KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Old and new players deliver in the first week of action. Top imports
Smith stops pucks for Kunlun, while Yanni Kaldis shows an exceptional adaptation. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
United States/China
G, Kunlun Red Star
3 G, 3 W, 95.93%. 1.66 GAA. 1 SO
At his fifth season with the Dragons, Smith had an impressive start of the new season, winning three straight games and being honored as the first’s week top goalie in the league. The native of Dearborn, Michigan, who protected the crease for Team China at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, kicked off his 2022-2023 campaign with a 40-save against Spartak on Sep 02, then shut HC Sochi out two days later, posting 29 saves this time. After sitting for a couple of games to get some rest, with his fellow countryman Matt Jurusik between the piping for Kunlun, Smith was instrumental again as the Dragons kept their winning streak against CSKA alive on Sunday, posting 48 saves in his team 3:2, OT victory. Considering the Dragons’ play of late, the playoffs don’t seem too ambitious as a goal for them.
Canada
D, Dinamo Minsk
4 G, 4 (2+2) points, 2 PIMs, +2
The Belarusian franchise entered into the season with some uncertainty on their defense, with several leaders leaving the team and new players joining. One of the newcomers is Yanni Kaldis, and it looks like he has little adaptation problems. The Quebecoise blueliner had an impressive three-point performance in his very first KHL game, when Dinamo Minsk had a fantastic comeback as the squad defeated Neftekhimik 5:4 OT after being down 1:4 after a mere 22 minutes. However, Kaldis had other plans for the night. He first tied things up in the closing frame with a blueline slapshot on a powerplay stretch. Then, in OT, he completed his double joining the rush as Nick Merkley led the play on the right flank to serve Kaldis right in front of the crease to beat Emil Garipov with a quick deflection. Kaldis, who always played more than twenty minutes a night so far, also had an assist in Dinamo Minsk’s 4:6 loss to Torpedo on Friday.
Canada/Kazakhstan
F, Avtomobilist
4 G, 6 (3+3) points, 4 PIM, +5
The Alberta, Canada, native was another player off to an impressive start with Avtomobilist. Valk, in his sixth season in the league, potted a double when the Motormen lost to Avangard on Thursday in OT (2:3), tying the game when Avto was down by two following a strong start by the Hawks. Two days later, the forward had three points with a goal and a pair of assists as Avtomobilist had a huge win in Novosibirsk (6:1). Earlier, Valk had another assist in Avto’s opener against Metallurg. In the first week of action, the forward posted a league-leading plus-5 differential and helped his team achieving three victories in four games.
France
F, Avtomobilist
4 G, 4 (1+3) points, +3
The Frenchman also helped Avtomobilist a lot in the very start of the season, netting his first goal of the season in the Motormen’s 6:1 thumping of Sibir – he also had an assist that night. Earlier in the week, he had two assists in as many games, against Avangard (2:3 OT) and Salavat Yulaev (2:1) respectively. The flamboyant French forward is currently the 24th top scorer in the KHL history, but this year he has a chance to break into the top 20. Moreover, Da Costa is only 36 points to Teemu Hartikainen, who sits in 15th place.
