for toughness than finesse, however, a comparison to the Rangers' Mark Messier or Pittsburgh's Rick Tocchet might be more appropriate.
"We're very, very excited about it," Flyer General Manager Russ Farwell said of the decision. "We feel this will be the ideal place for him to start. He's certainly the kind of player whose style will be very popular in Philadelphia. Hitting again will be a very popular thing."
The Flyers' next step is signing Lindros, whose asking price is a three-year, $10-million contract.
The Flyers probably would be seeing him in a Ranger uniform if it hadn't been for a phone call between Snider, the Flyers' president, and Lindros the Saturday morning of the draft in Montreal. That phone call essentially turned the case for Philadelphia, Bertuzzi suggested.

Marcel Aubut, the Nordiques' president, gave Snider Lindros' phone number so Snider could determine whether Lindros wanted to play in Philadelphia.
"Witnesses from more than one club clearly stated that Aubut would only permit the club to speak with Lindros once it had agreed on a deal with Quebec," Bertuzzi wrote. " . . . If Aubut intended the contact with the Lindros family to be something other than confirmation of the deal, he did not make that point clear to Philadelphia or Lindros' family."
According to Bertuzzi's transcript, Aubut arrived at the Flyers' hotel suite when Snider was talking to Lindros and his family on Saturday morning around 11:30, Bertuzzi said. Said Aubut: "Is it OK? Is it OK?"
Snider smiled and gave Aubut the thumbs-up sign.
Less than 20 minutes later, Aubut returned and told Snider he was taking New York's offer.
" . . . , we had a deal!" Snider said.
From this exchange and other evidence, Bertuzzi found that Aubut clearly had concluded an enforceable deal with the Flyers.
Gil Stein, NHL interim president, said there would be no disciplinary action against Quebec.
Blockbuster Trades
A chronological list of some of the biggest NHL trades:
* March 3, 1968: The Toronto Maple Leafs trade Frank Mahovlich, Gary Unger, Pete Stemkowski and the rights to Carl Brewer to the Detroit Red Wings for Paul Henderson, Norm Ullman and Floyd Smith.
* Nov. 7, 1975: The Boston Bruins trade Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi.
* Aug. 9, 1988: The Edmonton Oilers trade Wayne Gretzky, Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley to the Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, and first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993.
* Sept. 19, 1991: The Oilers trade Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube to the Maple Leafs for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Scott Thornton, Luke Richardson and future considerations.
* June 30,1992: The Quebec Nordiques traded the rights to Eric Lindros, center, to the Philadelphia Flyers for goalie Ron Hextall, centers Mike Ricci and Peter Forsberg, defensemen Steve Duchesne and Kerry Huffman, their first-round pick in the 1993 entry draft and future considerations.

KHL - Round Up - October 16-23, 2017

Two players at opposite ends of their KHL careers reached landmarks this week. Young forward Kirill Kaprizov got his 100^th point in the league, while veteran defenseman Kirill Kulyash scored his 100^th goal. Only Kevin Dallman has more markers from the blue line, and he took time out to talk about his new team-mate at Barys, Darren Dietz. SKA’s win over Jokerit in the week’s big game removed a potential challenge to Petersburg’s league record winning streak, but goalie Ryan Zapolski is still upbeat about the season – and paid tribute to the behind-the-scenes contribution of fellow goalie Karri Ramo.

SKA sees off a challenge to its record

SKA protected its newly-minted record winning streak thanks to an overtime victory against Jokerit in the game of the week. Pavel Datsyuk’s strike gave the league leader the verdict, and ended the Finns’ streak at 15 games – five short of SKA’s record. But SKA had to do it the hard way to secure its landmark: Jokerit led three times in the game thanks to goals from Mika Niemi, Niklas Jensen and Antti Pihlstrom, but SKA kept plugging away and tied it up on Sergei Kalinin’s power play goal two minutes before the hooter. Datsyuk gave the defending champion the verdict, but head coach Oleg Znarok acknowledged that it will be hard to recover ahead of Monday’s clash with CSKA in Moscow. “It was a hard game for us, we poured a lot of emotion into it,” he admitted after the win. CSKA hosts SKA on Monday evening in a repeat of this season’s Opening Cup match-up. The Moscow team saw its own eight-game winning streak end in overtime against Lokomotiv over the weekend.

