Metallurg season preview: Huge potential and minimal disruption
In the final part of KHL.ru’s club-by-club preview of the 2024-2025 season, we take a look at defending champion Metallurg. Andrei Razin’s team is largely unchanged after lifting the cup and its young core should be even stronger.
Last season
Who would have tipped Metallurg to win it all last season? Of course, Magnitka is always a contender, but last summer saw a major rebuild. Metallurg hired a new head coach, rejuvenated its roster and assembled a team with an eye to future growth. Yet there was no need to wait for progress. Metallurg proved stronger than everyone over the course of the season and Andrei Razin’s men won first the Eastern Conference, then the Gagarin Cup.
Recruitment
Arrivals:
Forwards: Daniil Bashkirov (Salavat Yulaev), Evgeny Grigorenko (Saryarka, KAZ), Scott Wilson (Vityaz), Mikhail Shalagin (Shakhter, BLR)
Departures:
Goalie: Alexander Sudnitsin (retired). Forwards: Nikita Grebyonkin (Toronto, NHL), Maxim Karpov (Sibir), Danila Kvartalnov (Dinamo Minsk), Maxim Mukhametov (Barys), Arkhip Nekolenko (Lada)
Top signing
Stanley Cup winner Scott Wilson is an experienced and productive forward who can strengthen Metallurg’s offense and enhance the power play. In the past two seasons, Wilson played for Vityaz and consistently scored 20 in the regular season. Notably, last season when Scott was hampered by injury, he scored 20 goals in just 38 games. In total, Wilson has played 109 KHL games for 71 (42+29) points.
Coaching
Andrei Razin has worked in the KHL since 2015-2016. He served behind the bench at Avtomobilist, Ugra, Admiral, Severstal and now Metallurg. The 50-year-old has 487 games as head coach, winning 246 of them for a 50.5% ratio.
Goaltending
Ilya Nabokov, 21, will remain Metallurg’s #1. The young goalie was a sensation in his first full KHL season, winning 39 out of 66 games, stopping 93.4% of shots for a AA of 2.03 and seven shut-outs. Four of those blanks came in the playoffs, one in the final against Lokomotiv and three against Spartak’s famously fearsome attack.
The understudy’s role will be contested by 20-year-old Alexander Smolin and 26-year-old Nikita Podskrebalin. It’s likely that both will get game time in the VHL with Magnitka and have periodic calls to join the first team.
Defense
There are no changes at all on defense. Artyom Minulin agreed a contract extension, Vladislav Yeryomenko, Valery Orekhov and the most productive blue liner last season, Robin Press, all signed new contracts. The remaining members of the D-core, Alexei Maklyukov, Makar Khabarov and club captain Yegor Yakovlev were all under contract through 2025.
Attack
Here, there are a couple of losses. Young Nikita Grebyonkin is off to the NHL, while Maxim Karpov’s move to Sibir was a surprise for many. In addition, Arkhip Nekolenko moved to Lada and Maxim Mukhametov went back to Barys. Even so, the offense is not greatly harmed by these losses. Most key players were either under contract, or agreed new deals. These include Daniil Vovchenko, who scored the Gagarin Cup-winning goal, playoff goal leader Denis Zernov, plus Yegor Korobkin, Nikita Mikhailis and Roman Kantserov.
As well as Wilson, the club signed Daniil Bashkirov from Salavat Yulaev, Evgeny Grigorenko from the Kazakh league and Mikhail Shalagin, top scorer in last year’s Belarusian Extraliga. However, they are most likely to play in the VHL with Magnitka, while vacant roster spots in the KHL will go to Metallurg’s talented juniors.
Youngsters
Metallurg already has a young team which should develop further. Moreover, Andrei Razin is happy to use juniors on every line.
In goal we can see Nabokov (21) and Smolin (20). On defense, Danila Palivko (22) and Danil Gololobov (21) stand out: both played more than 40 games last season.
Among the forwards, it’s a similar story. Danila Yurov is only 20 but has more than 200 games and 73 (35+58) points, earning his status as the team’s young leader. Last season brought a KHL debut for 20-year-old Mikhail Grass while Roman Kantserov (19) finished the season on a high as one of Metallurg’s most productive scorers in the playoffs.
Expectations
At present, Metallurg looks like a team without an obvious weakness. The team has a young goalie who has already proved himself at a high level, a balanced defense and a forward line with great potential. Plus, every player now high priceless championship experience. Metallurg’s class of 2024-2025 is surely one of the favorites in the race for the Gagarin Cup.
