KHL - Ak Bars Round Up - December 2017

Friday 2 - Ak Bars @ Neftekhimik 1-2


The Tatarstan derby between Ak Bars and Neftekhimik has turned into a top-of-the-table clash this season – and the unheralded visitor took the honors to close the gap on its neighbor to two points. Oleg Piganovich maintained  his fine scoring form, potting the game winner in the 36^th minute. That made it four goals in three games for the defenseman. Ildar Shiksatdarov was the architect, turning two Ak Bars D-men inside out before serving up a dish for Piganovich at the far post. Earlier Emil Galimov put Neftekhimik in front in the first period, but Rob Klinkhammer tied it up midway through the second period.
Sunday 4 - Ak Bars v Dinamo Minsk 3-1
Ak Bars strengthened its position on top of the Eastern Conference with a comfortable home victory over Dinamo. Jiri Sekac got the host off to a flying start when he opened the scoring after 65 seconds, converting Stanislav Galiyev’s pass from behind the net. The roles were reversed late in the opening stanza when the Czech put up an assist as Galiyev doubled the lead. Sekac fell victim to a crunching hit from Vladimir Denisov as he fed the puck down the boards, but his team-mate’s finish aided his swift recovery. That duo was also active in the middle frame, combining to set up Anton Lander for the 3-0 goal before Dinamo got one back through Alexander Kulakov’s power play strike in the third.Tuesday 6 - Ak Bars v SKA 2-3 OT

It needed overtime to get there, but Oleg Znarok overcame his old rival Zinetula Bilyaletdinov for the first time as head coach of SKA.
In a game full of incident, SKA got off to a fine start when two recent signings combined for an early opener. Patrick Thoresen got the assist, Vadim Shipachyov claimed the goal. That was theseventh game running that Shipachyov was among the points, a run matched by Ilya Kovalchuk who also played a part in the opening marker. The visitor went on to have the better of the first period but could not add to its lead.
The middle frame initially promised more of the same, but after Sergei Plotnikov doubled SKA’s advantage, Ak Bars hit back. A power play goal enabled Vladimir Tkachyov to reduce the arrears. Then, after SKA killed another penalty, Anton Lander tied the scores in the 34^th minute with a classy effort.
Ak Bars was unable to finish the job though. The game went to overtime, and Patrik Hersley produced the winner for the visitor. SKA celebrated its first success in Kazan since lifting the Gagarin Cup here in 2015. The team also stretched its current winning run to 10 games. The record-breaking 20-game streak at the start of the season could yet be overhauled, and few would bet against this team repeating its earlier Gagarin Cup triumphsThursday 8 - Ak Bars v Lokomotiv 1-4

It was supposed to be a celebration of Danis Zaripov’s return. A return on two fronts – back to Ak Bars, where his long, successful spell ended four seasons earlier, and back to hockey after appealing against his two-year doping ban. The titled forward, who won two Gagarin Cups and a Russian Superleague title in Kazan, received a rapturous reception from the home crowd every time he appeared on the video cube, never mind ever time he stepped on the ice. In total, Zaripov played 22 shifts for 17 minutes of ice time as he linked up with Vladimir Tkachyov and Rob Klinkhammer. However, on a difficult night for his team his most notable contribution was an error in the build-up to Loko’s second goal. That struggle was at least partly because Lokomotiv came to Kazan without checking the script for the evening and duly steamrollered the festivities with a 4-1 win. The visitor had the better of the game from the start, even if it took some time to convert that edge into goals. Once Daniil Apalkov opened the scoring early in the second period, though, Loko soon jumped to a 3-0 lead. Brandon Kozun made it 2-0 after Petri Kontiola intercepted a loose pass from Zaripov, then Denis Mosalyov added a third. There was some resistance in the final frame when Artyom Lukoyanov pulled a goal back, but Kozun had the last word as Lokomotiv enjoyed a convincing victory.
Sunday 11 - Ak Bars v Dynamo Moscow 6-2

Danis Zaripov scored his first goal since rejoining Ak Bars, and it proved to be the game winner as the Kazan team overpowered Dynamo. After a goalless first period, Ak Bars moved into a 2-1 lead in the second with goals from Artyom Lukoyanov and Rob Klinkhammer coming either side of a power play strike for former Ak Bars favorite Ilya Nikulin. Then came Zaripov’s moment: not only his first since returning to Kazan, not only the winner in this game, but his 200^th regular season goal in a distinguished career. It was a well-worked effort, with some slick passing to carve open the visiting defense before Zaripov applied the finishing touch. The third period saw Ak Bars add three more goals – Anton Glinkin, Anton Lander and Jiri Sekac finding the net – before Nikulin got his second of the night in the last minute.
Sunday 18 - Ak Bars v Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2-1
Danis Zaripov got the winning goal in the latest instalment of the ‘Green Derby’ – but there was controversy about his strike. Zaripov found the net seconds before the end of the middle frame, producing a superb piece of skill to turn away from a defenseman and squeeze a shot through traffic and into the net via a deflection. However, his team-mate Stanislav Galiyev appeared to be standing on the paintwork as the shot came in. Salavat Yulaev called for a video review, but the referees upheld their original verdict and awarded the goal. After the game, visiting head coach Erkka Westerlund admitted that he did not understand why the officials had allowed the goal. The decision meant that, for the second game running, Zaripov claimed the game winner. The goal, and the timing of it, was hugely frustrating for Salavat. The team had recovered from allowing Rob Klinkhammer to put Ak Bars in front early on, and drew level thanks to a power play goal from Teemu Hartikainen. But in the final frame, Ak Bars shut down the game and defended its lead well. The teams managed just nine shots on goal between them, giving little chance for Westerlund’s team to tie the scores.  
Tuesday 20 - Ak Bars @ Neftekhimik 0-3