SKA - Jokerit

Zapolski reflects on Ramo contribution

Jokerit’s winning run may have come to a narrow end in St. Petersburg, but goalie Ryan Zapolski remains hugely upbeat about the way the season is going. And with good reason – the third longest shut-out sequence in KHL history and a call-up to Team USA’s Deutschland Cup roster are putting him firmly in the Olympic frame. But the 30-year-old is also quick to credit Finland’s own Karri Ramo, used sparingly by Jokerit this season as he rehabilitates after recovering from a serious knee injury.
“Karri’s a great guy, and it gave me a real boost when I heard he was joining our team,” Zapolski said in an exclusive interview with KHL.ru. “He has had a lot of success in this league, and he's played in the NHL. He's the kind of guy who's invaluable to have in the locker room. I talk with him after every game, and I've learned a lot from him.”

Ryan Zapolski

Dallman the sorcerer picks out an apprentice

Kevin Dallman, the rock at the heart of the Barys defense, is one of the KHL’s longest-serving imports. A fixture in Kazakhstan, he recently completed a run of 200 consecutive appearances in the league – and didn’t even notice the landmark until it showed up on the club’s social media. But the KHL’s top-scoring D-man of all time reckons he might have found the man to inherit his crown in the future – a 24-year-old Canadian ‘machine’.
Darren Dietz arrived in Astana this summer, looking for new options as his NHL career seemed to be fizzling out. The KHL has proved very much to his liking and Dallman, who also swapped NHL prospects for the experience of playing in our league, recognizes something of himself in his new team-mate.
“Darren’s adapted really well to the KHL,” he said in an exclusive interview with KHL.ru. “At first, sure, there were a few bumps, but look how he’s done since then! He’s just a machine! He reminds me of how I played when I first came to the league 10 years ago. He’s overflowing with energy, battling for every inch of the ice. He takes on so much responsibility for the team that sometimes I can even afford to take a back seat, as the senior partner. Or maybe just the old guy!”

Kevin Dallman

Two centuries – Kaprizov and Kulyash

Two players at different ends of their careers achieved landmarks during the week. Kirill Kaprizov, CSKA’s super-talented youngster, notched his 100^th KHL point in that 7-2 victory in Magnitogorsk. Kaprizov, still only 20, made his KHL debut back in 2014-15 and began attracting attention the following year with 27 points in 53 games for a struggling Metallurg Novokuznetsk team. That earned the Minnesota Wild prospect a move to Salavat Yulaev, where he exploded for club and country. His 42-point haul in the KHL would probably have beaten Evgeny Kuznetsov’s league record for a junior, had it not been for the games he missed to play at the World Juniors. In Canada, he had 12 points in seven games, bossing the tournament scoring on his way to a bronze medal. Now at CSKA, he’s the scoring leader for the Army Men, with 22 (12+10) points for the season.
Denis Kulyash, 34, also lists CSKA and Salavat Yulaev among his former clubs, but his 100^th KHL goal came for Avtomobilist against the Ufa team. In 531 games, dating back to the league’s debut season, he’s scored 221 (101+120) points, making him the top-goalscoring Russian defenseman in the competition’s history. Only Kevin Dallman (132) has scored more goals.

Denis Kulyash

Metallurg’s defensive worries

Metallurg Magnitogorsk expects to be battling it out for leadership of the Eastern Conference. It doesn’t expect to be on the receiving end of 2-7 or 0-4 scorelines. This week, though, it suffered both those outcomes, giving up seven goals at home to CSKA and facing a shut-out loss at Ak Bars. Sixth place in the conference, 10 points behind top dog Ak Bars, is definitely not what last season’s Gagarin Cup finalist expected – so what’s the problem?
The main issue has been defense. Few teams could lose Chris Lee, Viktor Antipin and Alexei Bereglazov and carry on without a hitch, and Magnitka’s problems have been further hampered by injuries. Denis Denisov and Yaroslav Khabarov have both missed around a third of the games this season, the experienced Alexander Budkin has been out for nine games after feeling the brunt of Stepan Zakharchuk’s notorious hit, and now talented youngster Grigory Dronov could miss action after picking up a knock in Sunday’s loss in Kazan. The signing of Nikita Pivtsakin from CSKA early in the season has helped get more bodies on the ice, but for Ilya Vorobyov’s team, a spell of stability among those pairings on the blue line looks like the key to returning to a more accustomed position in the rankings.

