KHL Closing Ceremony – Hawks fly high, Dynamo duo strikes again

The KHL’s traditional end-of-season showcase was back in style at the Barvikha Luxury Village concert hall near Moscow on June 8. After having to miss out last year, the league was delighted to be able to once again put on a gala evening to celebrate the top performers from the 2020-2021 campaign.

The big individual prizes went to Dynamo Moscow’s Vadim Shipachyov. He was voted the top player of the season by the coaches of the KHL and collected the Golden Stick for his efforts. He also finished top of the scoring charts and won a Golden Helmet as part of the team of the season.

“It feels great,” he said. “I’m really happy to win these awards because this wasn’t an easy season for us. Of course, I have mixed feelings. I wanted to go all the way to the finals and we couldn’t do that. So we’ll come back next season and try to do better. We’re already starting the first steps of our preparations so we can start the season in top form.”

Shipachyov’s strike partner Dmitrij Jaskin was the league’s top goalscorer and the Czech international thoroughly enjoyed his evening.

“It was a terrific ceremony,” he said. “The whole thing was really impressive. It’s great to be involved in something like this. I’m happy for Vadim, picking up those awards is no accident. All year, we tried to help each other so it’s nice to get some recognition for that effort. It would have been even better to win the cup, but that didn’t happen.

“I’m very grateful to the KHL and to Dynamo for the chance to play for such a big club. The last two years have been really good, I’m very happy with the way everything worked out.”

Hawks flying high

Not surprisingly, Avangard featured strongly throughout the event. The Hawks won the Gagarin Cup for the first time back in April and several individuals gained personal recognition for their efforts during that successful campaign. Bob Hartley was named top coach, Sergei Tolchinsky collected his MVP award, Yegor Chinakhov won the top rookie prize and defenseman Oliwer Kaski was named to the Golden Helmet symbolic team of the season. Behind the scenes, Alexander Krylov was chosen as the best club director of the season, and the team also won the Bobrov prize as the top goalscorer during the season.

“Everything was great today, a lot of fun,” said Tolchinsky after collecting his award. “It was interesting to be part of a show like that. Most of all, I’m happy for my team-mate Yegor Chinakhov. It goes without saying he’s been brilliant this season and his prize is well deserved.

“But I’m happy for everyone — Vadim Shipachyov, who won the Golden Stick and the top scorer. He’s a great guy, a real talent.

“My season only finished three days ago, so it’s too soon to think about the future. Right now, I need to rest so I can be ready for a good pre-season. I don’t have any vacation plans yet. I’ve got some free time, so I want to fly away somewhere and sunbathe.”

Chinakhov’s rookie of the year award is named for Alexei Cherepanov, a talented Avangard prospect who tragically died after a game against Vityaz in 2008. And Chinakhov explained why he wanted to take the Gagarin Cup to Cherepanov’s grave in Omsk. “I always followed Lyosha, so I was very proud to bring the trophy to him and honor his memory,” the 20-year-old said.

The full list of all the winners reads as follows: