A taste of Kazakhstan and a returning star

Metallurg’s Kazakh forward Nikita Mikhailis celebrated his heritage when he brought the Gagarin Cup to Astana last week, while a former World Junior champion’s return from the NHL was one of the biggest trades.

Zaitsev heads home

After eight seasons and 482 games in the NHL, Nikita Zaitsev is returning to Russia. The 32-year-old defenseman, a World Junior Champion in 2011, signs a four-year deal with SKA where he could partner Alexander Nikishin in a potentially devastating defensive pair. Before joining Toronto in 2016, Zaitsev played 368 games for Sibir and CSKA, compiling 119 points and an all-time plus/minus of +46.

Rempal off to Ufa

Canadian forward Sheldon Rempal is the latest recruit for Salavat Yulaev. The 28-year-old winger scored his first NHL goals last season for Vegas, but spent most of the campaign in the AHL. He’s been a consistent scorer at that level for some years without establishing himself in the show. Now the winger is leaving North America for the first time and will link up with fellow imports Alexander Chmelevski, Josh Leivo and newcomer Nathan Todd as Salavat Yulaev looks to build an offense that can go deep into the playoffs. The club also added Chmelevski’s 19-year-old brother Ilia, who is stepping up from junior hockey and will start in the VHL with Toros Neftekamsk.

Jaros returns to CSKA

Slovak defenseman Christian Jaros is heading back to Moscow. The 28-year-old, who left the NHL in 2022 to join Avangard, played 16 regular season games under Sergei Fedorov at the back end of the 2022-2023 campaign, but was injured ahead of the playoffs. After that he had a successful time with Severstal last term, producing 18 points in 41 regular season games. That earned him a return to CSKA on a one-year deal. He’ll be part of a defense that also includes Colby Williams after the Canadian signed a two-year extension. Williams came to the league to play for Admiral and moved to the capital part way through last season. He has 29 points in 130 KHL appearances to date.

Greco goes to Lada

Togliatti’s forward line for the coming season is taking shape. Last week, the Motormen extended last year’s top scorer Troy Josephs and added Anthony Greco to the roster. The 30-year-old right wing played the bulk of his career to date in the AHL, with just two isolated appearances in the NHL for the Panthers and the Rangers. The speedy wide man spent the last two seasons in Sweden, representing Frolunda and Linkoping.

Zhafyarov reunites with Nemirovsky

Damir Zhafyarov had a tough time last season. After struggling to make an impact at Ak Bars, he was traded to Avangard. Things improved a little in Omsk, but a haul of 21 points was a big disappointment for the 30-year-old forward. That calls for a reset, and the chance to link up with David Nemirovsky could be exactly what Zhafyarov needs. When the two worked together at Torpedo, the player emerged as one of the KHL’s most dangerous forwards, peaking with 61 points in the 2020-2021 regular season. Now the two are reunited at Barys. Both player and club are hoping for better things in the coming season.

Ak Bars makes Knyazev permanent

Defenseman Artemy Knyazev, 23, returned to Russia last season on loan to Ak Bars. After playing 18 games in Kazan, he did enough to earn himself a two-year deal and will remain at the club as new head coach Anvar Gatiyatulin takes charge.

Nikita feasts with the cup

You’ve seen the Gagarin Cup filled with beer or champagne. Now, you can see it celebrating one of the national dishes of Kazakhstan. Nikita Mikhailis, captain of Team Kazakhstan, helped Metallurg win the trophy this season. When he got to take Gagarin home to Astana, he decided to make it a real Kazakh feast. Donning the traditional costume of his homeland, Mikhailis filled the cup with Beshbarmak, a traditional casserole of meat, sausage and noodles served in a rich broth. Once a prized dish among the nomads of Central Asia, now Beshbarmak is served with the biggest prize in the KHL!

Pre-season takes shape

It might be the middle of summer, but the KHL’s teams are already making plans for their pre-season preparation. This time, Admiral is the first into action: the Sailors are starting out with a development camp in Belarus at the end of July and will play their first try-out games against local opposition on July 29 and 30. The first full KHL warm-u action also involves Admiral in a game against Vityaz on Aug. 9. Astana hosts this year’s first pre-season tournament, the Kazakhstan President’s Cup, with Barys and the Kazakh national team taking on Amur and Lada in a four-team contest. There are further tournaments scheduled in Ufa, Omsk, St. Petersburg, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk and Moscow.

Legends gather to celebrate Mozyakin

Before all that, there’s a big day in prospect in Magnitogorsk on July 27. Sergei Mozyakin, the most productive player in KHL history, is putting on a Legendary Game to celebrate the highlights of a glittering career. As well as setting scoring records, Mozyakin helped Magnitka to two Gagarin Cups and won Olympic gold in 2018 with Russia. At the end of the month, he’s getting together with a star-studded roster of friends from throughout his years on the ice to stage a showcase game at the Metallurg Arena.