And they’re off ... — the KHL week in review

The 2022-2023 KHL season got underway last week, and there’s already plenty of action to talk about. Here’s a reminder of some of the highlights.

Opening Cup goes to CSKA

CSKA won the Opening Cup for the second time in its history and the first since 2015. Although the Moscow club has featured in the curtain-raiser more often than any rival – Thursday’s game was its seventh appearance so far – it has tended to struggle on the first day of the season. For a time, it looked like history might repeat itself as Metallurg jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period. However, last year’s Gagarin Cup final saw the Steelmen’s advantage evaporate and the same thing happened here. CSKA scored five without reply in the second period and went on to win 6-2. It was the highest-scoring Opening Cup game since Salavat Yulaev beat Atlant 5-3 in 2011. Mikhail Grigorenko led the way with two goals and an assist.

Opening Cup goes to CSKA. September 1 round-up

Hotly-tipped Ak Bars makes sluggish start

Ak Bars was a team that generated great excitement during the summer and all eyes were on its powerful offense when it began its season at Dynamo Moscow on Saturday. However, 24-year-old goalie Ilya Konovalov proved to be the star of the show, denying Radulov, Shipachyov & Co to backstop a 2-0 victory for the Blue-and-Whites. Konovalov learned his hockey at Lokomotiv and returned to the KHL in the summer after spending last season within the Oilers organization.

Dynamo blanks Ak Bars on high scoring day. September 3 round-up

Scoring starts

Each new season sees several players grab their first KHL goals. This time, the role of honor includes Kyle Wood, who had a goal and two assists on his debut for Kunlun Red Star. Nick Merkley grabbed a marker on his Dinamo Minsk debut, Alexander Chmelevski’s late effort salvaged a point for Salavat Yulaev and a famous name returned to the scoresheet as Igor Larionov found the net for Torpedo. That’s the son of Soviet legend Igor Larionov, who is now head coach in Nizhny Novgorod.

Debut day. September 2 round-up

Metallurg adds Curran

Canadian defenseman Kodie Curran signed a one-year contract with Metallurg on Friday. The 32-year-old spent the last two seasons in the AHL, mostly with San Diego Gulls, but also has experience playing in Europe. In 2016, he helped Esbjerg win the Danish championship. The following season he enjoyed similar success in Norway with Storhamer. Then, in 2019-2020, he was voted MVP in the Swedish championship after scoring 49 points with Rogle. That was the best scoring for a defenseman in the SHL, and also the highest tally for an import player.

Trans-Atlantic defense

Kunlun Red Star acquired Canadian defenseman Brandon Davidson. The 31-year-old has 180 NHL appearances across seven seasons in the league, but bad luck with injuries made it difficult for him to establish himself on a team. His move to the KHL is his first season outside of North America. Another blue liner is crossing the Atlantic, with Dinamo Minsk securing the services of American two-way defenseman Joe Duszak. The 25-year-old spent the bulk of the past three seasons with Toronto Marlies in the AHL, and he had 52 (7+45) points in 61 games last season.

First graduate from the class of 2005

Lokomotiv’s first game of the season saw 17-year-old defenseman Dmitry Simashev make his KHL debut. In doing so, he became the first player born in 2005 to feature in the league. And the youngster looked poised for further progress: despite Loko’s 2-4 loss at Avtomobilist, he kept his placed and contributed to the 4-0 shut-out win at Traktor two days later.

Junior league gets underway

Just as CSKA won the KHL’s Opening Cup, its junior team Krasnaya Armiya secured victory in the JHL season opener. The opening fixture in St Petersburg repeated last year’s cup final, with SKA-1946 hosting the game. Unlike the KHL curtain-raiser, this was a far closer game. SKA led 2-1 until the last minute when Maxim Kirileichenko tied the game. And Kirileichenko went on to win it for Krasnaya Armiya in a shoot-out. The 19-year-old was third in team scoring during last year’s regular season.

Coming up

Week two of the season has a full card of games. There are two stand-out fixtures to watch for. On Monday, defending champion CSKA entertains Ak Bars, with Znarok’s team keen to prove that its early loss at Dynamo is merely a blip. Alexander Radulov faces his former club looking for his first goal of the season. The Muscovites, though, have won two from two as they begin their title defense. On Wednesday, SKA takes on Avangard in another clash of the titans. Petersburg began with victory on Saturday, but needed overtime to see off a spirited Salavat Yulaev. Avangard, under new head coach Dmitry Ryabykin, lost its first game at Vityaz.

In addition, the Women’s Hockey League launches its big pre-season event, the Dmitry Solunsky Cup. Five of the league’s teams, plus Russia’s U18s, will play in two groups from Sep. 5-7, with the playoffs on Sep. 9 and 10.