Dinamo Minsk season preview: Shipachyov and Dubé Lead the Offense
Continuing KHL.ru’s club-by-club preview for the 2024-2025 season, today the talk is about Dinamo Minsk. The Belarusians have significantly strengthened their roster and are ready to have their best season in KHL history.
Last season
The Belarusians began the season with an epic game in Nizhnekamsk, where they came back from 1:4 deficit in the middle frame to achieve an OT win. They then traveled to Balashikha, where they crushed Vityaz 7:0, setting a club record for their time in the KHL. However, this was followed by five straight losses. Throughout the season, they encountered various obstacles and ultimately finished eighth in the Western Conference and 16th overall, despite being initially considered contenders for higher positions. Notably, they split victories with SKA, won three out of four games against Lokomotiv, and took three out of four points from both Ak Bars and Avangard.
In the Western Conference, there were only two teams that Dinamo Minsk couldn’t defeat even once — Severstal and Dynamo Moscow. As fate would have it, they faced Dynamo in the playoffs. Beyond the head-to-head statistics, the Moscow team had the Continental Cup under their belt, a strong finish to the regular season, and a more star-studded roster on their side. The outcome of this series seemed clear-cut. The favorites did win, but it wasn’t easy for them; throughout the six games, they were mostly playing catch-up. The final 2-4 result was nothing for the Minsk side to be ashamed of — they fought valiantly and provided much tougher resistance than expected. In fact, they drained so much energy from their opponents that Dynamo crashed out 0-4 in the next round.
Roster changes
Arrivals: goaltender Andrei Kareyev (Spartak); defense Joshua Brook (Lukko, FIN), Jordan Gross (Milwaukee, AHL), Brady Lyle (Calgary, AHL), Nikita Parfenyuk (Kunlun Red Star, end of loan), Xavier Ouellet (Wilkes-Barre, AHL), Kristian Khenkel (Barys, trade); offense Nikita Guslistov (Severstal, trade), Dillon Dube (Calgary, NHL), Danila Kvartalnov (try-out, Metallurg), Ilya Usov (Syracuse, AHL), Vadim Shipachyov (Ak Bars, trade).
Departures: goalies Alexei Kolosov (Lehigh Valley, AHL), Dylan Ferguson; defense Ioannis Kaldis (Severstal), Cody Curran, Dmitry Korobov, Oleg Pozhigan, Nikita Smirnov (SKA, end of loan), Ilya Shinkevich; offense Valentin Demchenko (Yunost, BEL), Vladislav Kodola (Barys, trade), Nick Merkley (Avtomobilist, trade), Vyacheslav Osnovin, Brett Ritchie, Alexander Suvorov (Sochi), Tanner Fritz.
Top three signings
Dillon Dube was once selected in second round of the NHL draft, captained Canada’s World Junior team to a championship, and played six seasons in the NHL, the last four as a solid regular with Calgary, without any stints in the minors. Dube is in his prime — he just turned 26 — and is almost certain to become one of the top players not only for Dinamo Minsk but for the entire league.
Dube is certainly capable of becoming a leading player on his own, but he will likely play alongside Vadim Shipachyov, which only increases his chances. Skeptics might question whether they’ll find chemistry on the ice, but it’s hard to recall a time when Shipachyov didn’t click with a linemate. Shipachyov is on the verge of breaking Sergei Mozyakin’s outstanding scoring record, and Dube will help him do it as quickly as possible.
Another potential “record accelerator” for Shipachyov is Jordan Gross. He didn’t secure a permanent spot in the NHL with Arizona, Colorado, or Nashville — not because he wasn’t good enough, but because all three teams had an abundance of top-tier offensive defensemen. In the AHL, however, Gross excelled, and two years ago he was even named the best defenseman in the league, averaging over a point per game.
Coaching
In recent history, there are only a handful of coaches who have managed to stay with the same team for four consecutive seasons. One of them was Craig Woodcroft, who was replaced last summer by Dmitry Kvartalnov.
Kvartalnov leads the KHL in both games coached and games won. Despite missing the entire previous season, he is still ahead of his closest competitor by more than 150 games in the first category and over 100 in the second. Among active coaches, his lead is even more significant, with gaps of 300 and 150 games, respectively. That, in itself, says it all.
Goalies
Dinamo Minsk’s goaltending lineup currently appears incomplete. It includes Andrei Kareyev, who joined from Spartak, and two backups with a combined total of just three full KHL games (all played by Yegor Velmakin). Given the defense, which will be discussed later, adding an import goalie seems a natural move. However, there’s also the possibility of Alexei Kolosov returning. After playing last season on loan, he went to the NHL, was immediately sent to the AHL, played two games there, and informed the Philadelphia management of his unwillingness to continue. It seems that the issue of contract termination or another loan (which is unlikely) is being worked out. If Alexei does return, then bringing in an international goalie, considering Kareyev’s ability to either back up Kolosov or outperform him, would be unnecessary.
Defense
The lack of a foreign goaltender could become a problem, and this is most likely why the team has nearly assembled six defensemen from Canada and the USA. Of course, Kvartalnov will find a way to give ice time to the returning Kristian Khenkel from Ak Bars (via Barys) and Pavel Denisov from Severstal (who played on loan last season). However, most of the conversations near the net will likely be in English. Or French, if Nicholas Meloche (whose contract is not yet signed but whose rights were acquired from Ufa) ends up pairing with Xavier Ouellet. The latter, along with the previously mentioned Gross and the re-signed Robert Hamilton, should form the core and avoid the inevitable rotation by Kvartalnov.
Offense
Kvartalnov has at least four top forwards to create a formidable top line: Dube, Shipachyov, and Sam Anas with Alexander Volkov. The second line will likely be built around Ilya Usov, who gained experience in the AHL, and there are at least five, if not more, candidates for this spot. Overall, there are no anticipated problems with Dinamo's forward line. It is well-equipped with skill and depth, featuring young players, experienced veterans, and those in their prime — without a clear bias toward any particular category.
Young players
However, if considering the entire roster and overlook the fact that only 12-13 forwards are used in a game, there is a slight bias toward youth. But this has never been a problem for Kvartalnov, and he inherited a talented group of young players. Vadim Moroz and Vitaly Pinchuk have already proven themselves impressively and have clearly not reached their full potential. In the first preseason game of the current season, Sergey Kuznetsov was involved in all of Dinamo’s goals (a 4:10 loss to Magnitka, which will play in the VHL) — scoring a hat-trick and an assist. Yegor Borikov, Stepan Zvyagin, Timofei Kovgorenya (with his younger brother Arseny also on the way), Daniil Lipsky, and Daniil Sotishvili will continue to receive chances. It seems that Nikita Guslistov, who made a bright debut in the KHL and then faded, arrived in Minsk for a reboot, and he may simply not find a place in this lineup.
What to expect
Throughout the history of the KHL, Dinamo Minsk has often been either a mid-tier team or even an outsider. In half of the seasons, the Belarusians failed to make the playoffs at all, while in the other half, they were eliminated in the first round. Now is the time for a significant leap. With an elite coach at the helm, an elite center, and potentially an elite winger (Dube), and a defense bolstered by international players, quality seems to be implied. The goaltending issue is still hypothetical: it may occur, or it may not. If it does, it doesn’t necessarily mean that difficulties will arise in every single game; such issues tend to linger in memory, even if it was just one bad game out of, say, ten. Theoretically, this hypothetical problem could be offset by the attack, with wins like 6:5 — at least during the regular season. Minsk should be able to qualify for postseason without many problems, and they should finish higher than the eighth position. How much higher is the question. It seems likely that it will be between fourth and sixth place.
