New arena and a busy schedule
The past week saw the last KHL teams play their first summer games – with one of them on a gruelling sequence of five in six days. Elsewhere, a new arena in Siberia made a big impression as it opened its doors and an Olympic medallist returns to the league.
CSKA winning start
Defending champion CSKA was in no hurry to get back on the ice this summer. Sergei Fedorov’s team was the last to play a warm-up game, finally getting into action in Minsk on Saturday. Goalie Ivan Fedotov, currently at the center of a trans-Atlantic contract wrangle, played his first game since the 2022 Gagarin Cup final and backstopped a 3-2 win. CSKA’s goals came in a 90-second burst in the third period, with Konstantin Okulov, Pavel Karnaukhov and youngster Ivan Yanchenko on target.
Torpedo marathon
Like CSKA, Torpedo was one of the last teams to start its pre-season games, but Igor Larionov’s team caught up quickly. This week saw five games in six days – one of them an 80-minute clash with Amur that involved two three-line rosters. That one ended in defeat, as did a match-up with Khimik the next day. But a one-day rest did the trick, and Torpedo reeled off three successive wins against VHL opposition in the form of farm-club Dizel Penza and Metallurg Novokuznetsk.
Lokomotiv impresses in Omsk, Torpedo wins three in three days
Sibir arena
After a training camp in Minsk, Sibir returned home last week and welcomed players, fans and journalists to the club’s new arena in Novosibirsk. For new arrival Andy Andreoff, first impressions were goo.
“I came from Toronto with a connection in Dubai, 13 hours in total, and it was worth every one of those hours to see so many fans at an open practice,” he said. “I’ve seen this in North America, but never with so many fans. From what I saw, the arena reminds of the one in Calgary. I think we’ll get an atmosphere like the NHL.”
Dragons sign youth star
Young forward Ryan Merkley – no relation to Dinamo Minsk defenseman Nick – is the latest recruit at Kunlun Red Star. The 23-year-old’s star rose fast in his junior days, when he won the Hlinka-Gretzky Trophy with team Canada and was a first-round draft pick. However, he struggled to step up in the pro game and after joining the Sharks he spent much of his time in the minor leagues. During his time with the San Jose Barracuda, he would have encountered coach Rachel Llanes, a star on Kunlun’s women’s team. That connection may have encouraged Merkley to try his luck with the Dragons.
Olympic medalist joins Lada
Lada’s third import is Slovak defenseman Mislav Rosandic. It’s set to be his second spell in the KHL, having previously played 46 games for Slovan Bratislava. Since then, he’s mostly played in Central Europe, and represented his country at three World Championships. His career highlight to date is surely the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he helped Slovakia to its first ever medal at the Games. With most of his blue line partners drawn from Lada’s VHL roster of last season, Rosandic is a real upgrade and is likely to play a big, two-way role this season.
RIP, Rodion Amirov
There was tragic news during the week when it emerged that young Salavat Yulaev forward Rodion Amirov had died. The 21-year-old, a Maple Leafs prospect, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in early 2022. Tributes to the young man, his hockey talent, and his brave fight against serious illness, poured in from both sides of the Atlantic. In Ufa, where he played at all levels for Salavat Yulaev, his first club announced that it would retire his #27 jersey. The Ufa Arena will also hold Amirov’s funeral service on Aug. 21.
Coming up
It’s the last week of pre-season games for most clubs, and there’s plenty of summer tournament action. In Omsk, the Blinov Cup got underway Sunday with Lokomotiv beating Avangard 5-1. The five-team tournament runs through Friday, with Salavat Yulaev, Barys and Neftekhimik also competing. It’s one of just four competitions underway next week. In Petersburg, the Nikolai Puchkov Tournament sees Sochi, Avtomobilist, Severstal and Sibir come to face SKA (Aug. 21-26). Chelyabinsk hosts the local governor’s cup, with Traktor facing Ak Bars, Lada, and Metallurg (Aug. 23-26). Finally, the Mayor of Moscow Cup sees the capital trio of CSKA, Dynamo and Spartak joined by Amur, Kunlun and Vityaz (Aug. 24-27).