Alexei Morozov at World Festival of Youth and return of Artyom Manukyan. JHL week in review

JHL executive director Alexei Morozov held a master-class at World Festival of Youth And Students (WFYS). Russian Federation of Hockey organized a get-to-know rink where professional coaches and famous players held 14 master-classes for students from Russia and other countries.
Alexei Morozov visited Iceberg practice rink at Volosozhar and Trankov Figure Skating Center. Master-class participants had a chance to get autographs and take a picture with the 2-time World Champion, while hockey players asked for precious advice.
Morozov also was a part of meeting session «From thoughts to actions: Legends inspire» along with six time Paralympic games champion Roman Petushkov, 3 time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin and 2 time Olympic champion Elena Isinbaeva.
SKA-1946 captured the lead in Western conference surpassing Loko. Yaroslavl team struggled in two matches against Almaz getting two wins in overtime and shootouts.
Top scorer of the last regular season Artyom Manukyan returned to Omskiye Yastreby and helped his team to win over Reaktor scoring four goals in the process.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Pavel Nechistovsky (Mamonty Yugry)
Best defenceman – Ilya Morozov (Sibirskiye Snaipery)
Best forward – Denis Yerkin (Mamonty Yugry)

WHL week in review

Team Russia completed two-week visit to USA. Form October, 11 to October, 23 Russian female hockey players participated in Summit series with NWHL teams. After 6 exhibition games with Metropolitan Riveters, Connecticut Whale and Boston Pride Team Russia has 6 wins and 26 scores in total.
Leaders of the player statistics after Series are “Tornado” forwards Anna Shokhina with 12 (4+8) points, Alevtina Shtareva with 10 (6+4) points and Elena Dergachyova with 7 (0+7) points.
In the five games in 2016, the NWHL teams won three, as Team Russia won two (a 4-1 victory over the Riveters and a 3-2 win over the Whale).

KHL - Round Up - October 9-16, 2017

SKA’s streak snaps – but Znarok’s team is still undefeated in regulation
You wait for ages, and it all happens at once. After 20 successive victories, SKA suffered two losses in three games to end its record-breaking winning streak. HC Sochi stopped the run in game 21, with Sean Collins’ overtime goal sending the Southerners away from St. Petersburg with the victory. Then, on Sunday, Ak Bars repeated the trick thanks to a Vladimir Tkachyov strike, again in overtime.
Despite the end of its record streak, SKA has still yet to lose in regulation this season. That’s 23 games – and counting – in which Oleg Znarok’s men have picked up at least one point.

SKA - Ak Bars

Saving goalie Ryan

Jokerit netminder Ryan Zapolski had a week to remember, posting three shut-outs in a row as the Finns blanked Traktor, Lada and Salavat Yulaev. The 30-year-old American goalie has now gone 194 minutes without allowing a goal, and his team has extended its club record winning streak to 14 games. Zapolski, a Mercyhurst College graduate whose North American career peaked on the fringes of the AHL, has been in terrific form throughout the current campaign, posting a save percentage of 95.5 and a GAA of 1.11. Those career highs come at the right time: having represented Team USA at the Deutschland Cup in previous seasons, this Erie, PA, native is now putting a strong case for an Olympic call.

Ryan Zapolski

The Kaprizov factor

Amid the excitement of SKA’s record-breaking run, the form of the other Army Men, CSKA, went somewhat unnoticed. But the Muscovites are up to seven games unbeaten, reaching that mark with a battling 3-2 win at Avtomobilist on Saturday. Young forward Kirill Kaprizov has been a leader for his team during that run: the 20-year-old has been among the points in his last five outings, including the winner in Yekaterinburg. His run of 8 (5+3) points in five games takes his season’s tally to 17 (10+7), putting him atop the CSKA scoring charts. After catching the eye as a raw prospect at Metallurg Novokuznetsk, and consolidating his reputation with 42 points in 49 regular season games for Salavat Yulaev last season, this might be the season that the Minnesota Wild draft pick steps up to global prominence.