Dennis Everberg’s first goal since joining Neftekhimik helped his new club to victory in the Tatarstan derby – and lifted the team to second place in the Kharlamov Division, just three points behind Ak Bars with a game in hand. The Swede opened the scoring after five minutes of Wednesday’s game, capitalizing on some poor defensive cover to convert Damir Sharipzyanov’s feed. If it was a new face who set Neftekhimik on its way, the goals that put the result beyond doubt came from a familiar source. Dan Sexton added two further markers, one in the second period and one on a power play in the third. Both were assisted by Andrej Nestrasil. At the other end, Ilya Ezhov made 30 saves to collect his second successive shut-out, backstopping his team to a second derby victory of the season.
Sunday 25 - Ak Bars @ Avangard Omsk 3-5

Avangard turned this game around in the third period to claim victory in a clash of the divisional leaders in the East. Ak Bars spent much of the opening stanza on the back foot, but got the only goal through Rob Klinkhammer in the ninth minute. Klinkhammer, hoping to make Canada’s Olympic roster, now has three goals in his last four games. Avangard’s first fight-back came early in the second period when Ilya Mikheyev tied the scores and Kirill Semyonov’s power play goal put the host up. However, Stanislav Galiyev scored twice in two minutes to give Ak Bars the lead at the second intermission. In the final frame, the visitor had more of the play, but some clinical work from Avangard’s unpredictable offense turned the game in the Siberians’ favor. Dmitry Kugryshev tied it up before Mikheyev got his second of the night with 10 minutes to play. Ak Bars worked hard to tie it up, but Pyotr Khokhryakov scored into the empty net to seal Avangard’s win.
Tuesday 27 - Ak Bars @ Barys Astana 5-2

Ak Bars tightened its grip on top spot in the Eastern Conference, but Barys drops to 10th as its loss of form continues. The home team had just two wins in 14 games coming into today’s meeting, and never looked like halting that sequence as the visitor took control of the game early on. Ak Bars scored four unanswered goals inside 33 minutes. Anton Lander contributed a goal and an assist in the first period, with Nikita Yazkov benefiting from the Swede’s helper on the second marker. Rob Klinkhammer’s penalty shot made it 3-0 midway through the game, and Lander was involved yet again as Stanislav Galiyev added a fourth soon afterwards. Linden Vey belatedly got Barys on the scoreboard, but the game was gone and Lander completed a fine personal performance with his second goal and fourth point of the night. James Wright struck in the last minute, but it was scant consolation for the home team.


The following day Ak Bars agreed one-way contract until the end of the season with Alexander Burmistrov, who returns to Kazan after two-and-a-half seasons in the NHL, where he donned the colors of the Jets, Coyotes and Canucks.
Ak Bars also clinched a deal with Torpedo in which defenseman Timur Fatkullin heads for Kazan, with the Nizhny Novgorod club accepting financial compensation.
Thursday 29 - Ak Bars @ Sibir Novosibirsk 1-4

Since appointing Vladimir Yurzinov as head coach, Sibir’s form has turned around. Today’s victory against Ak Bars knocked the long-time Eastern Conference leader off the top of the table and moved the Siberians to within two points of a playoff spot. The foundations for Sibir’s fifth win in six games were laid towards the end of the first period. Vyacheslav Osnovin opened the scoring on 17:32, and within a minute Nikolai Demidov's power play goal had doubled that advantage. Ak Bars responded through Danis Zaripov in the middle frame, but hopes of a comeback were snuffed out in the third. Alexander Bergstrom got his eighth goal in seven games before Jonas Enlund wrapped up the win. Bergstrom’s current productive streak stretches nine games, and totals nine goals and four assists.

KHL - Round Up - December 11-17, 2017

Gagarin’s Cup at Cosmodrome Baikonur.
Aim for the stars, they said. So we sent the Gagarin Cup into orbit. Back on Earth, forwards hit new heights, and online fans got closer to the stars.


The Cosmic KHL
Sunday saw the KHL hit new heights – going all the way to the International Space Station. A miniature reproduction of the Gagarin Cup followed in the orbit of its namesake when it blasted off from Baikonur on Sunday under the protection of cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. The voyage forms part of the on-going celebrations of this 10^th season of KHL action, while local Baikonur team Legion-94 joined in the party with a visit from Barys star Nigel Dawes.
Why a replica? For a space launch, size – and especially weight – is critical. The original Gagarin Cup weighs in at a hefty 19 kg, too big to add to the payload of the latest mission to the ISS. But a ‘little brother’ for the big cup, plus a commemorative season #10 puck, can be stowed on board and taken into orbit. Once among the stars, Shkaplerov is looking forward to keeping the souvenirs front and center during the trip.


