Gagarin Cup champions and defensive stalwart. Who will be the rookie of the year?

Commentator for KHL TV channels and expert at KHL.ru, Anton Vasyatin, presents the finalists for the Alexei Cherepanov award. The finalists for the 2023-2024 edition are goalie Ilya Nabokov, defenseman Anton Silayev, and forward Roman Kantserov.

Roman Kantserov (Metallurg)

78 games, 28 (12+16) points, +6

In recent years, we have seen quite a few bright forwards in Metallurg’s junior team. Roman Kantserov is one of them. After three seasons in the JHL (the last two of which were truly successful, with the forward accumulating more than 50 points two seasons in a row), Kantserov joined Andrei Razin’s team. However, despite being considered one of the best young players in the Magnitogorsk system, by the 2023-2024 championship, he was more considered as a player to fall within the development rule. Many young guys his age don’t make it into KHL teams on a permanent basis. But even during the preseason, the forward convinced with his activity that he deserved playing time with Magnitka.

However, it cannot be said that the start of his career in pro hockey was instantly successful. It took quite some time to adapt to the higher level, and Kantserov played 15 games before scoring his first goal in the KHL. His debut goal came in a game against Salavat Yulaev on Oct 6, when Metallurg achieved a 6:3 victory. At that time, Kantserov’s place in the lineup and role on the team were probably not yet stable, but the goal nevertheless became an important milestone, including in terms of self-confidence.

In the second half of the regular season, the forward spent more than 15 minutes on the ice in select matches, and in the playoffs, his presence in the lineup for each game was never in doubt. It was in the elimination stage’s games that Kantserov showed even more. And although throughout the season his linemates constantly changed, in the playoffs, the young player found his place alongside Denis Zernov and Dmitry Silantyev. Perhaps, the productive play of this line became one of the most important aspects in Metallurg’s pursuit of the Gagarin Cup. Interestingly, it was with these partners that Kantserov ultimately spent the most time on the ice for the season. As a result, in the elimination stage, the forward scored almost as many points as he did in the regular season, despite playing 30 games less (13 versus 15). On top of that, 3 out of 4 goals were game-winning tallies.

Ilya Nabokov (Metallurg)

66 games, 39 wins, 93.4%, GAA 2.03, 7 shutouts

Ilya Nabokov’s performance was one of the main highlights of the 2023-2024 season. Like Kantserov, at the start of the season, Nabokov didn’t enjoy the role of an undisputed player in Metallurg’s main lineup, let alone an obvious leader. Until the fall of 2023, both players had only played a few minutes in the KHL. In September, the goalkeeper played three full matches, securing one victory against Vityaz. However, he never reached at least a 91% save percentage during this time.

It was only from mid-October that the young goalie assumed the role that had been familiar to him for three years in the juniors – becoming the team’s first-choice goalie on a regular basis. Interestingly, that period in late October was perhaps the toughest and most unsuccessful for Razin’s team throughout the season. Magnitka suffered five straight losses, all of them against conference rivals, and three of them were in extremely crucial matches against Traktor, which at that time was playing very unstably. But the club’s management believed in Razin, and the coach himself believed in Nabokov.

In the end, he played 43 games in the regular season. And although not all of them were full, he managed to make history. Among goalies aged 20 and under in the KHL regular season, only one played more games – Ilya Konovalov (45 games for Lokomotiv in the 2018-2019 season). By the way, it was Konovalov who was recognized as the best rookie of the season back then.

In the playoffs, Nabokov was simply the best goalie. This is indicated by practically all key statistical indicators (23 games, 16 wins, 4 shutout games, 94.2% save percentage), as well as the award for the Most Valuable Player, which was a unique case due to his age.

Anton Silayev (Torpedo)

68 games, 13 (3+10) points, -8

In the 2023 offseason, Torpedo lost its key offensive defenseman Maxim Fedotov. As a result, his position was taken by 17-year-old Anton Silayev, who had won the JHL Kharlamov Cup with Chaika in the spring of the same year. Entrusting a permanent place in the KHL team to such a young player, who had only played one season at the JHL level, was to some extent a risk. But in Nizhny Novgorod, the team was ready for him, and Silayev himself did not disappoint.

The initial stretch of the season turned out to be the most productive for the defenseman – in six games, he had six points, including his debut goal against Ak Bars. Even then, Silayev was spending at least 17 minutes on the ice per game. As a result, his average ice time slightly decreased over the regular season, but even 15 minutes for his age is an impressive result.

By the end of September, it became clear that the blueliner would set several records in regular seasons, and indeed it happened. Among 17-year-old players in the entire history of the KHL, he now leads in games played with 63 (the previous record was held by Anton Slepyshev with 39 games), points scored with 11 (Vladimir Tarasenko had 10), and assists with 8 (Evgeny Kuznetsov had 6). Looking at such a list, it’s easy to guess that the gap among d-men is even more impressive.

What is particularly impressive about Silayev is the potential he has for hockey growth. His potential – both in the offensive and defensive zone – will continue to be noticeably revealed in the coming years. It can be said that Silayev’s potential is directly proportional to his body – he’s already one of the tallest players in the league.