Kirill Kaprizov

Changes at the Admiral’s table

Another week, and another head coach departs. This time it was Alexander Andriyevsky of Admiral who ended up walking the plank after a disappointing start to the season in Vladivostok. Andriyevsky, who was beginning his third campaign with the Sailors, was replaced by his assistant, Swedish specialist Fredrick Stillman, on an interim basis. So far, the switch has changed the tide for the team: Stillman, who won Olympic gold with the Tre Kronor back in 1994, has navigated a path to victory over Sibir and Ugra in his first two games at the helm; Monday’s trip to division leader Avangard might prove a more testing voyage.

Meeting in Sochi and top scorer Denis Yerkin. JHL week in review

JHL executive director Alexei Morozov visited Sochi for the meeting, concerning preparation for the Junior Club World Cup-2018. The meeting was attended by Sochi Physical Culture and Sports department director Sergei Pilosyan and Educational center for gifted children Sirius representatives.
- We know what it is necessary to work on first. Soon we plan to bring together the organizing committee. We have visited the arena of Sirius where matches will take place and the hotel where accommodation of teams is supposed. As for participants of the World Cup, we conduct negotiations with teams from Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Finland, China, USA and Canada, said Morozov.
Mamonty Yugry forward Denis Yerkin scored two goals and assisted twice in the winning effort against Avto. 19-year old is now leading the board of JHL top scorers with 9 goals and 22 assists.
Leaders in both conferences stayed on top. Loko on West and Stalnye Lisy on East both had strong weeks and kept their lead.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Konstantin Volko (SKA-1946)
Best defenceman – Timur Sulteyev (SKA-1946)
Best forward – Nikita Dynyak (MHC Dinamo SPb)

WHL week in review

Womens Hockey League teams are now preparing to the matches of Regular Championships which will resume soon. October 10th to 23th Russian national team participate in NWHL Summit Series – Russian team playing two preseason games each against the Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale and Metropolitan Riveters.
At the first game in New York Russian team beat Riveters, 3:2. It was Olga Sosina who opened the scoring and completed with a hat trick.
At the second Summit Series game against Connecticut Whale Russians were firing on all cylinders throughout the game and potted three goals in the first and third periods. Final score 8:2 and Russian team took second win.

Coming up

The game of the week looks to be Saturday’s match-up between SKA and Jokerit. At the time of writing, the teams have suffered just four losses between them all season; the outcome of this clash in Petersburg will tell us a great deal about Jokerit’s ability to mount a serious challenge for honors this season.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk also features in two attractive fixtures. On Thursday, Ilya Vorobyov’s men entertain CSKA before travelling to Ak Bars on Sunday for the latest chapter in one of the defining rivalries of the Eastern Conference. Both teams believe they are natural leaders in the East; at present, Ak Bars is backing up that claim on the ice while Metallurg is – by its high standards - struggling for form down in sixth place.

KHL - Round Up - October 2-9, 2017

It’s all about the streaks. For SKA, a KHL record-breaking 19 straight wins. For Jokerit, a club record-equalling 11. And for Dinamo Riga, at last, an end to a 14-game losing run. We’ve also got two more coaching changes and a couple of new achievements for Sergei Mozyakin …

Record streaks

SKA did it! 19 consecutive wins, setting a new KHL record. Friday was the big night, and a 3-2 victory over Sibir on home ice took the defending champion over the line. Of those 19 wins, 16 have come in regulation. The biggest margin was 9-1, away to Ugra. Three teams – Vityaz, Torpedo and Metallurg, managed to force overtime. SKA has scored 88 goals – that’s 32 better than the second most prolific team – and conceded just 25. Four players, Nikita Gusev, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Shirokov and Pavel Datsyuk, are among the top five point scorers this season; Patrik Hersley is the most productive D-man. But SKA isn’t the only team on a winning streak. Jokerit Helsinki, celebrating its 50^th anniversary this season, posted its 11^thsuccessive win on Sunday when it won 3-1 at Avtomobilist. That equals the club’s record run; success at Traktor on Tuesday would move the Finns into uncharted territory.