“As cosmonauts, we are delighted that our top hockey teams play for a trophy that bears the name of the first man in space,” he said. “Personally, I’m a big fan and I love to go to games with my family and friends whenever I get the chance. I’m sure we’ll have the cup and the puck where everyone can see them, especially when there are games taking place back down below.”


Get a ‘follow’ from a KHL player
Love a bit of social media? Want an active KHL star among your online friends? Allow us to introduce Zach Boychuk. The Slovan forward is a big fan of Twitter, and promises to ‘follow’ everyone who is following his account on the popular web service. That adds up to more than 800,000 follows – a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well.
“Someone told me that if you follow them, it makes the fans very happy. Maybe they don’t know me personally, but they’re still excited. I do it for fun, and I want to make a difference, to help young kids and make them happy,” the 28-year-old Canadian said in an exclusive interview with KHL.com. “I also get to tell more people about the KHL. It’s a great league, and there are lots of players here who are easily good enough for the NHL.”


Tolvanen matches Kuznetsov’s record
Finnish hot-shot Eeli Tolvanen’s assist in Monday’s game at Magnitogorsk wasn’t enough to save his Jokerit team from defeat – but it did deliver an individual milestone. His feed for John Norman’s marker took him to 32 (17+15) points for the season, matching Evgeny Kuznetsov’s haul from 2010-11. It also gives him a share in the record for the most productive season from an 18-year-old.

Kuznetsov’s subsequent success with Traktor and now the Washington Capitals is well known; the Chelyabinsk native is a world renowned star. But, unlike Tolvanen, he played as an 18-year-old with a solid grounding in adult hockey, after making 39 appearances in the previous campaign. The young Jokerit star is blazing his trail in his first season out of youth hockey … and seems poised for a stellar career for club and country. Tolvanen has plenty of time to eclipse Kuznetsov’s 32-point haul – but it won’t happen immediately. The youngster has been called into Finland’s squad for the World Junior Championship in Buffalo from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.



Zaripov gets his first of the season
Goals and Danis Zaripov go together. Throughout his career, the forward has displayed the kind of predatory instincts that give defenses nightmares. So when he notched in Ak Bars’ 6-2 victory over Dynamo last week, it was another good day at the office. But his game-winner on Monday was notable: it was his 200^th regular season goal in a titled career, but also his first of the current season and his first since returning to Ak Bars after four trophy-winning years in Magnitogorsk. Zaripov’s challenges this season are well known: his ‘homecoming’ in Kazan delayed by a doping controversy and made possible only after a successful appeal against a ban. His opening night went astray: a 1-4 loss to Lokomotiv compounded by an unwanted ‘assist’ on one of the visitor’s goals. But in only his second game of the season, the experienced forward got back to doing what he does best, and found the back of the net.

Wolski returns to Magnitka

With two thirds of the regular season complete, it’s time for clubs to make those final roster tweaks ahead of the playoffs – or a final push for position at the end of the season. A week without much KHL action gave teams a chance to conduct a bit of business.
The most prominent move was Wojtech Wolski’s return to Metallurg after less than a season with Kunlun Red Star. The Canadian forward, whose form in China looks set to earn him an Olympic call-up, is trading places with American defenseman Nick Schaus following Mike Keenan’s departure from the Red Star coaching staff. Wolski, Red Star’s leading scorer with 28 points, last featured for Magnitka on October 13, 2016, when he suffered a broken neck in a game against Barys. He received a terrific reception when he returned to Magnitogorsk for a pre-season tournament, and is set to make his return to the team this week after coming back from international duty at the Channel 1 Cup in Moscow.
Another trade saw two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams swap forwards. Sweden’s World Championship winner Dennis Everberg moves from Avangard to Neftekhimik, with Chad Rau making the reverse journey. Earlier, Avangard head coach Andrei Skabelka had spoken of the need to freshen up Avangard’s forwards after a run of goal-shy performances.


World Challenge Cup outcome, seven year strategy. JHL week in review
The under 18 Russian national team completed the 2017 World Challenge Cup campaign with a third place playoff against the Czech Republic. Ruslan Iskhakov and Alexander Romanov both scored, but it wasn't enough as the Czechs netted four of their own to win 4:2. As a result, Russia U18 finish fourth at the competition.
On December 13 in Moscow KHL Board of directors has approved the project of strategy of Junior hockey league till year 2023 which was presented by the JHL executive director Alexey Morozov.
The seven years' strategy of JHL is intended to solve several problems directed to increase in level of competitions and creation of the strongest professional junior league in the Euroasian region.
Two days later JHL executive director participated in the World hockey forum and submitted the project of the Junior Club World Cup in Sochi to the guests. The eighth tournament will take place in August of the next year in Sochi.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Alexei Artamkin (Almaz)
Best defenceman – Vadim Kudako (Almaz)
Best forward – Igor Geraskin (Almaz)

KHL - Round Up - December 4-10, 2017

Usually this season, it’s been SKA setting the records. But Sunday saw a young Lokomotiv D-man write his name in history with the fastest goal ever in the KHL. SKA itself had a rare loss … but for Sochi head coach Sergei Zubov, leading teams to victory over the runaway leader is becoming something of a habit.


