Avangard season review: returning back home
KHL.ru continues reviewing the 2022-2023 season for the different league’s teams with a visit to Omsk. Due to a slightly delayed return home, Avangard started the season with twelve away games, six of which were lost. The timely resignation of the head coach, followed by the general manager, led to reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and ultimately finishing in fourth place in the championship, which can be considered a success given the initially challenging situation. However, the personnel changes did not end there.
The 2022-2023 season marked two interconnected milestones for Avangard: an unprecedented road trip and the return to Omsk from Balashikha. The road trip lasted for a whole month and started with six consecutive defeats, earning only one point. Sooner or later, it had to come to an end, and it did on Sep 16th in Astana. The record in September was disheartening, with four wins out of twelve games. The last four matches saw the team alternating between victories and losses, just like the first four games in October. After a 0:4, home defeat to Kunlun, Dmitry Ryabykin was dismissed (later followed by General Manager Alexey Volkov). Mikhail Kravets, who replaced Ryabykin, managed to turn things around. The Omsk franchise, the last ones to erase the zero from the ‘W’ column, eventually finished the regular season in third place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks were edged out by Salavat Yulaev in the second place based on additional criteria, as both teams accumulated an equal number of points, but Avangard had one fewer regulation win.
In the playoffs, Avangard made a strong march to the Eastern Conference finals, playing the fewest number of games among the four teams, only nine (while the eventual champion, CSKA, played the full 14-game schedule). The Hawks defeated Sibir 4-1 and swept Magnitka 4-0. The series against Ak Bars was also swift, ending in a 1-4 result. However, all five games in that series were decided by a one-goal margin, with three of them going into OT.
Top players
Vladimir Tkachyov, Corban Knight, and Reid Boucher
26+47 points in 78 games, 20+24 in 72, and 40+30 in 78
Tkachyov, Knight, and Boucher should be discussed as a collective unit, as this trio with a significant lead became the most productive in the season, netting 59 goals in 69 games. For comparison, the second-place unit of Valentin Pyanov from Novosibirsk scored 38 goals in 68 games. Here’s another comparison: over the course of two years, Jakub Klepis, Dmitry Pestunov, and Jaromir Jagr scored 41 goals in 108 games, and until now, it was the best combined performance by Avangard in the history of the KHL. However, Vladimir, Corban, and Reid surpassed that record in just one season.
63 (21+42) points in 82 games
Despite the majority of goals being scored by the Knight’s line, Tolchinsky became the Hawks’ third-leading scorer and set a new personal record for points in a single regular season. Sergei earned some of his points while playing alongside the team’s top line, but he mostly played in other combinations. It was primarily thanks to him that Avangard was not solely reliant on one line. Additionally, Tolchinsky was one of the best players in terms of both the quantity and percentage of puck battles won, especially in the playoffs.
69 games, 39 wins, 3 SO
Demchenko may not have been the best goaltender of the season, but he was definitely the busiest. He played the most games in the regular season (55), and only Timur Bilyalov surpassed him in the final match of the season. Vasily was well supported by his skaters who blocked numerous shots, but this doesn’t diminish the goalie’s personal achievements. Prior to the start of the season, the goaltending position was considered the most problematic for the Hawks, but Demchenko, despite a somewhat unsuccessful start to the championship, visibly improved as the season progressed. By the deadline, the need for urgent reinforcement of the starting goalie position for the team naturally disappeared.
Head coach
Under the guidance of debutant head coach Dmitry Ryabykin, Avangard had a very successful preseason preparation, during which they defeated SKA, not once but twice. The St. Petersburg side, by the way, didn’t lose to anyone else and were even considered the “summer champions.” However, in September, Avangard turned into a completely different team, losing games one after another. This was partly due to the extended road trip and partly due to internal issues within the team. Interestingly, shortly after Ryabykin’s resignation from the Hawks, he was invited to join the coaching staff of Metallurg, but he was later fired from there for the same reasons. Mikhail Kravets took over the team, first as an interim coach and then as the full-fledged head coach. There is no doubt about his role in transforming Avangard, which was struggling outside the playoff zone in October. It seemed that Kravets had earned trust, but after the season ended, the team actively searched for a new coach, with rumors even circulating about Bob Hartley returning to the Siberian franchise. However, these searches led to nothing, and by the end of May, Kravets was finally offered a new contract.
Best game
During the season, Avangard played many exciting matches, but considering the challenging circumstances at the start, the first victory became crucial in psychological terms – a win they had been eagerly awaiting. After consecutive losses to Vityaz (2:3), Dinamo Minsk (3:6), SKA (1:4), Avtomobilist (2:4), Sibir (2:3 SO), and Barys (3:5), the team stayed in Astana for their second consecutive game, and finally luck was on their side that night.
Youngsters
Avangard was one of the oldest teams in terms of average age (28 years and 69 days); only Admiral, Avtomobilist, and Metallurg had higher average ages at the end of the season. Nevertheless, Mikhail Gulyayev and Ivan Miroshnichenko made their mark in history – Mikhail became the first player born in 2005 to score points in the KHL, and Ivan became the youngest (18 years and 351 days) goal scorer in Avangard’s KHL history. Additionally, Gulyayev’s achievement (17 years and 143 days) ranks third in the League’s history for blueliners; only Dmitry Orlov and Zakhar Arzamastsev scored at a younger age. However, this point remains the only one for Mikhail so far. He showed great potential during the preseason, and it was expected that Gulyayev would establish himself in the team. He was included in the lineup 30 times but only took to the ice in 13 of those games and played for more than ten minutes only twice. On the other hand, 21-year-old Semyon Chistyakov not only solidified his position but also became the most productive Avangard blueliner (6+25).
In the forward lines, further progress was expected from Arseny Gritsyuk, last year’s top rookie. He exceeded his own previous statistics in terms of overall quantity, but his average productivity slowed down. This can be objectively attributed to a decrease in playing time, including on the power play units. Overall, Arseny had a good season, but subjectively, based on the standard he set a year ago, more was expected.
Summer progress
In addition to the head coach, the management of Avangard underwent changes as well: in November, Rashid Khabibulin replaced Alexander Volkov as the team’s general manager. Then, at the end of April, Anton Kuryanov moved into this position from the coaching staff. A month later, Alexander Krylov, the chairman of the board of directors, left the team. During this period, there was a highly publicized media war with prominent hockey agent Shumi Babayev, whose clients include Avangard’s stars (and rising stars). With the opening of the transfer market, Avangard bid farewell to seven unrestricted free agents who were not offered new contracts, including significant players such as Alexei Bereglazov and Alex Broadhurst. Subsequently, more significant losses followed with the departures of Tolchinsky and Gritsyuk. In exchange, a relatively large group of players was acquired, with the main gems being Libor Sulak and Igor Geraskin. While Sulak was signed as a free agent, Geraskin required giving up promising forward Timur Mukhanov to Severstal (and earlier, promising defenseman Timofey Davydov was also sent to Cherepovets).
Currently, the losses seem somewhat more significant than the acquisitions, but the main question remains unanswered: as Tkachyov has not yet decided on his future, finding an equivalent replacement for him in the market is practically impossible.