More coaching changes
Fall is well and truly here, and head coaches are dropping from their positions almost as fast as the leaves. Lokomotiv and Slovan were the latest teams to make changes, with Alexei Kudashov and Milos Riha leaving their posts.
Kudashov, already into his third season at Yaroslavl, paid the price for a five-game losing streak. Three of those games ended with 1-6 scorelines, which was too much for a club with hopes of contending for honors to endure. He was replaced by Dmitry Kvartalnov, who left CSKA at the end of last season after losing out in the playoffs against Lokomotiv. Kvartalnov began his new role with a 2-0 win at Dynamo Moscow.
Riha, one of the most colorful figures in the game, has a long history with Slovan in both the Slovak League and the KHL. But this season began with two heavy defeats – 7-1 and 5-1 at SKA and Lokomotiv – and Riha managed just five victories in 18 games. Eduard Zankovets, most recently of Barys, takes over in Bratislava.

Milos Riha

Relief in Riga

Zankovets’ first game with Slovan was at home to Dinamo Riga. The Latvians arrived on a 14-game losing streak, but left with a victory. Nikolai Zherdev scored twice, including the overtime decider, to give Dinamo its first win since August 28, and only its third of the season. For Girts Ankipans, acting head coach following the departure of Sandis Ozolins, it’s something to build on. However, with Dinamo 11 points adrift at the foot the Western Conference, and 18 points off the playoff pace, it’s going to be a huge rebuild to turn this into a successful season in the Baltic nation.

Nikolai Zherdev with teammates

Mozyakin’s latest milestones

It’s been a while since we caught up with the progress of Russia’s greatest goal machine, but Sergei Mozyakin is still ticking off new achievements. This week should bring his 950^th game in the Russian top flight. He’s currently on 949, Metallurg plays Amur on Tuesday. The forward’s next scoring milestone is also coming into view: Sunday’s opening goal in a 3-1 win at Admiral Vladivostok made it 490 career markers in Russian league hockey; the 500^th surely can’t be all that far away now.

Sergei Mozyakin

Board meeting and new leaders. JHL week in review

Annual JHL board meeting took place on October 3rd. League management reported last season results to board chairman Alexander Medvedev. JHL executive director Alexei Morozov talked about big upcoming events – Junior Club World Cup In Sochi and Challenge Cup in Astana. Also he shared a details on the new JHL 7 year development strategy which will be presented to the Board in november. Head coaches for teams East and West for Challenge cup will be revealed on november 6th. Two coaches of the conference leading teams at the time will go to Astana in January. Season 2015/16 champion Loko returned to the first place of the Western conference with 33 points. Team from Yaroslavl won two games and lost the shootout last week. However SKA-1946 is only a point away with two games less. Similar situation is on the East. Stalnye Lisy took the lead with 31 points but Sibirskiye Snaipery and Mamonty Yugry are very close with one and two points away respectively.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Daniil Yakovlev (Loko)
Best defenceman – Semen Perelyaev (Ladya)
Best forward – Ilya Tataluev (MHC Spartak)

Best rookie, for the fourth time this season, was 18-year-old Jokerit forward Eeli Tolvanen, who was given an average of 16 minutes 55 seconds on the ice and helped the men from Helsinki claim two wins in two games (including one on the road), adding 3 (2+1) more points to his personal account in his debut season.


World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend in Russia
Russia’s Women’s Hockey League got right behind this year’s World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend, with all seven teams staging events across Russia to mark the occasion. More than 500 young girls who were new to hockey and, in some cases, stepping onto the ice for the first time, came to training sessions and master-classes with professional female hockey players. The Weekend joined people in all cities of WHL from St. Petersburg on the Baltic to Ukhta in the far North and Krasnoyarsk in central Siberia.
All seven events governed by the league were intended to introduce the game to youngsters who had never previously had the chance to play, and hoped to inspire new dreams of starring on the ice among the next generation of Russian girls. 



