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Reinforcements, ambitions and summer trophies — the KHL week in review
A titled forward is looking for new honors at a new club, a talented young Slovak is heading to Neftekhimik while both Salavat Yulaev and Traktor celebrated summer silverware last week.
Dragons add two to the D
Kunlun Red Star continued to build its roster for the new season. Two new defensemen joined the Dragons from North America. Liam Ross, 23, arrives after five seasons in the OHL with Sudbury Wolves. He captained the team in his final campaign and continues the Red Star tradition of promoting players with Chinese ancestry. Doyle Somerby, 28, brings ample AHL experience to the blue line. Both players were involved as KRS began its pre-season campaign with a 4-1 win at Vityaz on Saturday.
Slovak star goes to Nizhnekamsk
Neftekhimik signed Slovakia’s leading scorer from the 2021-2022 season. Samuel Bucek, 23, hit the heights with hometown club Nitra, scoring 64 (41+23) points in regular season and adding 24 (13+11) in 19 playoff games. Bucek has yet to play a competitive game for his country’s senior team, but he does have experience outside of Slovakia. In 2016 he crossed the Atlantic and played USHL hockey with Chicago Steel as well as a spell in the QMJHL at Shawinigan. Later, he had a short stint at KooKoo in Finland.
Andronov anticipates new success
With two Gagarin Cups and an Olympic gold medal, Sergei Andronov knows a thing or two about winning. So his move to a Lokomotiv team that has not reached a Gagarin Cup final since the KHL’s first season is an eye-catching decision. Part of it is down to working once again with Igor Nikitin, who led Andronov’s CSKA to its first big cup of the KHL era. But, and fans of the Railwaymen may wish to note this closely, it’s a huge vote of confidence in what the Yaroslavl club is trying to build.
“I decided to come to Lokomotiv for a new challenge,” Andronov told KHL.ru. “I sincerely believe in this team and I believe that we can win. I’d be really happy to be a part of that. It’s a challenge for any athlete and it gives me motivation and energy to continuing progressing. That’s really important for me.”
Salavat Yulaev triumphs at home
Salavat Yulaev enjoyed a morale-boosting win at the Republic of Bashkortostan Cup. The host team was undefeated on home ice, clinching the prize with a convincing 5-2 success against Severstal. The tournament represented a first close inspection for Viktor Kozlov’s team after he took over as head coach from Tomi Lamsa. Since then, Ufa has also replaced its Finnish imports and fans got their first look at Josh Ho-Sang and Alexander Chmelevski. However, the club’s promising youngsters also played a big part, with Danil Alalykin (2), Danil Bashkirov and Daniil Skorikov all on target in the win over Severstal.
Salavat wins home tournament, Kunlun beats Vityaz
Traktor wins tournament at Metallurg
Earlier in the week, Russia’s oldest pre-season tournament concluded in Magnitogorsk. Traktor finished on top at the 31st edition of the Romazan Memorial Trophy, paving its way to victory with wins over Metallurg (4-1) and Avtomobilist (4-2). An overtime loss to Amur in the final game of the round robin event could not deny the Chelyabinsk team, which lifted the trophy for the second time. Avtomobilist beat Metallurg to second place, claiming a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory in the concluding game.
Traktor wins Romazan Memorial Trophy
Bison stampede over CSKA
Defending champion CSKA was one of the last teams to take to the ice in pre-season. However, the Gagarin Cup holder looked a long way short of its championship form when it made its summer bow. Up against a Dinamo Minsk team with plenty of action under its belt already, the Muscovites iced a fresh-faced roster – and suffered a 1-6 loss. Dinamo was led by Vladimir Alistrov (2+2), with Pavel Varfolomeyev also scoring two goals. CSKA failed to give 19-year-old goalie Dmitry Gamzin enough protection. The Bison included recent signings Mark Barberio and Nick Merkley for the first time.
CSKA suffers heavy loss, Spartak edges Ak Bars
Coming up ...
The coming week sees just one pre-season tournament. The President of Kazakhstan Cup takes place in Nur-Sultan, with Barys entertaining Neftekhimik, Avtomobilist and Metallurg. Kunlun Red Star was slated to take part as well, but has since withdrawn from the competition. The tournament will be the first sight of Barys this summer. After the opening game on Tuesday, all 22 KHL teams will have played at least one warm-up game.
