Trade deadline international heroes

This year, the trade deadline was busier than usual, with several import players changing teams or finding a new home. KHL.ru presents the best international players who made headlines during the deadline by switching teams and are expected to make a significant impact in the second half of the season.

Cole Cassels

From Avangard to CSKA

Hearing the news that CSKA packed Konstantin Okulov in a trade with Avangard in exchange for Cole Cassels, many raised an eyebrow. A player with a decent resume and the son of a renowned NHL player with more than 1,000 games under his belt, Cassels struggled to get to the scoresheet in the KHL, producing a mere five points for the Hawks, scoring his first goal only in late November.

With CSKA, the center will most likely have two-way functions, with a more prominent offensive role left to the more gifted players who already line up in the Moscow-based team. There, Cassels can start from scratch and show his worth having a good shot at the Gagarin Cup.

Rourke Chartier

From Kunlun Red Star to CSKA

Having moved on from Okulov, CSKA are now betting on other players in their top lines, particularly one of the best units of the season: Poltapov, Sorkin, and Abramov. However, they lacked two-way players capable of handling versatile roles. To fill this need, they brought in North Americans: Cole Cassels and Chartier, who has adapted to the KHL more quickly.

Notably, under Mikhail Kravets’ guidance, Chartier has played both on the power play and penalty kill—a versatile forward CSKA can certainly use. Although in North America, Rourke is better known as a defensive center, the main risk associated with him lies in his medical history.

Scott Wilson

From Metallurg to Salavat Yulaev

The Ufa team was active on the deadline and arranged a trade to acquire Wilson from Metallurg. In turn, Metallurg replaced Wilson with another Canadian, Troy Joseph, from Lada.

As for Wilson, he was the longest-lasting player among those brought in by Sergei Gomolyako this summer. Gomolyako, who has since left Metallurg, had hoped Wilson would maintain the same scoring pace he showed at Vityaz. However, after back-to-back 20-goal seasons, Wilson managed only four tallies this year. Some suggest that Andrei Razin never found him the right linemates. On the other hand, Viktor Kozlov is considered one of the best coaches in the league when it comes to working with foreign players. Playing alongside other North Americans should also make things more comfortable for Scott.

Troy Josephs

From Lada to Metallurg

After a strong debut season in the KHL with twenty goals, Joseph struggled to keep his past pace with Lada, who also had less impressive results, scoring only three goals in 29 games. A versatile player with a good size who can play with an edge, Josephs brings in valuable experience in European hockey, a good scoring touch around the net, and some fresh air in the Magnitka’s locker room.

This move can pay off for Metallurg, who showed a good ability to sign the right players at the right moment and can now count on a good selection of hard-working international players, after having traded for Croatian Borna Rendulic from SKA.

Dylan Sikura

From Traktor to Dynamo Moscow

Another player who didn’t live up to the expectations is Dylan Sikura. He had a good start in the preseason in Chelyabinsk, then missed some action due to an injury and failed to become a regular scorer for Traktor. He only netted five goals for the Black-and-Whites and will now line up for Dynamo Moscow following a trade that saw d-man Andrei Pribylsky and forward Matvei Guskov moving to Chelyabinsk.

The Blue-and-Whites acquired a player with some potential depth in secondary scoring, and to complement the other Dynamo’s Canadian forwards after the departure of Eric O’Dell.

Patrik Rybar

From Spartak to Kunlun Red Star

Despite some good performances, Rybar failed to win the competition to become a starting for Spartak, who waived him after twelve games played this season. Kunlun Red Star decided to pick him up and give him a chance, but the Slovak netminder will have to share duties with club’s legend Jeremy Smith, who is having yet another strong season in his sixth year with the Dragons.

Rybar spent his last two seasons and a half with Spartak and is now poised for a fresh new start with Kunlun Red Star.

Giovanni Fiore

From Admiral to Avangard

Another player who struggled to return to last year’s production, Fiore has only tallied two goals for the Sailors this season, and as such, he was sent to Avangard in exchange for monetary compensation. However, his strong two-way play may become very valuable under Avangard’s new coach Guy Boucher, and he can become a useful piece of the puzzle for the Hawks.

Two years ago, Avangard already signed a player off Admiral – defenseman Libor Sulak. The move didn’t really pay out for the Hawks, as the blueliner was eventually sent back to Vladivostok, and the hope is that this time, things will go differently.

Kyle Rau

Signs with Kunlun Red Star

A few seasons ago, another forward called Rau had a strong showing with the Dragons, scoring 40 (20+20) points as Kunlun Red Star reached the playoffs. It was Kyle’s older brother, Chad, who went on lining up for Neftekhimik, Avangard, and Slovan Bratislava before hanging them up in 2020 after a year in the UK’s EIHL. Now, another Rau signed with the Dragons, with Kyle trying to match his brother’s production and help Kunlun Red Star climb up in the Western Conference’s standings. Most recently, Kyle Rau lined up for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, scoring 30 (7+23) points in 48 regular-season games. He has 63 NHL career games, and over 500 appearances in the AHL.