SKA season preview: a new push for glory

Last season, SKA took CSKA all the way before losing in game seven of the Western Conference final. In the summer, the roster got a major makeover. KHL.ru looks at Petersburg’s latest attempt to land the Gagarin Cup.

Last season

At the start of last season SKA set out to make its team younger and did not look like the most fearsome roster in the West. All that changed when Nikita Gusev, Mikko Lehtonen and Leo Komarov arrived during the season. They became important pieces of the jigsaw and contributed to a pleasing picture: top spot in the regular season, and favorite for the playoffs. Yet those playoffs were mixed. On the plus side, SKA reached the Conference final for the seventh successive year. However, even in the early rounds the team ran into trouble. Despite dropping just one game, SKA often struggled to put opponents away and relied heavily on moments of individual magic to steal wins.

Roster

Arrivals

Defense: Georgy Berdyukov (Rubin, VHL), Alex Grant (Jokerit), Evgeny Koreshkov (Zvezda, VHL), Alexander Nikishin (Spartak), Mikhail Pashnin (Metallurg), Andrei Pedan (Dynamo Moscow), Roman Rukavishnikov (Ak Bars)

Forwards: Damir Zhafyarov (Torpedo), Nikita Komarov (Avangard), Kirill Melnichenko (Sochi), Nikolai Prokhorkin (Avangard), Marat Khairullin (Neftekhimik), Dmitrij Jaskin (Arizona, NHL)

Remaining

Goalies: Dmitry Nikolayev, Alexander Samonov

Defense: Arseny Brinkman, Grigory Gryaznov, Evgeny Kalabushkin, Nikita Kamalov, Igor Ozhiganov, Daniil Pylenkov, Georgy Solyannikov, Stepan Falkovsky

Forwards: Zakhar Bardakov, Alexander Volkov, Mikhail Vorobyov, Emil Galimov, Maxim Groshev, Valentin Zykov, Evgeny Ketov, Pavel Koltygin, Vladislav Kurbatov, Danila Moiseyev, Daniil Ogirchuk, Denis Grudkov-Orlovich, Marat Khusnutdinov, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.

Departures

Goalies: Yaroslav Askarov (Milwaukee, AHL), Lars Johansson (Frolunda, SWE)

Defense: Denis Alexandrov (Sibir), Mikko Lehtonen (Zurich, SUI), Nikita Lisov (Vityaz), Ivan Mishchenko (Barys), Mat Robinson (retired), Nikita Sedov (Spartak), Vasily Tokranov (Ak Bars), Oscar Fantenberg (Linkoping, SWE)

Forwards: Anton Burdasov (Traktor), Nikita Gusev, Joonas Kemppainen (Karpat, FIN), Leo Komarov, Maxim Krovyakov (Spartak), Andrei Kuzmenko (Vancouver, NHL), Pavel Kukshtel (Spartak), Kirill Marchenko (Columbus, NHL), Evgeny Timkin (Salavat Yulaev)

SKA is always busy in the transfer market and this summer was no exception. Good work on defense and signing some strong forwards give Petersburg a powerful collection of skaters. However, in goal the team has suffered notable losses. Lars Johansson went to Sweden and Yaroslav Askarov is heading for the NHL. Thus far, no new goalies have been signed.

Coaching

At the start of 2022, Roman Rotenberg took over behind the bench from Valery Bragin. In total, he took charge of 20 regular season and playoff games, winning 14 of them. It’s fair to see that the coming season represents Rotenberg’s true debut as a head coach. It’s one thing to be an interim (as he was in 2020-2021) or taking over during the course of a season. Taking responsibility for pre-season and building a team from scratch is a very different affair. Rotenberg’s progress this term will be fascinating to watch.

Goaltending

At present, SKA’s goalies do not look to be the club’s greatest strength. The team goes into the coming season with Alexander Samonov and Dmitry Nikolayev. Samonov joined SKA from Vityaz back in 2019-2020, but since then he has struggled for a run in the team and usually found himself overshadowed by import goalies. Now he has the chance to cement his status as first choice. Back-up comes from 22-year-old Nikolayev, who made his KHL debut last term and won three of his five games, stopping 92.5% of the shots he faced.

Defense

SKA management deserves top marks for its efforts to develop the D this summer. The stand-out was the trade that acquired young Alexander Nikishin, arguably the best defenseman in the league right now despite his tender years. And there was more: SKA added Gagarin Cup winner Mikhail Pashnin, Dynamo’s reliable Andrei Pedan and also took Alex Grant after four successful years with Jokerit. Those four already form the basis of a solid defense.

Among the players returning from last year, Igor Ozhiganov’s new contract stands out. In his years with SKA, Ozhiganov has never posted a negative plus/minus and his offensive contribution is another big asset.

Offense

SKA lost its biggest stars over the summer. Andrei Kuzmenko went to Vancouver, Anton Burdasov returned home to Traktor, and Nikita Gusev took a time out to consider his future. However, the big arrivals can compensate for those losses.

Damir Zhafyarov joins from Torpedo, and Neftekhimik’s Marat Khairullin also signed for SKA. At their previous clubs, both forwards stood out as productive forwards capable of consistently piling up the points throughout the season. On a team committed to attacking hockey, both can reach a new level. The addition of Dmitrij Jaskin, a proven sniper in the KHL, underlines SKA’s status as one of the top favorites in the West.

Among those who played here last season, Mikhail Vorobyov is worth following. In his debut season for SKA, Vorobyov was far from a bit-part player. After a strong pre-season he is ready to establish himself as a leader on the team.

Youngsters

SKA works hard to accumulate prospects in its system. Even after the Nikishin trade, which sent a host of youngsters to Spartak, Petersburg still has plenty of rising stars.

The brightest of them is Matvei Michkov. This 17-year-old forward can score in any situation and his lacrosse goals are already something of a trademark. In the JHL, Michkov played alongside Dmitry Buchelnikov. The latter is a fast, mobile forward who shoots right – a summary to frighten any goalie. His stats back that up: last season Buchelnikov had 50 goals in the JHL, nine of them in the playoffs. Buchelnikov’s pre-season contribution suggests he is ready for a chance in the first team.

There are also players older than Michkov and Buchelnikov, but still firmly in the junior ranks. Marat Khusnutdinov is the most notable of these. Just 20 years old, he is already a big player for SKA and during the summer he even wore the ‘C’ in some warm-up games.

Expectations

Despite a summer of changes, SKA remains one of the favorites in the West and a genuine contender for the Gagarin Cup. We can expect a high placing the in the regular season – it would be a surprise if SKA finished outside the top two in the West – and the team will look to improve on last year’s playoffs. Even if the new roster does not settle into its game immediately, this is a long season and Roman Rotenberg will have plenty of time to resolve any teething troubles.