CSKA season preview: going for another one

The champion team lost its starting goalkeeper, captain, and one of the league’s toughest veterans over the summer, but overall, CSKA is no weaker. On the contrary, the Muscovites are ready to go for the new Cup and they have already showed that thumping Magnitka 6:2 in the Opening Cup game. KHL.ru finish its season preview with the reigning Gagarin Cup champions.

Last season

Last year’s regular season was remembered not so much for CSKA’s top-3 finish in the West as for the debut of Sergei Fedorov as head coach and the risky but effective technique of pulling the goalie in OT, which has become a real trademark of the Red-and-Blues

In the playoffs, CSKA won the first two series by a combined score of 8-0, but in the Conference and Gagarin Cup finals, the Moscow side had two tough seven-game contests. The grand final against Magnitka went down in the annals of KHL history as one of the most dramatic: it’s hard to believe, but CSKA won the Gagarin Cup after trailing 1-3 in the series!

Roster

Arrivals

Goalies: Alexander Sharychenkov (Salavat Yulaev), Anton Todykov (Poprad, Slovakia,);

Defense: Dmitry Alexeyev (Traktor, trade), Yaroslav Dyblenko (HC Sochi), Frederik Claesson (Siracuse, AHL), Ivan Rogov (Severstal, trade).

Forwards: Maxim Mamin (Florida, NHL).

Retained

Goalies: Adam Reideborn, Vsevolod Skotnikov;

Defense: Darren Dietz, Marsel Ibragimov, Roman Kalinichenko, Bogdan Kiselevich, Nikita Nesterov, Vladislav Provolnev, Artyom Sergeyev;

Forwards: Vitaly Abramov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Matvei Guskov, Vladislav Kamenev, Pavel Karnaukhov, Vladislav Kotkov, Takhir Mingachyov, Konstantin Okulov, Semyon Pankratov, Sergei Plotnikov, Nikita Rtishchev, Anton Slepyshev, Maxim Sorkin, Andrei Svetlakov, Danil Yurtaikin.

Departures:

Goalie: Ivan Fedotov (Philadelphia, NHL);

Defense: Klas Dahlbeck (HC Davos, Switzerland), John Gilmour (Dinamo Minsk), Semyon Lugovyak (Severstal, trade);

Forwards: Sergei Andronov (Lokomotiv), Lev Komissarov (Torpedo, loan), Alexander Popov.

CSKA’s entire transfer policy this summer literally screamed that the Muscovites remain faithful to their concept. And as the saying goes, if it’s not broken, why try to fix it? The goalie line got noticeably weaker after Ivan Fedotov’s departure, and veterans Alexander Popov and Sergei Andronov have no one to replace them. However, CSKA made up for the other losses by bringing in players more or less similar in style. A huge plus for them will be the return of Maxim Mamin from overseas, who will add speed and skill to the Red-and-Blue’s already powerful offensive lines.

Head coach

The skeptics, who greeted the appointment of Sergei Fedorov with disbelief, were put to shame at the end of the season. The team gave maximum results, the players repeatedly highlighted the excellent communication with the new head coach and the unique tasks given before games, and journalists were delighted time and again by the coach’s answers at press conferences. In short, Fedorov gave the league an excellent coach from every standpoint.

By winning the Gagarin Cup in his debut season, Sergei Fedorov raised the bar high. Although the “second-year syndrome” is not always easy for coaches, Fedorov has every opportunity to repeat his success.

Goalies

CSKA’s goaltending squad for the season is Alexander Sharychenkov and Adam Reideborn. The Swede has honestly admitted that he lost the competition to Ivan Fedotov as the team’s number one last year, but now he intends to take over the lead. Last season, Sharychenkov played for Salavat Yulaev and didn’t show anything supernatural, winning five out of ten games with a saves percentage of 91.7%. During the preseason, however, he integrated well into CSKA’s system and his play showed that he would not give Reideborn an easy life. Fedorov should expect a fiery competition for the starting goalie position.

Defense

The main strengths of CSKA’s defensive line are its consistency, its chemistry, and its systems. The CSKA leadership has tried to keep the defense as close to championship level as possible. In the summer, CSKA’s main powerplay options, Nikita Nesterov and Darren Dietz, received new contracts.

Bogdan Kiselevich, Vladislav Provolnev and Artyom Sergeyev didn’t go anywhere. To replace John Gilmore and Klas Dahlbeck, the club signed the versatile and experienced blueliner Yaroslav Dyblenko and Frederik Klasson, a stay-at-home defender gifted with excellent skating abilities.

Offense

CSKA’s offense is one of the most potent in the league. The Red-and-Blues have a wide array of talented forwards for all tastes. The Muscovites kept such notable forwards as Mikhail Grigorenko and Maxim Sorkin, one of the playoffs’ major discoveries. In addition to them, almost all of the champions stayed on the team. Vitaly Abramov, Vladislav Kamenev, and Sergey Plotnikov got new contracts, and Anton Slepyshev extended his deal with the club until 2025.

As for the forwards, CSKA lost only Sergei Andronov, who left to Lokomotiv, the author of the Gagarin Cup clinching goal Alexander Popov, who has not decided yet about continuing his career, and Lev Komissarov, who went on loan to Torpedo. Komissarov’s loss isn’t a huge problem for CSKA at the moment, as the young forward played only five games in the lineup over the past four seasons.

CSKA has only one new player on offense. And it’s hard to consider him a true recruit. Gagarin Cup winner Maxim Mamin played for CSKA from 2014 to 2021, during which he had 338 games for the club with a total of 133 (59+74) points.

Young players

CSKA can boast a strong school and a solid vertical. So, it’s not surprising that there are so many up-and-coming young players in the CSKA system. Here are just a few examples.

Defenseman Artyom Duda is only 18 years old, and was the top scorer among defensemen last season in the JHL. With 41 points in the regular season and another 17 in the playoffs, Duda should grow into a great offensive defenseman. Another 18-year-old defenseman in the CSKA system is Vladimir Grudinin. He has already played at the KHL level, but has yet to unleash all of his talents at the professional level.

Prokhor Poltapov got good feedback from the coaching staff after the preseason. The forward, who turned 19 in February, showed himself clearly, for example, at the Mayor of Moscow Cup. He didn’t score, but in every game, he was an offensive dynamo for CSKA. Polpatov looks like a forward with no weaknesses among players his age.

Yegor Kuzminov played only ten minutes in official KHL games. But he topped the scoring list for CSKA in the JHL with 51 (27+24) points and should get a chance. Especially since Kuzminov spent part of last season in the VHL and got experience against older players.

There are also some young newcomers who came to CSKA from other sides. One of them is defenseman Ivan Rogov, who came to Moscow from Severstal. Rogov, 21, has played some 80 KHL games but he didn’t enjoy much playing time in Cherepovets, only 5-6 minutes per game. Last season, Rogov scored his debut goal in the Gagarin Cup playoffs.

Expectations

The depth of the current CSKA lineup is incredible, it’s essentially a machine. In the summer, the machine didn’t have a huge replacement of parts, but just maintenance. It’s hard to imagine anything stopping this machine on its way to first place in the Western Conference in the regular season.