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Review of the season: Admiral. Roster switches failed to deliver
KHL.ru continues reviewing the 2023-2024 season for the league’s clubs. Following its most successful season ever, Admiral lost several leaders and, with them, the qualification to the elimination stage.
Leonids Tambijevs’ team had an uneven regular season. Despite some impressive games (for example, a 6:2 win over Spartak at the start of the campaign), the Sailors constantly had two or three losses per win. At the same time, Admiral failed to get good results against direct playoff contenders: four losses to Neftekhimik in four games, and only 50% of points against Amur, Barys, and Lada. The tactics that brought the team success in the 2022-2023 season have failed at times due to mistakes or personnel losses that have directly affected the results. On Feb 11, Admiral lost any mathematical chance at the playoffs – after last year’s hockey boom in Vladivostok, this result must have disappointed local fans.
It can be said that the Sailors were also hit by transfer decisions – Nikita Serebryakov, Libor Sulak, and Colby Williams left the team. Yes, Sulak came back, but without Williams he was not as effective as he was when paired with him.
Best players
36 (12+24) points in 68 games
The 22-year-old forward became the team’s top scorer alongside Alexander Gorshkov and didn’t miss a single match in the regular season – an excellent result for a young forward. He secured a spot on the top power play unit and scored exactly half of his goals during these opportunities. In December, he participated in the Fonbet KHL All-Star Game. A sizable yet skillful forward, he is expected to become one of the main stars for the Sailors in the upcoming season.
20 (6+14) points in 66 games
For the defenseman, the 2023-2024 season was truly a breakthrough – he played 66 games and scored 20 points, setting a personal productivity record in the KHL and served as the team’s captain. It’s no surprise that after such a successful season, the 29-year-old Solovyov became one of the top free agents among defensemen and, as expected, moved up by joining Avangard.
29 (13+16) points in 55 games
Buchelnikov had his first full-time season at the KHL level (he had only 10 games with SKA) and performed very impressively. He excelled in both scoring and playmaking, and he also did well defensively – under Tambijevs, there’s no other thinkable way. In terms of productivity, Buchelnikov became the third top scorer and the second top goal-scorer for Admiral.
Coaching
For Leonids Tambijevs, Admiral, which he has led since 2021, has been his most significant and successful experience in the KHL. In the 2022-2023 season, he guided the team to the playoffs from seventh place in the conference and sensationally knocked out Salavat Yulaev in the first round. Although he couldn’t replicate that success due to objective reasons, despite last season’s results, Tambijevs extended his contract until 2026. For both sides, this seems like a logical decision, as the coach has shown he can achieve results even with limited resources.
Best game
Admiral had some very impressive and exciting victories in the 2023-2024 season – a 6:2 win against Spartak and a 6:1 win against Traktor, even when the Sailors were no longer competing for the playoffs. However, in terms of drama and character, the home game against Salavat Yulaev (5:4 OT) was crazy. The hosts quickly gained a two-goal lead and just as quickly lost it, then they themselves were down by two, managed to tie the game in the final stretch, and clinched the victory in the first minute of extra time.
Youngsters
It often happens that in mid-tier teams (especially those playing more conservatively), young players are given very few opportunities. Admiral is a different case: Gutik and Buchelnikov were mentioned above, but there were also young goalie Sergei Ivanov (like Buchelnikov, on loan from SKA), defenseman Yegor Nikitin, and forward Prokhor Korbit. They all performed quite well and can clearly count the past season as a success for themselves.
Summer work
Admiral has been quite active in the transfer market, already making several interesting signings. First, there is Mario Grman, who lined up for Slovakia at the most recent World Championships, and second, Austin Ortega from the German DEL. In their efforts to find a quality goalkeeper after Serebryakov’s departure, the Sailors loaned Andrei Mishurov from Avangard and made several quality acquisitions in the domestic market.
