Ak Bars season preview: a younger team and a shift to active hockey

KHL.ru keeps on providing insights into the state of clubs as they approach the start of the new season. After an early playoff exit, Ak Bars has embarked on a rebuild — changing its head coach, parting ways with aging stars, and committing to a more active style of play.

Last season

After losing the Gagarin Cup in Game 7 against CSKA in the spring of 2023, Kazan had high hopes of competing for the trophy again. The team made targeted improvements, such as bringing in Dmitrij Jaskin and head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov signed a new one-year contract, expressing his desire to “finish what was started.” However, things didn’t go as planned, and Bilyaletdinov’s second departure from the head coach position at Ak Bars in the past five years mirrored the first in 2019 — following an early and disappointing exit in the first round.

Ak Bars’ regular season was highly inconsistent. They started off well, but throughout the season, they suffered losses to teams that, with all due respect, were inferior to Ak Bars in both resources and skill, such as HC Sochi (1:3), Severstal (1:4), Lada (3:6), Neftekhimik (1:2), and Kunlun Red Star (0:1). As a result, Bilyaletdinov’s team entered the playoffs from only fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Kazan fans hoped for a miraculous turnaround in the Gagarin Cup playoffs, drawing on the team’s rich experience in knockout games, including championship wins. But it wasn’t to be this time — Ak Bars fell to Avtomobilist in the first round in five games, ending their season.

Roster changes

Departures: defense Kirill Adamchuk (Dynamo Moscow), Vyacheslav Voynov (Torpedo); offense Ryley Barber, Stanislav Galiyev (Avangard), Dmitry Kagarlitsky (Torpedo), Artyom Lukoyanov, Maxim Marushev, Kirill Petrov, Alexander Radulov (Lokomotiv), Vadim Shipachyov (Dinamo Minsk, trade), Evgeny Svechnikov (Torpedo).

Arrivals: defense Mark Yanchevsky (Admiral, trade), Albert Yarullin (Traktor); offense Yegor Babenko (Lada), Alexander Barabanov (San Jose Sharks), Yegor Korshkov (Amur), Nic Petan (Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL).

Top 3 signings

Nic Petan

For the 29-year-old Canadian, the upcoming season will be his first outside of North America. Last season, he played in the AHL, where he accumulated a total of 52 points (16 goals, 36 assists) in 69 games for the Iowa Wild and Hartford Wolf Pack. Petan has also appeared in 164 NHL games. Ak Bars GM  Marat Valiullin mentioned that the club had been trying to bring Petan to Kazan for several years, and reports suggested that the club won a bidding war for him against Metallurg and Avangard. In the early exhibition games, Petan left a strong impression as a quality playmaker with an excellent passing sense and a great shot. Head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov even compared Petan to Justin Azevedo, one of the best foreign players in the club’s history, which speaks volumes about his potential impact.

Alexander Barabanov

Barabanov’s achievements speak for themselves; he is currently the most decorated player on Ak Bars’ roster, with two Gagarin Cups, one Olympic gold, and bronze medals from both the World Junior Championship and the World Championship. After four seasons in the NHL, Barabanov decided to return to Russia and joined Ak Bars. His technical skills and hockey abilities are well-known, leaving little doubt that he will be one of the team’s top scorers in the upcoming season. It is highly likely that Barabanov will play on the first line with Petan and Jaskin, giving him plenty of ice time and opportunities on the power play — prime conditions to shine.

Albert Yarullin

The right-handed defenseman has returned home after three years with Traktor. This move seems perfect from every perspective — Yarullin is a homegrown talent, a Kazan native, and a fan favorite who has always received a warm welcome at Tatneft Arena, even when playing for other teams. Additionally, his right-handed shot and solid offensive skills make him a valuable addition. Last season, Yarullin performed better than Vyacheslav Voynov, the player he is effectively replacing. It is even possible that Yarullin will become the captain of Ak Bars in the new season, as he wore the captain’s patch during one of the exhibition games.

