Waiting for the youngsters. HC Sochi season preview

KHL.ru continues its look at the preparations of each team ahead of the coming season. Today, we’re looking at HC Sochi once again facing severe changes in its roster and staff.

Last season

Last year, the KHL saw only one coach firing — and that happened in Sochi, with Evgeny Stavrovsky taking Alexander Andriyevsky’s place. The Black Sea franchise started last year’s campaign with a young roster, and the younger players lacked some experience, especially in front of the crease. The team lost all hopes for a postseason qualification pretty early, with its longest winning streak reaching a mere two games.

Roster

Arrivals

Goalie: Magnus Hellberg (SKA, trade); 

Defensemen: Viktor Baldayev (TO, Kunlun Red Star), Kirill Dyakov (Yunost, Belarus), Alexander Kalinin (TO, Lokomotiv), Nikita Kamalov (Amur, trade), Mark Pavlikov (TO, Lada, VHL), Janis Jaks (Bakersfield Condors, AHL); 

Forwards: Andrei Bakanov (Kunlun Red Star), Martin Bakos (Spartak), Daniel Butsayev (TO, Neftekhimik), Daniil Ilyin (Traktor), Ivan Kozlov (TO, Toros, VHL), Nikita Li (TO, Dizel, VHL), Artyom Nikolayev (SKA, trade), Kirill Pilipenko (Yugra, VHL, trade through Avtomobilist), Pavel Shen (Providence, AHL)

Retained

Goalie: Maxim Tretyak; 

Defensemen: Yuri Alexandrov, Vladislav Valentsov, Mikhail Gordeyev (TO), Ivan Mischenko, Oleg Pogorishny, David Rundblad, Nikita Sedov; 

Forwards: Amir Garayev, Vasily Glotov, Dmitry Kolgotin, Kirill Petkov, Igor Rudenkov, Nikita Tochitsky, Nikita Feoktistov, Bogdan Yakimov (TO).

Left

Goalies: Alexei Krasikov (Spartak), Ivan Kulbakov; 

Defensemen: Rafael Batyrshin, Konstantin Klimontov (Traktor), Maxim Mineyev (Barys), Georgy Solyannikov (SKA, trade);

Forwards: Ivan Volodin (SKA, trade), Ansel Galimov, Jere Karjalainen (Dinamo Riga), Danila Kvartalnov (Spartak), Vladislav Kurbatov (SKA, trade), German Rubtsov (Philadelphia, NHL), Sergei Shmelyov (Salavat Yulaev).

In the offseason, HC Sochi failed to retain its top scorer Sergei Shmelyov — this was the team’s most serious loss. However, the team recovered, getting Magnus Hellberg, who will most likely be HC Sochi’s number one goalie throughout the season. On the blueline, Janis Jaks had a great start of the preseason, tallying a beauty in the Sochi Hockey Open. Martin Bakos, Denis Vikharev, and Kirill Pilipenko will add depth to the offensive lines.

Coaching

Evgeny Stavrovsky had his debut as a KHL head coach last year, but he has experience working with junior teams. The bench boss said that one of the most challenging tasks of his role is to get the players to adapt to new requests, and he added that Sochi will try to play more actively in the upcoming season.

Goalies

One of the team’s tasks for the new season was to find a more reliable option on goal, and they found Magnus Hellberg, who started in the crease for Kunlun Red Star and SKA. His backup will be Maxim Tretyak, who had his best season to date last year.

Defensemen

The teams’ leaders on the blueline will be Yury Alexandrov and Sweden’s David Rundblad. Both were among the top-scoring defensemen last year for the Black Sea franchise. But the very best was Daniil Miromanov, who then moved to North America; thus other players will have a chance to make a leap forward. The coaches expect Mikhail Gordeyev and Nikita Sedov to progress further, but the first joined the team on a try-out contract, and the second is currently injured.

Forwards

One of the team’s top centers will be Nikita Tochitsky, who had a breakout season last year. Slovakia’s Martin Bakos should improve the team’s efficiency, with Daniil Ilyin and Denis Vikharev adding depth in the offensive zone. Moreover, Kirill Pilipenko and Kirill Petkov should progress further and become dangerous options for Sochi’s attack.

Youngsters

Much of the next season for Sochi will depend on how the young players will develop and perform. Forward Andrei Bakanov will fight for a spot at the 2022 IIHF WJC after scoring last term 5 (4+1) points in 32 games with Kunlun Red Star. D-man Nikita Sedov had 44 appearances in the 2020-2021 campaign, with an average time on ice of seven minutes and 29 seconds. Another player expected to break out is forward Amir Garayev, who had a successful debut season last term with 6 (4+2) points.

Expectations

Just as last year, Sochi will again bet on young players, with many earning precious experience in 2020-2021. The team is expected to be mobile and fast, but they must improve their scoring efficiency — if so, they can have a chance for postseason qualification.