Alexander Yelesin – speed star
The KHL’s 10th season keeps setting new records – and not all of them involve SKA winning games and piling up points. This week’s fresh chapter in the history books was inked by Lokomotiv defenseman Alexander Yelesin when he opened the scoring against Salavat Yulaev on Sunday.
Yelesin’s strike came just five seconds into the game, making it the fastest goal in KHL history, one second ahead of Alexander Radulov’s 2010 effort for Salavat Yulaev against Ugra. But, while Radulov was a feared predator in the KHL, 21-year-old Yelesin has no scoring pedigree to speak of. Indeed, this was the youngster’s first ever KHL goal, and only his fourth point, in a career that spans a mere 39 games for Loko and Amur. That didn’t stop him surprising Canadian goalie Ben Scrivens with a shot from center ice after Andrei Loktionov won the opening face-off of Sunday’s game, picking a memorable way to open his goalscoring account.

Zaripov returns to the ice
Danis Zaripov, four times a Gagarin Cup winner, returned to action after his doping ban was reduced on appeal last month. The 36-year-old featured for Ak Bars in Friday’s game against Lokomotiv, joining a line with Rob Klinkhammer and Vladimir Tkachyov. It wasn’t a happy return, though. Zaripov played 22 shifts for 17 minutes of action, but could not contribute a shot on goal. Instead, his most notable moment ended in disaster: a misplaced pass set up Brandon Kozun for Loko’s second in a 4-1 win.



Zubov delivers new achievements – now from behind the bench Remember Sergei Zubov? Olympic Champion and double Stanley Cup winner? Possibly the finest Russian D-man to play in the NHL? Give it time, and we might see a repeat of that illustrious playing career from behind the bench.
Why the excitement? Well, in his first full season as a head coach, Zubov has managed to solve one of the great mysteries of the KHL: how to stop SKA. Last week saw the former New York Ranger and Dallas Star pick up his second victory over the runaway league leader. His Sochi team snapped SKA’s record-breaking winning run of 20 games, and then halted a 10-game sequence with a 2-1 win beside the Black Sea. That was also the defending champion’s first road defeat of the season.
Of course, Zubov, now 47, has a bit of an inside track on SKA and Oleg Znarok. He was part of the coaching staff that won the Petersburg team its first Gagarin Cup in 2015, and has worked alongside Znarok as part of the national program. He also had a stint as head coach at SKA in the 2015-16 season, following Andrei Nazarov’s departure. But in Sochi, he has emerged as the coach best able to stop his former club’s red-hot form. Could this be the start of a storied coaching career to match Zubov’s achievements on the ice?

Sergei Zubov

Coming up – Russia vs Canada in Moscow
Olympic preparations continue apace, and away from the off-ice controversies, the KHL’s top stars are looking to seize their last chance to secure a trip to Korea in February. Next week’s Channel 1 Cup features 81 players from the league – and throws up a mouth-watering renewal of the old Russia – Canada rivalry.
Not surprisingly, all of Russia’s roster plays in the KHL. However, the fact that all but two players have been selected from SKA and CSKA has raised some eyebrows. Some commentators have suggested that this is an unwelcome return to the days when the old Soviet team was called up en masse from CSKA, and the national championship was somewhat one-sided as a result. The news that SKA had already booked a playoff place did little to discourage that view. Others, though, highlight the need for Russia’s hockey players to end an Olympic medal drought that dates back to Salt Lake City’s bronze in 2002: if playing together regularly for club and country can end the uneven performances we saw in Torino, Vancouver and Sochi, a lop-sided roster could be a price well worth paying. Metallurg goalie Vasily Koshechkin and Lokomotiv defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin are the two ‘outsiders’ in the squad.
Saturday’s match-up with Canada, therefore, might feel like something of a KHL encounter. The Canadians named 19 KHLers to their party. CSKA’s Mat Robinson will find himself up against several familiar faces, but it’s Kunlun Red Star that once again has the most representatives. Forwards Wojtek Wolski, Gilbert Brule and recent signing Taylor Beck are traveling from China. Lokomotiv duo Brandon Kozun and Max Talbot will also feature in the Canadian offense.
Among the European contingent, the Czechs and Finns have named 13 KHLers each, while Sweden has 11 in its party. The six-team tournament offers a glimpse at Korea’s likely roster for PyeongChang as well: here, too, is a KHL connection with goalie Matt Dalton, now a naturalized Korean citizen, familiar to fans of Neftekhimik.


Sochi Hockey Open. Team Russia - Team Canada

All-Star line-ups revealed in full
If Russia’s selection for the Channel 1 Cup involves a limited range of clubs, it’s a different story for the All-Star action in Astana next month. The final rosters have been announced and every club in the KHL will be represented. The teams were chosen in three stages. First, a fan poll; second, a survey among KHL reporters and journalists; third, the choices of the KHL’s own expert panel.