Coaching

After reaching the Gagarin Cup final, one of the primary tasks for the club’s management was securing a new contract with Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, a goal they successfully achieved. The coach signed on for another season, but it was significantly less successful than the previous one. It’s unlikely that the final outcome can be heavily attributed to Bilyaletdinov or his coaching staff, as there were likely multiple contributing factors. Regardless, Bilyaletdinov left the team, and it seems improbable that he will return to the coaching role — at least, he has stated as much in interviews. The club may find a position for him as an advisor to the director, a role he held during the first part of the 2022-2023 season.

Various names were mentioned in the press concerning the Ak Bars coaching position, including Ilya Vorobyov and Anvar Gatiyatulin. In the end, Kazan settled on the latter. On May 14, the club officially announced his appointment. At that time, Gatiyatulin was available, having left Traktor in the fall of 2023.

Goalies

Ak Bars enters the season with a goaltending tandem of Timur Bilyalov and Amir Miftakhov. Bilyalov has long earned his place as the number one goalie, consistently demonstrating his high level of skill even in less successful seasons like the last one. Miftakhov, on the other hand, still seems to lack some experience, but this is something that can be gained over time. There is no doubt that Miftakhov is a capable goaltender. However, the concern is that behind these two, there is only young talent, and various situations can arise. Just last season, both Bilyalov and Miftakhov suffered injuries, leaving young Artur Akhtyamov to step in and save the day for Kazan.

Defense

The defensive line remained mostly intact during the offseason. Kirill Adamchuk and Vyacheslav Voynov left the team. Adamchuk added some physicality but wasn’t a key player, while Voynov had a season below his usual standard and missed some time due to injury. Currently, the defensive corps looks solid both in terms of names and functionality. There are offensive defensemen like Mitchell Miller, Alexei Marchenko, and Artemiy Knyazev; stay-at-home defensemen like Dmitry Yudin, Konstantin Luchevnikov, and Daniil Zhuravlyov; and well-rounded players who excel on both ends of the ice, such as Albert Yarullin and Nikita Lyamkin.

Forwards

There have been significantly more changes in the forward group. Key forwards who defined Ak Bars’ offense over the past few seasons — Vadim Shipachyov, Alexander Radulov, Dmitry Kagarlitsky, Stanislav Galiyev, and Artyom Lukoyanov — have all left the team. Evgeny Svechnikov and Riley Barber also failed to fully establish themselves in Kazan. Among the new signings, aside from Nic Petan and Alexander Barabanov, Yegor Korshkov stands out. Ak Bars won the battle to sign last season’s top scorer from Amur. Additionally, Kazan signed Yegor Babenko, who spent last season with Lada. The management and coaches likely see him as a potential replacement for Lukoyanov in the lower lines.

Young Players

The arrival of Anvar Gatiyatulin, known for his ability to work with young players, could pave the way for several promising prospects from the club’s system to break into the main lineup. On defense, Kazan has Stepan Terekhov, Vsevolod Almetkin, and Nikita Yevseyev. Znarok himself introduced Yevseyev to the main roster, even placing him in the top defensive pairing. However, under Bilyaletdinov, Yevseyev was benched and eventually sent to the farm team.

In the attack, Semyon Terekhov is worth keeping an eye on, as he even earned some ice time under Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. Artur Brovkin and Maxim Bykov have also appeared for the first team, albeit in a limited capacity, and they will likely have an opportunity to make a more significant impact this season.

What to expect

The prospects for Ak Bars this season will largely depend on how quickly the players can adjust to the new coaching staff. Gatiyatulin plans to promote an active style, which demands excellent physical conditioning, but much will hinge on how long it takes the players to adapt to this new approach. Additionally, nearly all of their Eastern Conference rivals have significantly strengthened their rosters, so finishing in the top three in the regular season would be a solid outcome for Kazan.