Jokerit @ Avtomobilist 3-1 - October 8
Three power play goals in the second period took Jokerit to an 11^th consecutive victory, equalling a club record in the process. After a goalless opening, the visitor went in front in the 21^st minute on a power play that carried over from the first period. Olli Palola got the goal off Brian O’Neill’s pass. A double minor for Maxim Rasseikin midway through the session gave the Finns the chance to extend their lead, and Danish international Niklas Jensen duly obliged when he forced the puck home after a flurry of shots on Jakub Kovar. The power play continued, and Eeli Tolvanen made it 3-0 when he was offered another chance to show off his laser-like wrister. Home hopes briefly flickered back to life when Michal Cajkovsky pulled a goal back in the 46^th minute, but there was little sign of anyone stopping Jokerit’s run


Jokerit @ Traktor 3-0 - October 10Jokerit set a new club record of 12 consecutive victories thanks to a 3-0 success at Traktor. Two goals from defenseman Matt Gilroy paced the Finns’ offense as the team moves on to 41 points for the season, the second best return in the KHL after the invincibles of SKA. It didn’t take long for Jokerit to take control of Tuesday’s game: Gilroy opened the scoring in the sixth minute on a power play, firing home a shot from the blue line, before John Norman finished off a string of passes to make it 2-0 less than two minutes later. That was another power play goal; on both occasions Nick Bailen was the player penalized for the host. Traktor dominated the second period, outshooting its host 20-7, but had to wait until late in the game before Gilroy got his second off a Marko Antilla feed. Ryan Zapolski made 27 saves for his shut-out.

NHL - Jets @ Blackhawks - Thursday, March 29, 2018

Scott Foster made seven saves as the emergency backup goalie to help the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 at United Center."The initial shock happened when I had to dress," said Foster, 36, an accountant who played four seasons at Western Michigan University from 2002-06. "And then I think you just kind of black out after that. ... From my perspective, this is a dream. This is something no one can ever take away from me. It's something I can go home and tell my kids and they can tell their friends and whatnot. Just a ton of fun and a lot of good memories."

Collin Delia, who started after Anton Forsberg was injured while warming up before the game, made 25 saves in his NHL debut before leaving with a 6-2 lead at 5:59 of the third period because of cramping.

"It had a little bit of everything," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Opening day for baseball, but we had to go to the bullpen a couple times today. One of those interesting things you don't see very often. Both goalies played extremely well."

Tomas Jurco had two goals, and Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad, Erik Gustafsson and Alex DeBrincat scored for Chicago (32-36-9), which won for the second time in eight games and ended a four-game losing streak at home.
Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook played his 1,000th NHL game.

"[Patrick Sharp] was laughing about it, saying it just sums up my career in a nutshell," said Seabrook, who was honored in a pregame ceremony. "My night and Scottie comes in and steals the spotlight. It was great. It was pretty cool to see him go in there."

Bryan Little and Mark Scheifele scored, and Eric Comrie made 36 saves for the Jets, who lost for the first time in seven games.
"We just weren't prepared," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. "Came in, had a pretty bad morning skate, looked at the lineup sheet, and just weren't prepared to play the game."
Winnipeg (48-19-10) is seven points behind the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division and eight points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for second. Kane gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 3:44 of the first period when he scored on a breakaway.

Saad made it 2-0 at 17:17 when he scored with a backhand shot off a pass from Nick Schmaltz. Jurco extended Chicago's lead to 3-0 at 4:26 of the second period with a no-look, backhand shot past Comrie. He made it 4-0 at 11:13 when he scored from below the right face-off circle off a cross-ice pass from Gustafsson. Little scored at 14:24 to get the Jets to within 4-1, but Gustafsson made it 5-1 at 17:27 when he scored on a breakaway. Scheifele made it 5-2 with 1:09 left in the second. DeBrincat put the Blackhawks ahead 6-2 at 2:11 of the third period.

* DeBrincat's goal at 2:11 of the third period.

* Delia stopping Kyle Connor at 8:22 of the first period.* Foster stopping Paul Stastny at 15:22 of the third period.* Little scored his 200th NHL goal. ... Forward Dylan Sikura had two assists for the Blackhawks in his NHL debut. ... Chicago recalled goaltender J-F Berube from Rockford of the American Hockey League after the game. … Delia is expected to be available against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, but Quenneville said Forsberg likely is done for the season because of a lower-body injury."We weren't very good tonight. We know we've been good. Nobody's getting on the plane in a good mood, but it won't be part of our prep for the next game." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice
"I'm an accountant by day. So a few hours ago I was sitting on my computer typing on a 10-key, and now I'm standing in front of you guys just finished 14 1/2 minutes of NHL hockey." -- Blackhawks emergency goalie Scott Foster