The four best players from the Youth League All-Star Game will also be invited to join the party.



Challenge Cup full rosters are revealed, Loko back on top. JHL week in review
Team West and Team East announced their rosters for the upcoming annual Junior Hockey League Challenge Cup. All JHL teams (33) will have at least one representative in the game that is going to take place at Barys-Arena.
9th annual game will determine if Team East can shorten the gap or Team West will solidify their already firm all-time lead. Team West won JHL Challenge cup six times in eight years. The game was held in Cherepovets, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Magnitogorsk, Ufa, St. Petersburg and Nizhnekamsk. Thus, JHL Challenge Cup has been played in seven regions of Russia.


Loko Yaroslavl took back the lead in Western conference surpassing MHC Spartak after 11 wins in a row. Mamonty Yugry still lead Eastern conference, Sibirskiye Snaipery are on second place with 5 points less.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Vladislav Okoryak (Loko)
Best defenceman – Vladislav Shishkov (Avto)
Best forward – Bulat Shafigullin (Reaktor)

KHL - Players With Brief Stays

In this instalment of our reflections on the League's 10-year history and those who have helped to shape it, we focus on some great players who found fame and renown, either before or after their arrival, but whose KHL days were so short that they may have passed under the radar of fans and experts alike.

Alexei Zhitnik
The D-man from Kiev, who played his post-USSR international hockey for Russia (winning Olympic silver in 1998, having won gold with the Unified Team in '92), left CSKA Moscow in 1992 and embarked on a glittering NHL career, donning the colors of the Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers, clocking up over 1,000 appearances in all. He briefly returned to Russia for a spell with Ak Bars Kazan during the lockout of 2004-05, and in 2008, when the fledgling Kontinental Hockey League began its maiden season, he departed North America and joined Dynamo Moscow, spending two years with the Blue-and-Whites and earning a call-up to the very first All-star Game in Red Square.

Dmitry Yushkevich

Another defenseman from that Olympic gold-winning Unified Team of 1992, Dmitry Yushkevich has enjoyed regular employment as a coach in the KHL for the past eight years, and many fans will recall his North American exploits for the Flyers, Maple Leafs (with whom he merited a call-up to the NHL All-Star Game), Panthers and Kings. He returned to Russia in 2003, to spend the latter part of his career in his homeland, and his years as a player stretched into the KHL era. After tours of duty with Lokomotiv, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, SKA, and Severstal (twice), he spent the 2008-09 season playing for Sibir. After spending the following season with Karpat in Finland, he finally retired and returned to Novosibirsk, starting his coaching career as an assistant to Andrei Tarasenko.
Alexander GulyavtsevThe story of Alexander Gulyavtsev's hockey career has three main locations: Cherepovets, where he played for and now coaches Severstal; his home city of Perm, where he spent the first decade of his career with Molot-Prikamie, earning a call-up to Russia's U20 team in 1993; and Yekaterinburg and Avtomobilist, which was a lowly second-tier side when he arrived, and whom he captained in the first two years of the KHL. Gulyavtsev was the driving force behind the Motor Men's rise, the top scorer whose goals helped Avto break into the playoffs, and the Yekaterinburgers will fondly remember his swashbuckling shootout goals.



Ryan O'Reilly
The 26-year-old Buffalo Sabres center and alternate captain has won World Cup and World Championship gold with the Canadian national team, but Ryan O'Reilly spent a curious spell in the KHL during the 2012 lockout. His older brother, Cal, had signed a two-year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, so for Ryan, who was playing for the Colorado Avalanche when the lockout began, Magnitka was the obvious club to choose for the duration of the dispute. Ryan arrived a little later than most of the locked-out NHL men, but scored 10 (5+5) points in his 12 appearances, but did not, strangely enough, line up alongside big brother – Cal had sustained a severe injury, so the pair never played together during Ryan's brief stay in the Southern Urals.


Martin Gerber


Before the start of the current season, this goaltending great announced he was hanging up his skates at the age of 42, signalling the end of a glittering career that included Stanley Cup victory with the Carolina Hurricans, Olympic silver in Turin with Team Switzerland, and even a season in the KHL. He arrived in 2009 and stood between the pipes for Atlant of Mytishchi, in the same team as Sergei Mozyakin, Nikolai Zherdev and Jiri Novotny, playing 30 games in all. It is interesting to speculate on what might have been had Gerber been at Atlant the following season, when the outsider fought its way to the Gagarin Cup final, but injury cut short his stay in Russia and he moved on to the Oilers.

Joffrey Lupul

The Toronto Maple Leafs winger has had a rough time of late, and is expected to miss the entire season while he recovers from a groin injury, but hopefully he will return to add to his tally of 747 NHL appearances over the last 14 years. In 2012 he was an NHL All-Star, but in a matter of months found himself playing for Avtomobilist in the lockout. If hockey fans are unaware of his short tour of duty in the KHL, it is likely that some Russian train passengers remember him. While traveling by rail from Yekaterinburg to Omsk, the Canadian forward chatted to fellow passengers, shared some vodka, and serenaded the wagon with some North American hip-hop. His exploits on the ice were not so loud – nine appearances and just a solitary goal.

