2020-2021 Avtomobilist review. An incredible start and 10 losses in a row
KHL.ru keeps on reviewing the 2020-2021 campaign for the league’s 23 teams. Avtomobilist had a fantastic start to the regular season, but a negative series including a 10-game losing streak almost cost the Ural franchise the playoffs.
It’s hard to believe, but in 13 seasons, only twice did Avtomobilist reach the playoffs’ second round. And this, although today, the Motormen have a roster that can compete against the league’s contenders. 2020 April and May were very promising for Avtomobilist. The two-time world championship’s gold medal and Stanley Cup champion Bill Peters became the team’s head coach. Moreover, the franchise signed Charles Genoway and Zakhar Arzamastsev on the blue line and Stanislav Bocharov and Alexei Makeyev to improve their offensive production.
It looked like Avtomobilist could become a leader in the Eastern Conference and finish in the top three. The Motormen had three wins in a row to start the season with an 11:2 cumulated score, and it wasn’t just a feeling anymore. Soon after, Avtomobilist was on top of the Western Conference’s standings, but start facing the league’s contenders was enough to create a ten-match losing streak. Avto lost twice to Severstal and Sibir and also suffered from a defeat by the hand of Amur. However, both Sibir and Amur failed to qualify for the postseason. At the end of the regular season, Avtomobilist managed to return to the top eight. As a result, the Ural franchise was the seventh seed of the Eastern Conference and lost to the future Gagarin Cup champion, Avangard, in five matches.
Best players
56 games, 24 W, GAA 2.26, 92.4%, 8 SO
The Czech netminder once again showed an excellent level and posted a career-high with eight shutouts. Kovar had a phenomenal start of the season, was the first week’s best goalie, and backstopped the team to the Eastern Conference’s leadership. However, the season turned upside down for Avto, and Kovar had a few interviews where he started blaming the team’s defense and lack of discipline and proper physical condition.
63 games, 25 (3+22) points
It was Genoway’s first season in Yekaterinburg, and the Canadian D-man was one of the crucial players for Bill Peters, becoming the scoring leader among all blueliners. He also posted the best rating for the Ural franchise, ending the season being plus-16. Between September and October, he had a six-game scoring streak, with two goals and six assists. However, in the playoffs, Genoway didn’t show anything particular and was scoreless in five games, with a minus-3 rating.
Genoway opened his account for Avtomobilist in the season’s third game — a home match against Kunlun in the first period.
65 games, 46 (24+22) points
The 29-years-old forward moved to Yekaterinburg the last summer from Vityaz and had a breakthrough season with Avtomobilist. He was the regular season’s sixth sniper and the franchise’s top scorer. And all this considering that he was in the same team with Pavel Datsyuk and several high-quality international players. Makeyev also led the Motormen for powerplay goals (10) and the most shots. He also posted a hat-trick, scoring three goals to Dinamo Riga and helping his team to win with a 7:2 score.
Best game
Avtomobilist didn’t play well against the league’s top teams this year, yet the Bill Peters’ men defeated Avangard twice. In the game in Yekaterinburg, both sides exchanged goals in the second period, leaving the most interesting for the closing frame: a tally by Genoway lifted Avtomobilist up, but Avangard quickly recovered with Corban Knight. Alexey Emelin scored the Hawk’s third goal, but Bocharov tied things up after a lucky bounce off Emil Garipov’s shoulder with just three minutes to go. In OT, a fabulous backhand pass by Datsyuk put Makeyev in front of Garipov. The forward won the duel, and Avtomobilist celebrated a well-deserved victory.
Head coach
In the 2020 fall, Avtomobilist and its head coach Bill Peters were the leading newsmakers in the league. The team was winning game after game, and the press praised the coach for Avtomobilist’s results, Datsyuk’s second youth, and Makeyev’s numbers. However, the coach didn’t manage to build a systematic defense, and this lack stroke back as the Ural franchise allowed the most goals among the contending teams (154). In the playoffs, Peters almost managed to tie the series against Avangard after suffering from two defeats in the first couple of games, but an OT loss in game four virtually sent Avtomobilist to vacation.
“Game four that we were winning 3:1, but then lost 3:4 in OT was the critical moment of the series. We could score the 4:1 goal, but Obidin hit the goalpost. We then accumulated a few penalties, and that was another central factor. In the fifth game of the series, we lost an essential defenseman in Alexander Shchemerov, and this had its impact. We are trying to improve our defense; we’ll work on it and improve further,” said Peters after the season.
Offseason moves
Avtomobilist, just as usual, is very active on the transfer market. The team signed back Stephane Da Costa, joined by one of the league’s top centers, Patrice Cormier. Avtomobilist also signed Dinamo Minsk’s leaders Shane Prince and Ryan Spooner and a couple of solid domestic players from Sibir, Yefim Gurkin and Danil Romantsev. To solidify the defense, Avtomobilist inked Jesse Blacker from Barys. Naturally, one of the best news for the Motormen’s fans was Jakub Kovar’s new contract — the next season will be his eighth in Yekaterinburg. His new backup will be Dmitry Shikin.
