Avangard season preview: returning home without Hartley

Avangard returns to Omsk after a four-year hiatus, but without Bob Hartley — the Canadian bench boss with whom the club’s major successes in the KHL are associated, has left the team. KHL.ru checks how Avangard is preparing its long-waited return to Omsk

Last season

After the 2021 Gagarin Cup triumph, the Omsk club changed its lineup — the Hawks relied on powerful and physically strong players, who turned into the “Bob Hartley’s bodyguards” meme on social media. In the regular season, Avangard looked very good, avoiding long losing streaks — the maximum was three games (twice). With a renewed roster, the team continued to play Hartley-style hockey, and its powerplay success remained an important part of the game. As a result, Avangard finished fifth in the East and fell to Ak Bars in the first round.

Before the series began, very few people had much confidence in the Hawks, given their three losses in three games to Kazan in the regular season. Nevertheless, the strengths of Hartley’s system came to the fore here as well — defense, maximum self-sacrifice, and a careful handling of own scoring chances. All of that helped Avangard take a 3-0 early lead in the series. True, they suffered two losses in a row — a wounded snow leopard is very dangerous, but in the sixth game, the confrontation still ended in favor of the Omsk side.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, Avangard took on Metallurg and the teams put on a show with the most productive series in the Gagarin Cup history (51 total goals). Hartley’s team opened the dances with two straight victories — 8-1 and 7-5 over the best team in the regular season. Given the injury problems and the departure of their leading Finnish defenders, the Hawks lacked depth over the long haul: Avangard failed to score and allowed four goals in game seven.

Roster

Arrivals

Goalies: Arseny Akhmetov (Sibir), Stanislav Galimov (Karpat, Liiga);

Defense: Nikita Alexandrov (AKM, VHL), Anton Belov (Dynamo Moscow), Fyodor Belyakov (Admiral), Nikita Gromov (Spartak, trade), Christian Jaros (New Jersey, NHL), Dmitry Sergeyev (Omskie Krylya, VHL), Alexander Ugolnikov (Omskie Krylya, VHL),

Forwards: Alex Broadhurst (HIFK, Liiga), Reid Boucher (Lokomotiv), Vladislav Dzhioshvili (Skalica, Slovakia), Maxim Kazakov (Toros, VHL), Yegor Kruzhenkov (Spartak, trade), Fyodor Malykhin (Vityaz, trade), Nikita Mikhailov (Sokol, VHL), Evgeny Orlov (Omskie Krylya, VHL), Kirill Popov (HK Temirtau, Kazakhstan), Vladimir Tkachyov (Los Angeles, NHL).

Retained

Goalie: Vasily Demchenko;

Defense: Alexei Bereglazov, Semyon Chistyakov, Timofei Davydov, Bogdan Denisevich, Viktor Svedberg, Damir Sharipzyanov;

Forwards: Vladimir Bryukvin, Pavel Dedunov, Alexander Dergachyov, Arseny Gritsyuk, Nikita Kholodinin, Corban Knight, Dmitry Shevchenko, Ivan Telegin, Sergei Tolchinsky, Vladimir Zharkov.

Departures

Goalie: Simon Hrubec (ZSC, Switzerland);

Defense: Kirill Gotovets (Dynamo Moscow), Alexei Emelin (Dinamo Minsk);

Forwards: Peter Cehlarik (EV Zug, Switzerland), Ilya Kablukov (Dynamo Moscow), Nikita Komarov (SKA), Yaroslav Kosov, Nikolai Prokhorkin (SKA), Kirill Semyonov (Ak Bars), Dmitry Sokolov (Dinamo Minsk, loan), Nikita Soshnikov.

Avangard’s transfer campaign began with the signing of some not-so-stellar players, and some particularly impressionable fans were already vocal. Later, however, the club’s management signed several very interesting deals, among which the return of Omsk forward Vladimir Tkachyov, naturally, stands out. Another serious achievement for Avangard’s front office was the signing of Corban Knight, who many consider to be the best center in the KHL. And, it should be said, not without reason.

Avangard’s main loss this offseason was Simon Hrubec. The defense was led by the experienced Alexei Emelin for the last few seasons, while the offense was very good with Kirill Semyonov, Nikita Soshnikov, Nikolai Prokhorkin and the Slovak international Peter Cehlarik — all of whom left Avangard in the offseason.

Coaching

After the season ended, then-head coach Bob Hartley called a press conference and announced that he was leaving the team. Whatever the opinion on him can be, it’d be silly to deny that he left a bright mark in the history of the franchise and the entire KHL. Dmitry Ryabykin, one of Hartley’s assistants on the bench, took the vacated position. He has already stated that he doesn’t intend to give up the system the Canadian put in place for the team. For Ryabykin, the work in Avangard is his first experience as a head coach, and it will be very interesting to watch him and his decisions.

Goalies

So far, this line looks much weaker than the rest of the roster. Last season, Demchenko sat behind Hrubec, and Galimov had an okay season in the Finnish Liiga. Things are looking up for one of them to start the new season as Avangard’s starter. However, the Hawks might be on the lookout to sign another netminder to add further depth to the team.

Defense

With the departures of Ville Pokka and Oliwer Kaski, and the subsequent leaving by Alexei Emelin and Kirill Gotovets, Avangard’s defensive lines have thinned not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively. Christian Jaros, who played about a hundred games in the NHL, and Fyodor Belyakov, who looked great in Admiral last season, are here to make up for those losses. To the mix the youngsters Timofey Davydov and Semyon Chistyakov, Damir Sharipzyanov, Alexey Bereglazov, and Viktor Svedberg should be added to the mix — the Omsk defense looks very good anyways.

Offense

After a couple of signings, Avangard’s offense has boosted up. Tkachyov started to show his level since the first preseason games and became the team leader up front. Reid Boucher provided the Omsk team with a capable offensive finisher, Knight was as usual equally good on the flanks and in the middle, and especially on the faceoff dots. One of the most interesting developments of the new season for Avangard is whether Arseniy Gritsyuk, who grew from a rotation player to a first line player last year, will continue to progress. In addition, Sergei Tolchinsky, who could be called a real star not only on his team, but also within the League, will continue to play a leading role for the Hawks.

Youngsters

There are some very interesting young players within the Avangard system who might get a chance to prove their worth in the new season. They are mainly Yegor Serdyuk, Gleb Trikozov, and Nikita Kholodilin — guys who looked great for Avangard’s junior team and were leaders in the last JHL season. Serdyuk and Trikozov were among the top 5 scorers of the Kharlamov Cup playoffs, while Kholodilin was in the top 10. Perhaps one of them can repeat Gritsyuk’s path, becoming one of Avangard’s leaders despite their young age.

Expectations

In the upcoming campaign, a lot for Avangard will depend on how Ryabykin adapts in his new role. Good players don’t always make good coaches. But if he and his assistants can find the optimal line combinations, Avangard could advance far in the playoffs. If that’s the case, all the players would like to make their fans happy when they return to Omsk.