Metallurg season preview: looking to go one step further

In Magnitogorsk, last season’s key players are coming back to Metallurg and the team has sought to strengthen key positions. KHL.ru looks at how Magnitka is preparing to do battle for another Gagarin Cup.

Last season

In the summer, Metallurg changed its transfer policy and looked to sign fast, skilful players. According to head coach Ilya Vorobyov, this was a response to the market situation and some rule changes. The new-look team worked well. Metallurg played attractive hockey and at times was even described as a ‘reincarnation’ of the Soviet style. There were 14 consecutive victories in the fall, and Magnitka lost just two of its first 25 games (both against Salavat Yulaev). In November and December, defeats were slightly more frequent, but that didn’t prevent Metallurg from topping the regular season standings by a decent margin.

In the playoffs, Metallurg reached the Gagarin Cup final. The only team that caused problems in the first three rounds was Avangard, which took the series to seven high-scoring games. Moreover, in the final Magnitka led the series against CSKA 3-1 and few doubted the Steelmen would go on to lift the cup. Then it all changed. The Muscovites won two games by a one-goal margin, and finished the job in game seven. Vorobyov responded to that disappointment by restating his commitment to playing attacking hockey with his team.

Roster

Arrivals

Goalie: Eddie Pasquale (Lokomotiv)

Defense: Vladislav Yeryomenko (Dinamo Minsk), Valery Orekhov (Barys), Ilya Khokhlov (Severstal)

Forwards: Yaroslav Alexeyev (Yuzhny Ural, VHL), Danil Zinoviev (Tambov, VHL), Yury Platonov (Rubin, VHL), Nikita Rozhkov (Neman, BLR)

Remaining

Goalies: Vasily Koshechkin, Gleb Moiseyev.

Defense: Artyom Zemchyonok, Alexei Maklyukov, Artyom Minulin, Ilya Nikolayev, Yaroslav Khabarov, Yegor Yakovlev.

Forwards: Pavel Akolzin, Nikolai Goldobin, Denis Zernov, Maxim Karpov, Josh Currie, Yegor Korobkin, Nikita Korostelyov, Semyon Koshelev, Brendan Leipsic, Philippe Maillet, Arkhip Nekolenko, Anatoly Nikontsev, Andrei Chibisov, Danila Yurov

Departures

Goalie: Ivan Nalimov

Defense: Mikhail Grigoryev (Barys), Grigory Dronov (Arizona, NHL), Mikhail Pashnin (SKA), Linus Hultstrom (Linkoping, SWE)

Forwards: Linus Videll (Sodertalje, SWE), Igor Rudenkov (Amur)

The big task for Magnitka’s management was to preserve as much of possible of the team that reached the playoff final. And they did just that, concluding new contracts with Vasily Koshechkin, Yegor Yakovlev, Philippe Maillet, Maxim Karpov and other leading players. Yakovlev’s extension is especially noteworthy: he’s the team captain, the top defenseman and a leader in the locker room.

Most of the new arrivals are set to boost the defense. Metallurg signed restricted free agents Vladislav Yeryomenko and Valery Orekhov from Dinamo Minsk and Barys respectively, acquired Severstal’s Ilya Khokhlov and added goalie Eddie Pasquale alongside the veteran Koshechkin. The offense is largely unchanged, although a handful of forwards from the VHL and Belarus add some depth.

Metallurg did not face any significant losses. The players who left were not among the team’s leaders last season. Mikhail Pashnin went to SKA, Grigory Dronov is heading for the NHL, imports Linus Hultstrom and Linus Videll returned to Sweden and Igor Rudenkov goes back to Amur.

Coaching

Ilya Vorobyov is one of that group of KHL coaches who believes in attacking hockey. By coaching standards he is still pretty young (47), but he already has vast experience. His record includes two Gagarin Cups (one as head coach, one as assistant) and work on the international stage on the 2018 Olympic champion team and a bronze at the World Championship. He’s a live wire behind the bench during games, where his emotional reaction to events has made an impression of supporters of all clubs, not just Metallurg. He’s sometimes dubbed a showman, and we’re looking forward to seeing more performances in his starring role in Magnitogorsk this season.

Goaltending

Pasquale’s arrival makes Metallurg’s netminding options the envy of many in the league. Most likely, the Canadian will be first choice this season given Koshechkin’s age. Vasily, though, has vast experience, particularly in the biggest games, and that can only help the team.

Defense

The D-core was most heavily affected by player departures. Dronov was a regular on the first team, Pashnin played less often but both of them needed replacements. Yeryomenko and Orekhov are still very young and have yet to play on a team with serious hopes of winning the cup (with all due respect to Dinamo and Barys). It’s clear they will need time to adjust. Otherwise, the Metallurg defense is a well-oiled machine with high class two-way d-men (Yakovlev, Artyom Zemchyonok) and quality stay-at-home players (Artyom Minulin finished last season with +26, the best on the team last season).

Forwards

Here everything worked out more or less perfectly. The club kept hold of all of its top forwards (the departed Videll and Rudenkov were used in rotation). Oddly, all three of the top scorers from last season’s playoffs represented Magnitogorsk – Maillet, Brendan Leipsic and Nikolai Goldobin. Leipsic, in addition, was the top goal scorer in the Gagarin Cup. It will be interesting to see whether the finesse game preferred by Metallurg’s offense will continue to bear fruit now the opposition has a season’s experience of dealing with this – at least in theory. And the big question: if Metallurg’s offense needs to refine its game, what will that look like?

Youngsters

Danila Yurov is Magnitogorsk’s brightest prospect right now. Aged 18, he played in 40 games last season, including 19 in the playoffs. For a team at Metallurg’s level, that says a lot. It’s likely that the new season will bring even greater opportunities for Yurov to prove himself, the only question is what he can make of them. Nikita Grebyonkin is another prospect who made his debut last season and, according to Vorobyov, both will start the season with the first team.

Of those still awaiting their KHL debut, the stand-outs include goalie Ilya Nabokov, defensemen Danil Gololobov and Kirill Tatarnikov, plus forwards Maxim Kuznetsov and Roman Kantserov. It’s possible we’ll see at least some of them in the KHL before long.

Expectations

In isolation, Metallurg is clearly strong enough to at least repeat last season’s performance. But the competition in the East is not standing still. Ak Bars, Avangard and Salavat Yulaev all strengthened in the summer and the battle for top spot in the Conference will be fierce. Magnitka’s advantage in that struggle will be its team game: while the opposition is still looking for its ideal set-up (and nobody can say how many games that might take), Metallurg already has established lines and trusted systems.