Ville Peltonen

It is rare for a foreign import to captai a side, and usually occurs when the player has spent a number of years at the club and has gradually acquired the necessary authority, yet the captain's patch was stitched onto Ville Peltonen's uniform in his very first season at Dinamo Minsk. The Finn arrived in 2009 from the Florida Panthers with more than enough authority – he boasted what must be the largest silverware collection of any man to play for the Belarusians. Four Olympic medals, eight more from World Championships, a hoard of player-of-the-week, month, or year awards and the captaincy of the Finland national team. He spent just the one season with Dinamo, but scored 26 (6+20) points and was selected for the KHL All-Star Game.


Jakub Voracek

The phrase, “a star of world hockey,” may be a little over-used, and few players could earn the title without incurring many dissenting voices, but Jakub Voracek is surely one of this elite brigade. The 28-year-old winger has been a favorite at the Philadelphia Flyers since 2011, a World Champion gold medalist with the Czech Republic, an NHL All-Star, and the Czech Player of the Year. He landed in North America at the tender age of 17, since when only once has he moved back to the Old World, and that was in the 2012 NHL lockout when he donned the colors of Lev Praha. His spell was by far the most striking of the four locked-out NHL players who moved to the Czech capital: Cervenka and Hudler had already spent considerable time in the KHL, while Zdeno Chara's sojourn was plagued by errors on the ice. Voracek, in contrast, was like a breath of fresh air, and his final account showed 20 (7+13) points in 23 games for the Lions of Prague.

Ryan McDonagh
The 28-year-old defenseman from Minnesota is now in his fourth season captaining the New York Rangers, whom he joined in 2010 from the University of Wisconsin (where he had also earned the captaincy), but his life story also includes a spell in Astana, Kazakhstan, with Barys during the 2012 lockout. He was in good company – also patrolling the Barys blue line was Swedish World Champion and NHL All-Star Victor Hedman, whose 6' 6” 223lbs frame is enough to put anyone in the shade. In all, McDonagh played 10 games for the Kazakhs and assisted on three goals before heading back to Madison Square Garden.

Joe Pavelski

Under any other circumstances, the arrival in the KHL of a United States international, and one whose trophy cabinet had a silver medal from the previous Olympics, would have aroused considerable interest, but like McDonagh, Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks arrived as part of the 2012 lockout, and at Dinamo Minsk the main glare of publicitiy was understandably directed at his fellow locked-out arrivals, Pekka Rinne and Evander Kane. Nevertheless, Pavelski scored a highly respectable 15 points in just 17 games for the Belarusians, and his fleeting spell in the KHL certainly did him no harm. Three years later, as captain of the Sharks, Joe was the top goal-scorer in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

KHL - Juha Metsola - Life In The Far East

Amur Khabarovsk's Finnish goaltender, Juha Metsola, had a renaissance in form last season, and was frequently named in the KHL Top Ten most spectacular saves of the week feature. Mid-way through the 2017-18 season, he spoke to KHL.ru about his team's progress that campaign, his plans to stay in the KHL, hoping to play in the Olympics, and the best things about the Far East city where he plies his trade.



Back in November, you were involved in a thrilling game against Jokerit (a 5-4 overtime win for the Khabarovsk team). Do you enjoy games like that?
- I've always enjoyed playing in Finland. My family was there, my dad, a few friends... Jokerit kept me very busy, and it's never pleasant to allow four goals, but it doesn’t matter when you win.
This year Amur is a much more entertaining team. What happened?
- This year we’re scoring a lot of goals. I don't recall us scoring five in any game last season, but now we’re doing it quite often. We’re great in offense, and that’s a good thing. It’s comforting for me to know that even if I allow some goals, we still have a chance of winning. Last season, if we shipped three goals, it was game over.
This season the statistics suggest he was busier between the pipes.
- You can play well in defense and still allow 50 shots on goal. It's the quality of the shooting chances that really matters. It is not a problem for me if the opposition resorts to shooting from the blue line in clear sight.
Is this Amur team the best of all those in which you've played?
- Yes, we have a really good chance to make the playoffs. It is better than last year, when we really struggled. We’re almost there.
December might be crucial, as you have a lot of home games.
- It's a very important month for us, and we really need to bank a lot of points. It’s hard for us on the road because of the time difference. We must earn points at home.


The team began improving last season, after Andrei Martemyanov took charge. - I like him; he’s a smart guy. He knows that if we travel a lot, then we don't always need any practice on the ice. I like the way he sees the game. We talk via an interpreter, yes, but I’m a goalie, so there is often no need for me to know what he’s saying to other players. I’m just focusing on my own job
Do you feel that he has faith in you?
- Everyone in the team trusts me, and that gives me confidence.
It seems your place is not under threat from the other goalies, neither of whom has played as well as you have.
- Evgeny Alikin and Evgeny Kiselyov are great guys, but I’m getting a lot of ice time. And it's hard to get into a game if you're sent in when your team is already a few goals behind. If they were given a chance to start some games, it would be different.
The first part of the season did not go so well for you.
- It's hard to pinpoint the reason. We didn’t play well as team, either, but we all knew the solution – we worked harder, and the team improved. Now it’s going well.
Is it possible that the birth of your second child affected your concentration?
- It’s never nice being away from your family, and they should be coming to stay with me in December, when we have a lot of home games. Yes, my second daughter was born, I missed my family, and I wished I were at home. Maybe my mind was elsewhere. Everything is fine now.


