KHL players at the upcoming IIHF World Championship

The 2021 IIHF World Championship will start on May 21 in Riga, Latvia. Nine national teams will feature KHL players, while almost all teams in the league will have at least a representative at the tournament. Five teams, however, will be mostly made up of KHL players: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Latvia, and Finland.

Russia

KHL representatives: Ivan Fedotov (CSKA), Alexander Samonov (SKA); Grigory Dronov (Metallurg), Alexei Marchenko, Rushan Rafikov (Lokomotiv), Igor Ozhiganov (SKA); Dmitry Voronkov (Ak Bars), Maxim Shalunov, Konstantin Okulov, Anton Slepyshev, Pavel Karnaukhov (all — CSKA), Anton Burdasov, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoy, Vladislav Kamenev, Evgeny Timkin, Andrei Kuzmenko, Ivan Morozov, Emil Galimov (all — SKA), Sergey Tolchinsky (Avangard).

Other than the players mentioned above, Ivan Bocharov (Dynamo Moscow), Kirill Kirsanov, Vasily Podkolzin, Kirill Marchenko (SKA), and Ilya Safonov (Ak Bars) are practicing with the team and may be added to the roster at a later stage. Team Russia’s head coach Valery Bragin decided to go with a relatively young roster, with several players at their debut at the IIHF WC level, including both goalies, Ak Bars’ Dmitry Voronkov and the Gagarin Cup playoffs’ MVP Sergey Tolchinsky. The team’s captain will be Red Army forward Anton Slepyshev.

Belarus

KHL representatives: Konstantin Shostak (Severstal), Alexei Kolosov, Danny Taylor (both — Dinamo Minsk); Nick Bailen (Traktor), Stepan Falkovsky, Dmitry Znakharenko, Ilya Shinkevich, Vladislav Yeryomenko (all — Dinamo Minsk), Evgeny Lisovets, Dmitry Korobov (both — Salavat Yulaev), Kristian Khenkel (Ak Bars); Andrei Belevich (Torpedo), Geoff Platt (Salavat Yulaev), Artyom Demkov (Dinamo Minsk), Francis Pare, Nikita Komarov (both — Avangard), Shane Prince (Avtomobilist), Vladislav Koloda (Severstal).

Several other Belarusian players have played a significant portion of last season in the KHL, like Yegor Sharangovich and Alexei Protas, who were key players for Dinamo Minsk earlier in the season. Moreover, the Belarusians will also have other KHL representatives on the bench, with former Vityaz’s head coach Mikhail Kravets and new Amur’s bench boss Vladimir Vorobyov as assistants to Mikhail Zakharov. The Belarusians made huge strides forward in the latest few years — expect the team to be a dangerous client to deal with throughout the tournament.

Latvia

KHL representatives: Janis Kalnins (Jokerit); Kristaps Sotnieks, Gunars Skvorcovs, Kristaps Zile, Ralfs Freibergs, Oskars Cibulskis; Andris Dzerins, Lauris Darzins, Martins Karsums, Rihards Bukarts, Martins Dzierkals, Gints Meija (all — Dinamo Riga), Miks Indrasis, Kaspars Daugavins (both — Vityaz).

The hosts will naturally try very hard to be a surprise, and they often manage to be at the World Championship. Other than several excellent players, the Latvians — similarly to Belarus — will bring KHL excellence also on the bench, with Bob Hartley as the team’s head coach and a recent triumph in the Gagarin Cup playoffs. The Latvians will bring to the tournament an experienced roster, with only a few debutants, like Renars Krastenbergs, who started the season with Dinamo Riga. D-man Kristaps Sotnieks is one of the most experienced players in this year’s tournament — it will be his 12th participation at the World Championship, with the debut call coming at the 2009 IIHF WC in Switzerland.

Kazakhstan

KHL representatives: Darren Dietz, Yegor Shalapov, Samat Daniyar, Valery Orekhov, Viktor Svedberg (all — Barys), Alexei Maklyukov (Metallurg), Jesse Blecker (Avtomobilist); Roman Starchenko, Anton Sagadeyev, Alikhan Asetov, Dmitry Gurkov, Curtis Valk, Nikita Mikhailis, Yegor Petukhov, Arkady Shestakov (all — Barys), Pavel Akolzin (Metallurg), Dmitry Shevchenko (Avangard), Kirill Panyukov (Ak Bars).

Like Latvia and Dinamo Riga, Kazakhstan and Barys bring most of the players to the IIHF WC. Moreover, a few players who had a breakout season in 2020-2021 moved on and signed with other KHL clubs, like Kirill Panyukov, Dmitry Shevchenko, or Pavel Akolzin. The team’s head coach will be Barys’ bench boss Yuri Mikhailis — Nikita’s father — while Darren Dietz is expected to become a leader for the team as he is with Barys.

Finland

KHL representatives: Harri Sateri (Vityaz), Janne Juvonen (Jokerit), Juho Olkinuora (Metallurg); Ville Pokka, Oliwer Kaski (Avangard), Petteri Lindhbom, Marko Anttila, Hannes Bjorninen, Teemu Turunen, Iiro Pakarinen, Saku Maenalanen (all — Jokerit), Mikael Ruohomaa (Sibir), Jere Karjalainen (Dinamo Riga).

The Leijonat will bring to Latvia several KHL representatives — not all from Jokerit, but also from other teams in the league. Jere Karjalainen topped the scoring charts at the recent Euro Hockey Tour stage in the Czech Republic, and he confirmed to be in excellent shape. Recently, he left HC Sochi and inked a one-year deal with Riga. The Finns are the reigning champions, and they will do all it takes to confirm their victory at the upcoming tournament.

Other countries

KHL representatives

Czech Republic: Simon Hrubec (Avangard), Roman Will (Traktor), Lukas Klok (Neftekhimik), David Sklenicka (Jokerit).

Denmark: Niklas Jensen (Jokerit).

Slovakia: Adam Liska (Severstal), Marek Hrivik (Torpedo), Julius Hudacek (Spartak).

Sweden: Lawrence Pilut (Traktor), Oscar Lindberg (Dynamo Moscow), Par Lindholm (Ak Bars).

Canada: Justin Danforth (Vityaz).

USA: Chris Wideman (Torpedo).

The Czechs will have the most KHL players in their lineup among the other countries. The Czech Republic has won the last Euro Hockey Tour stage and proved to be in fantastic shape. Moreover, all of them will most likely be key players for the Czechs and have a significant role in the team. Gagarin Cup champion Simon Hrubec is expected to be starting between the piping.

Sweden and Slovakia will bring three players each. Both countries will feature a player who just signed in the KHL, like Torpedo’s Marek Hrivik and Ak Bars’ Par Lindholm.

Both North American representatives played in the KHL last year but don’t have a contract in the league for the upcoming season just yet. All the other countries have players with past KHL experience, excluding Team Italy.

The 2021 IIHF World Championship kicks off with the clash between Team Russia and Team Czech Republic. The round-robin plays through June 1, with the medal round starting two days later. The grand final is scheduled for June 6.