Severstal season preview: Time to go further

Severstal’s fans are already getting used to regular trips to the playoffs, but can the team get beyond the first round in 2023? KHL.ru looks at how preparations are going in Cherepovets.

Last season

The Steelmen were hot throughout last season. Severstal rose to challenge the leaders in the west and set a club record streak of 19 games in which it took at least one point. The team finished fifth in the conference with 63 points from 49 games (64.29%). However, in a tight section, just one more point would have lifted Severstal to second place in the standings.

The playoffs brought a match-up with Dynamo Moscow and the Blue-and-Whites’ greater post-season experience made the difference. Andrei Razin’s team took it all the way to game seven, only to lose out to Dynamo in the decider. Despite finishing earlier than hoped, Severstal can certainly take credit for another good season.

Roster

Arrivals

Defense: Pavel Denisov (Dinamo Minsk), Semyon Lugovyak (CSKA)

Forwards: Georgy Busarov (Rubin, VHL), Alexander Zhabreyev (HC Sochi), Nikita Lukhovsky (Buran, VHL, try-out), Alexander Petunin (Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Suvorov (Dinamo Minsk, loan)

Remaining

Goalies: Vladislav Podyapolsky, Dmitry Shugayev

Defense: Nikita Makeyev, Robin Press, Nikolai Timashov, Mikhail Tikhonov, Makar Khabarov, Nikita Khlystov, Andrei Churkin

Forwards: Ruslan Abrosimov, Daniil Vovchenko, Igor Geraskin, Nikita Guslistov, David Dumbadze, Ivan Yemets, Maxim Kazakov, Maxim Kolmykov, Adam Liska, Artyom Markov, Dmitry Moiseyev, Yegor Morozov, Kirill Pilipenko.

Departures

Goalie: Konstantin Shostak (Dinamo Minsk, loan)

Defense: Mikhail Gordeyev (Dynamo SPb, VHL), Jakob Stenqvist (Timro, SWE), Ilya Khokhlov (Metallurg), Artyom Chmykhov (Sibir, via CSKA)

Forwards: Andrei Alexeyev (Ak Bars), Vladislav Kodola (Dynamo Moscow), Joonas Nattinen (HV71, SWE), Robert Rooba (JYP, FIN)

It’s been a quiet summer for Severstal in the transfer market. The club’s management clearly takes the view that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The big close season news was the trade with Dynamo Moscow that sent Vladislav Koloda to the capital with Alexander Petunin coming the other way. While the Steelmen lost their second best scorer from last season, they acquired a player who has always made an impact in black and yellow. In 2020-2021, Petunin was Severstal’s leading scorer.

Coaching

Andrei Razin goes into his fifth season as head coach of Severstal, and also continues as GM. The charismatic coach has generated excellent results on a modest budget, regularly taking the team to the playoffs. Arguably, this roster delivers the best value for money in the KHL. Taking a group of promising young players, Razin has forged a strong team with a never-say-die attitude. And things keep getting better with each passing season.

Goalies

Severstal looks to have one of the best goaltending stables in the league this season. Vladislav Podyapolsky has already played three seasons for the club and always puts up good numbers. Against Dynamo in last year’s playoff he was at his very best to secure three wins and stop more than 92% of the shots he faced. Dmitry Shugayev, 23, had a break-out year. He recorded his first shut-out and won several games for his team. This tandem looks likely to be one with two goalies of equal standing, something of a trademark for Razin’s teams.

Defense

The blue line lost one important figure with the departure of Ilya Khokhlov to Metallurg. However, the other big defensemen at Severstal are going nowhere. Robin Press is back on the team, and that’s great news for fans in Cherepovets. The 27-year-old Swede performed strongly last season: 5+13 in the regular season, 2+1 in the playoffs, +5 for the whole campaign and an 84% pass completion rate enabled Press to fulfil the role of two-way defenseman.

The other D-men were not so productive, with the exception of Nikolai Timashov who had 13 points in his first season for Severstal. However, almost everyone finished the season with a positive or neutral plus/minus.

There are two new faces in the D-core. Semyon Lugovyak, 24, and Pavel Denisov, 21. Both are looking to prove themselves in the KHL. The former played just 10 games for CSKA, the latter has 63 appearances for Dinamo Minsk but averaged just 7:30 or so in game time.

Forwards

Local hero Daniil Vovchenko is Severstal’s leader. The 26-year-old Cherepovets native has driven his hometown club forward, and has grown alongside the team. Last season Vovchenko had 39 points (14+18 in regular season, 4+3 in the playoffs) to set a personal best in the KHL. In the coming season he has every chance of improving on that mark.

Support for Vovchenko will come from the afore-mentioned Alexander Petunin and Kirill Pilipenko, who arrived at the team from Sochi after the start of last season. Previously, the skilled forward struggled to find a place in the KHL, but he quickly settled in Cherepovets. He potted 14 goals in 32 games for Severstal, securing a spot on the roster.

Now Alexander Zhabreyev is following the same path from Sochi to Cherepovets. The 22-year-old had 11 points in his rookie year in the league. Who knows, maybe he can raise his game to a new level with Severstal.

In late June, the club confirmed a new contract with Slovakia’s Adam Liska. Just 22, he is nonetheless one of Severstal’s longest-serving players. He joined in 2019 and, year-by-year, has steadily contributed more and more. It’s not just his scoring, Liska also delivers a powerful physical game. Last season he led the team with 64 hits (and picked up just 12 minutes of penalties).

Youngsters

Severstal has many young players. Nikita Guslistov, 20, stands out. He’s already far from a rookie, with 24 (12+12) points from more than 70 games in his first two seasons.

Within the organization there are several more highly promising young forwards, such as Prokhor Korbit. Last season he had 58 (24+34) points in 58 games in junior hockey, and also featured in the adult game with Buran, Severstal’s partner team in the VHL. He couldn’t match his ‘point-a-game’ pace at that level, but produced a respectable 2+2 in seven appearances. Dmitry Solovyov and Ivan Podshivalov also had productive campaigns in the JHL. The first had 55 points, the second 40. Ranel Vafin and Oleg Bogatov can also be added to the list of talented prospects.

Another forward born in 2002 is on his way from Minsk. Alexander Suvorov didn’t get a huge amount of game time last season, but he had 3+3 in 34 appearances for Dinamo and impressed for Belarus in U20 play. He should be a good fit for Andrei Razin’s system.

There are also good prospects on defense. Timur Karimov has already had a taste of the first team, Roman Shefer is looking to follow in the footsteps of his father Andrei, a former Severstal captain. Last season he was among the top scorers for Almaz and finished in the top five for points in the JHL.

And, if needed, there are reinforcements for the goalies. Timofei Korolyov, 19, enjoyed a winning KHL debut against Vityaz. However, in junior hockey he shared game time with Dmitry Shatailo and Artyom Nazarkin. There is already a queue of talent lining up behind Podyapolsky and Shugayev.

Expectations

Finishing in the top five in the West once more would be a solid endorsement of the team’s development. And Severstal can aim even higher, not least because one of the teams that finished higher in recent seasons, Jokerit, has since left the league.

An optimistic target would be a top four finish, setting up home ice advantage in the playoff and a long-awaited advance to the second round.