This year at Khabarovsk, the club has surprised a few people by having a live, electric-guitar version of the pre-match anthem. Do you like it? - I like it a lot. These guys are great musicians, and are out there playing almost every game. I’m a fan of rock music, particularly live performances.
There is now a great atmosphere in the stands, and the team is finally winning on the ice.
- It’s the main thing for the fans. They want to see the team win. We could still play even better, and we are heading in the right direction.
Are you enjoying your time in the KHL?
- It’s been a great experience, and I want stay here as long as I can. The hockey is of a high quality, and I want to play in the best League I can get into.
So, you plan to stay in Khabarovsk?
- Possibly. We’ll see after the end of the season.
What about the Finnish national team?
- It's a big year for us, as we have a chance of playing in the Olympics. It’s the highest goal for me. I think it is possible, so I must make the most of my chance next week in Moscow.



When you decided to extend your contract with Amur two years ago, you hadn’t been playing much. - It was the end of my first season, and I wanted to stay here. Yes, I didn’t play much, but that was because Alexander Pechursky was just awesome. Whoever is playing the best is the one who should play.
There was some talk about a possible conflict between you and Andrei Nikolishin, who was the head coach at the time.
- No, I liked working with him. It's just that I didn’t play to my best.
This is now your third year in Khabarovsk. Do you feel at home?
- No, I never get that feeling anywhere away from Finland. I really like Khabarovsk, but Tampere is my home, and always will be.
What you like about Khabarovsk?
- Everything! I like the fine restaurants, the great people. There is nothing wrong with this city at all, apart from one thing – the distance from my home.

KHL - Spartak Celebrate Annual Retro Game

December 9, 2017 - Spartak Moscow v Slovan Bratislava 8-2
For Spartak, the 1980s were dominated by European success. The Red-and-Whites won the Spengler Cup five times between 1980 and 1990. Fittingly, then, on a day of 80s-themed action in Moscow, the home team enjoyed an impressive win against European opposition.
This time, away from the retro entourage off the ice, the focus was on securing points to keep in the playoff places – and Spartak delivered in some style. Things started well – Vyacheslav Leshchenko opened the scoring in the fourth minute – and got better. Colby Genoway’s first-period equalizer for Slovan was a brief blip, but once Dmitry Kalinin reinstated the home lead just before the intermission, there was no looking back for the home team.
Alexander Osipov added two more in the middle frame, then the host cut loose in the final stanza. Two goals in a minute from Lukas Radil and Dmitry Chernykh ended any doubt about the outcome and ensured that Andrej Stastny’s major penalty for slashing yielded three goals in total. Ryan Stoa made it 7-1 midway through the third, and the teams traded late markers when Pavol Skalicky got one back for Slovan before Alexander Kuznetsov completed the rout. The win moves Spartak up to seventh

KHL - Round Up - November 28 - December 04, 2017

On Earth, the match-up between Jokerit and SKA made history in several ways – not least because it was the first KHL game to be played beneath the starry Nordic skies of Finland. And soon, the KHL will be up among those same stars as the Gagarin Cup goes to the International Space Station. ISS missions are usually launched from Kazakhstan, where the league’s All-Stars are heading in January – and you’ll never guess who was the most popular player in the fan poll. But not every star shines so brightly: Kunlun Red Star announced the departure of head coach Mike Keenan after a dismal run of form.

History in Helsinki

Saturday’s game between Jokerit and SKA broke new ground for the KHL. It was the first ever open air classic played in the league, and it drew a league record attendance of 17,685. The event, played in the Helsinki park where some of Finland’s earliest recorded hockey games took place, marked both this 10^th anniversary KHL campaign and 50 years since the creation of the Jokerit club.
The game lived up to the billing, with the big crowd – almost all of them standing on specially-built terraces – witnessing a seven-goal thriller. SKA edged it 4-3, inspired by a three-point haul from Ilya Kovalchuk. His goal also made a bit of history, taking him to 150 for the Petersburg club and making him the all-time top scorer for SKA, moving ahead of Maxim Sushinsky. SKA also broke through the 100-point barrier in this game, getting there faster than any other team in KHL history.

Helsinki Ice Challenge

Gragnani tops the All-Star poll

Who’s the most popular player in the KHL? The answer might come as a surprise. According to the fan vote for January’s All-Star Game, Dinamo Minsk defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani is the league’s top dog. The Canadian blue-liner, now in his second season in Belarus, got 5,964 votes and will join Spartak’s Dmitry Kalinin on the Bobrov Division team in Astana next month. Impressively, Gragnani, 30, outscored Jokerit’s teenage sensation Eeli Tolvanen (5,819) and SKA’s record-breaker Ilya Kovalchuk (5,598). Team Bobrov also generated significantly more votes than the other three divisions.
The other players chosen were: Team Tarasov – Staffan Kronwall (Lokomotiv), Nikita Nesterov, Kirill Kaprizov (both CSKA), Dmitry Kagarlitsky (Severstal); Team Kharlamov – Andrei Markov, Vladimir Tkachyov (both Ak Bars), Chris Lee, Sergei Mozyakin (both Metallurg); Team Chernyshev – Kevin Dallman, Nigel Dawes (both Barys), Philip Larsen, Linus Omark (both Salavat Yulaev).

