KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Lokomotiv season review: break-out years for Nikulin and Isayev
KHL.ru continues its review of the 2022-2023 season in Yaroslavl, where Lokomotiv reached the second round after impressive campaigns from Stepan Nikulin and Daniil Isayev.
Igor Nikitin’s structured team looked good in the regular season, finishing third in the west. The Railwaymen were unusual in that they went through the whole season without a serious loss of form. Yes, there were a couple of five-game losing streaks (in November and January) but even during those skids the team continued to pick up points. Notably, Lokomotiv was one of the strongest teams on the road – 44 points in enemy territory was bettered only by CSKA (45).
In the playoffs, Loko started with a loss to Vityaz in its opening game but then reeled off four victories to advance to the second round. Then came a meeting with the team that beat them last year – CSKA. This was a dramatic series, with Lokomotiv recovering from 1-3 but running out of steam in the process and falling to a 0-5 loss in game seven.
Best players
39 (16+23) points in 73 games
Nikulin’s first full season in the KHL was a hit. He averaged 14 minutes a night, including time on the PP. That helped him crack the top three in team scoring and got him on the short-list for the rookie of the year prize.
93.4% saves, 1.61 GAA, 7 shut-outs in 50 games
At the start of the season, Daniil shared his game time with Ivan Bocharov. However, by the time the playoffs arrived, Lokomotiv’s young goalie had established himself as the clear first choice. Throughout the season he was consistent and made almost no mistakes as he earned a call-up to the All-Star game and found himself nominated for the goalie of the year award.
49 (30+19) points in 74 games
Shalunov’s first season at Lokomotiv was underwhelming, but his second was a success. He started well, taking five points from the first four games, and never looked back. He finished as the team’s top scorer, setting a new club record for regular-season goals. However, in the playoffs he struggled to maintain that form and managed just one goal.
Coaching
Igor Nikitin returned for a second season as head coach at Lokomotiv. There is visible progress. In regular season, Loko improved from sixth place in the west to third; in the playoffs, 0-4 in round one became 3-4 in round two. Nikulin is trying to establish a winning psychology, making the players believe they can cope with anything, and this, too, can be seen on the ice.
Arguments about whether Nikitin’s hockey is overly defensive will continue. The facts show that defensive discipline is the team’s hallmark – and that it gets results. In the regular season, Lokomotiv allowed 122 goals, or just 1.8 per game.
Best game
Over the course of the season it appeared that Lokomotiv’s biggest rival was SKA. On Oct. 13, the Railwaymen handed the league leader a first loss in regulation. Georgy Ivanov scored twice, Yegor Korshkov added a third and Isayev made 25 saves.
Youngsters
We’ve already talked about forward Nikulin and goalie Isayev, two of the club’s brightest prospects. On defense, the leading young player was Daniil Misyul. His +25 rating was the best on the team and in the playoffs, Loko allowed just one goal when he was on the ice.
Two more rising stars made an impression – forwards Daniil Tesanov and Maxim Beryozkin. Tesanov had 1+3 in the regular season, then 3+1 in the playoffs. Beryozkin had 7+19 in the regular season then scored twice on CSKA in the playoffs.
Summer work
At present there are only two new recruits, defensemen Alexei Bereglazov and Martin Gernat. No new forwards have arrived, although Yaroslav Likhachyov is back from his loan spell. But the management is working on this, and has made an offer to CSKA’s restricted free agent Matvei Guskov. However, the Muscovites are reluctant to release the forward to a rival in the same conference.
