Barys season review: no playoffs after four participations

KHL.ru continues its review of the 2022-2023 season with a look at Barys’ campaign. The Kazakhstani franchise failed to reach the elimination stage as it finished the season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Barys missed the playoffs for the second time in KHL history, with the first occurrence happening back in the 2017-2018 season. Despite being one of the four teams, along with Traktor, Amur, and Neftekhimik, battling for a spot in the coveted top eight until the very end of the 2022-2023 regular season, Andrei Skabelka’s team fell short. The outcome was influenced by Barys’ weak finish, securing only two victories in their last ten matches. Furthermore, Barys struggled in games against direct playoff competitors, suffering two defeats against Admiral, three against Amur, and one against Neftekhimik.

Additionally, the Astana-based franchise lacked stability throughout the season, experiencing losses against underdogs juxtaposed with breathtaking wins over top-tier clubs. For example, in September, they suffered a 3:6 loss to Sochi followed by a 5-3 triumph against Avangard just six days later. In October, a notable away victory in Kazan over Ak Bars (3:2) was followed by a crushing home defeat to Kunlun Red Star (0:5).

Top players

Nikita Mikhailis

41 (15+26) points in 58 games

Barys’ main star came incredibly close to reaching his personal record for points in the KHL. In the 2021-2022 regular season, Mikhailis accumulated 44 (28+26) points, despite skating in 11 fewer games. Overall, Nikita excelled in his role as the team’s leader, consistently contributing with goals and assists. One standout performance was against CSKA, where Barys emerged victorious in OT with a 6:5 score. In that game, Mikhailis himself recorded an impressive 5 points (with 2 goals and 3 assists).

Linden Vey

41 (18+23) points in 57 games

Formally, Vey should be considered Barys’ top scorer in the 2022-2023 season, as he played one game less than Mikhailis and potted one goal more, with both players grabbing a loot of 41 points. Returning to Astana, where he began his KHL career, the forward had a solid season both in terms of his overall contribution to the team and personal performance. It’s interesting to note that Linden has only played two seasons for Barys, and in both cases, the team failed to make it to the elimination stage. However, considering the level of play from the forward, such a fact appears to be nothing more than a coincidence.

Alex Grant

17 (9+8) points in 33 games

The Canadian blueliner joined Barys in the middle of the season and showcased an outstanding performance — nearly half a point per game, the highest average time on ice among defensemen (21:24), and the first defenseman in the league’s history to net four goals in a single game. Grant looked fantastic on the top power play unit, as he scored two-thirds (six out of nine) of his goals during the team’s extra-man advantage.

Head coach

Andrei Skabelka returned to Barys after spending two incomplete seasons with Lokomotiv. This is the second time in his career that his teams failed to make the playoffs, with the first instance occurring with Sibir back in 2016-2017. Analyzing the reasons for Barys’ results at the season-ending press conference, Skabelka mentioned the lack of a cohesive unit that could lead the team, unconvincing goaltending, lack of experience, and insufficient depth in the roster. However, he also acknowledged that many players on the team showed progress in the 2022-2023 season.

Best game

Naturally, it’s the thriller against CSKA — a comeback from a 2:4 score against the reigning champions, and all within one period. Anton Sagadeyev’s tally equalized the score, Vladislav Kamenev put the Muscovites back in the lead with just ten minutes remaining, and it seemed that a powerhouse like CSKA would secure itself the victory. However, after Kamenev’s goal, CSKA held the lead for a mere 23 seconds — Nikita Mikhailis once again leveled the score, and then in OT, he secured the victory for Barys in an incredible match.

Youngsters

Certainly, when discussing the progress of individual players, Skabelka primarily highlighted Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan and Ansar Shaikhmeddenov. For Kaiyrzhan, this season was his first full-time campaign in the KHL. In 47 games, he tallied 3 (2+1) points, with an average ice time of 7 minutes and 32 seconds — a commendable performance for a 19-year-old player. As for Shaykhmeddenov, he played 53 games, scored three goals, and contributed five assists, all at the age of 21.

Summer progress

At the moment, the situation with the roster is unlikely to please Astana’s fans, as there have been more departures than arrivals. Mikhailis moved to Magnitogorsk, Vey went to Germany, Jesse Graham and Sagadeyev signed with Sochi, Dmitry Shevchenko and Ivan Mishchenko joined Amur, while Yegor Petukhov has inked a deal with Dynamo Moscow. The question of who will replace these players remains open. However, the club’s management still has time to find the right players, and perhaps some youngsters from the club’s pipeline will have a chance to step up to the first team.