Out of this world!

Want to see the Gagarin Cup? Look into the night sky! On December 17, a replica of the trophy is heading to the International Space Station in the care of cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. The miniature cup, and an official KHL puck, will spend 72 days in orbit before returning in time for the opening game of the 2018 Gagarin Cup Final. The stunt, in partnership with Russian space agency Roscosmos, reaffirms the KHL’s determination to aim as high as possible – a mission embodied in the name of the league’s principle trophy – and represents another celebration of this 10^th anniversary season of the competition.

Keenan leaves coaching role

Mike Keenan has stepped down as head coach at Kunlun Red Star after the Chinese team’s loss of form continued. The legendary coach was replaced as General Manager last week and stepped down as head coach before Sunday’s game at Amur. At that time, Red Star was on a nine-game losing streak and had picked up just two victories in 19 outings. That sequence saw the team drop to 11^th in the Eastern Conference, at risk of becoming detached from the playoff contenders.
Bobby Carpenter took charge of the team for Sunday’s game and oversaw an overtime win. Keenan remains within the Red Star organization with a role in international coordination.

Mike Keenan

Goal of the week – Shumakov plays lacrosse!

Sergei Shumakov’s game-winner for CSKA against Kunlun Red Star was just a little bit special. It takes some chutzpah to flick the puck onto your stick behind the net, then swing it round and stuff it in the smallest of gaps in the top corner. And that’s exactly how Shumakov did it, deceiving Magnus Hellberg in the visitor’s goal and setting up his team for a 3-1 victory.

Canada names roster for the Channel 1 Cup

A total of 19 KHL players were called up by Canada to play in the Channel 1 Cup in Moscow later this month. As in Finland last month, the Canadians are looking to use this guest appearance in the Euro Hockey Tour to test out options ahead of February’s Olympic Winter Games and, once again, there’s a strong KHL accent to the team. Even among those not currently playing in the league, Barry Brust, Stefan Elliott and Derek Roy have tasted KHL action in the past, with only three names in the party unfamiliar to our league’s fans.
The KHL contingent in Moscow includes: Ben Scrivens (Salavat Yulaev); Karl Stollery (Dinamo Riga), Charles Genoway (Lada), Chris Lee (Metallurg), Simon Despres (Slovan), Mat Robinson (CSKA); Wojtek Wolski, Taylor Beck, Gilbert Brule (Kunlun Red Star), Matthew Frattin, Linden Vey (Barys), Ryan Garbutt (Torpedo), Eric O’Dell (Sochi), Brandon Kozun, Max Talbot (Lokomotiv), Matt Ellison (Metallurg), Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (Avtomobilist), Teddy Purcell (Avangard), Rob Klinkhammer (Ak Bars).

Team Canada fans

Challenge Cup starting lineups are revealed. JHL week in review

JHL Challenge Cup starting lineups for Team West and Team East are revealed. The game will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan on January 11th as part of the 2018 All-Star Week festivities.
Head-coaches of Team West and Team East, Mikhail Milyokhin and Dmitry Stulov, have made their choice for the starting lineups and goaltenders for the 9th JHL Challenge Cup that will be played at Barys-Arena.

Team East
Goaltender: Andrei Katyukhin (Kuznetskie Medvedi)
Defensemen: Ilya Morozov (Sibirskie Snaipery), Samat Daniyar (Snezhnye Barsy)
Forwards: Vladimir Gaideik (Mamonty Yugry), Razat Timirov (Reaktor), Yegor Korobkin (Stalnye Lisy)

Team West
Goaltender: Kirill Ustimenko (MHC Dinamo St. Petersburg)
Defensemen: Vladimir Miroshnichenko (Krasnaya Armiya), Akim Trishin (MHC Spartak Moscow)
Forwards: Nikolai Kovalenko (Loko), Evgeny Tsaryuk (SКА-1946), Ivan Muranov (МHC Dynamo Moscow)

Full rosters of Team West and Team East will be announced later.

Top players of the week:
Best goaltender – Alexander Samoilov (Krasnaya Armiya)
Best defenceman – Alexei Puzanov (Reaktor)
Best forward – Danil Bashkirov (Mamonty Yugry)

Top players of November:

Eastern conference
Best goaltender – Amir Miftakhov (Irbis)
Best defenceman – Samat Daniyar (Snezhnye Barsy)
Best forward – Stepan Grymzin (Mamonty Yugry)

Western conference
Best goaltender – Alexander Samoilov (Krasnaya Armiya)
Best defenceman – Gleb Morulyov (Almaz)
Best forward – Pavel Kruty (Kunlun Red Star Junior)