Back on the ice
The 2023-2024 KHL season is getting ever closer. Last week saw the first pre-season games and some more big trades. Meanwhile, the Women’s Hockey League said goodbye to a two-time champion as it confirmed its make-up for the coming campaign.
Menell gets a Russian passport
Dynamo’s American defenseman Brennan Menell earned Russian citizenship last week – and spoke to KHL.ru about his decision to “go native.”
The blue-liner, one year into a three-year deal with the Blue-and-Whites, said: “It’s pretty cool. When I signed a three-year deal last season, we discussed this possibility with GM Alexei Sopin. He asked how I felt about it, and I said ‘Why not?’ I like playing in the KHL, I like living in Moscow. It all happened quickly and I’m happy to get a Russian passport.”
Menell’s new status opens the way for a third import to join Jordan Weal and Cedric Paquette on the Dynamo roster – and that could see Eric O’Dell back on the team.
“We get on well and it would be great if he came back,” Menell added. “Eric’s a big part of this team and a good friend.”
Johnson joins Magnitka
Metallurg has been seeking more imports after acquiring Swedish defenseman Robin Press on the day the transfer window opened. In particular, the club needed centers after the departures of Phillippe Maillet, Josh Currie, Alexander Burmistrov and Mikhail Fisenko. The answer turns out to be 28-year-old Canadian Luke Johnson, part of San Diego’s farm club last season. Although he only produced 18 points last season, Johnson has in the past proved a more potent scoring threat, blessed with a dangerous wrist shot. He also brings a valuable physical presence and is effective on the face-off spot, which should help him carve out a significant role on Andrei Razin’s team.
First imports for Lada
Last week’s trade activity saw Lada sign its first import players ahead of this season’s return to the KHL. Canadian center Troy Josephs, 29, was the first to join. The Ontario native was a seventh-round draft pick for the Penguins in 2013, but never made it beyond the AHL before heading to Europe. He finished the 2018-2019 season with Storhamer in Norway, then played four seasons in Switzerland with Visp and Lugano. He’s joined by right winger Scott Kosmachuk, also 29. He played eight NHL games for the Jets in 2015-2016 but he spent most of his time in North America playing in the AHL. In 2019-2020 he joined Germany’s Augsburger Panthers and later featured for Villach (Austria) and TPS (Finland). Both players signed one-year deals.
KHL 5 VHL 0 (2OT)
The summer’s first pre-season action saw five games pitting KHL teams against VHL opposition. In each case, the senior partner came out on top – but the clubs from the second tier provided worthy opposition. Avangard got things started, attracting 5,000 spectators to its warm-up game against it Omskiye Krylya farm club. That game ended in a 6-5 shoot-out win for the Hawks. Next came Lada, which had two meeting with Neftyanik and collected a pair of one-goal verdicts. Dynamo Moscow was the third team in action, defeating AKM Tula 5-0 on Saturday before edging Dizel Penza in a shoot-out on Sunday.
Coming up
The first pre-season tournament of the summer gets underway in Sochi on Thursday. The Sochi Hockey Open involves five teams, with the Black Sea host welcoming Admiral, Avangard and SKA, as well as a traditional visit from a Russian national side. The action gets underway on Thursday afternoon when SKA faces Admiral, then Sochi takes on Team Russia in the evening. Avangard begins against the host team on Friday. It’s a round-robin event, with the final games scheduled for Tuesday, August 8.
The Chinese brotherhood
Kunlun Red Star will have two pairs of brothers on the team next season. The Chinese franchise welcomes back Spencer Foo after a year with the Golden Knights organization, and he is reunited with his brother Parker Foo on the Dragons’ offense. In addition, KRS added Austin Wong to the team after he graduated from NCAA action at Harvard University. Austin is the younger brother of Tyler Wong, a key figure for Kunlun and Team China. The young center said he was looking forward to making his pro hockey debut, and was especially eager to get the chance to play alongside his brother.
Excellent returns and new faces. Top transfers
Shenzhen leaves Women’s League
KRS Shenzhen will not take part in the upcoming Russian Women’s Hockey League season. The Chinese club, which has been forced to play in Moscow Region since March 2020 due to Covid restrictions, announced last week that its players will continue in China’s national championship. The hope is that playing at home will make it easier to develop Chinese prospects for the national team. In four seasons in the WHL, KRS reached three finals and won two of them. As a result of Shenzhen’s withdrawal, there will be eight teams contesting next year’s championship.
