Review of the season: HC Sochi. Sixth season without playoffs

KHL.ru keeps on reviewing the 2024/2025 season for each team. Under the leadership of Sergei Zubov, Sochi failed to reach the playoffs, but the team still made league history thanks to a remarkable achievement by forward Daniil Seroukhov.

HC Sochi opened the season with a hard-fought win over Spartak (2:1 SO), but overall, the start of the season was disappointing for them: in September, Sochi won only two out of nine games. October began with three consecutive victories, including two shutouts (1:0 against Severstal and 5:0 against Admiral), but immediately after that, the Black Sea franchise suffered three straight losses.

Things didn’t improve as the season went on — the team struggled to earn points and couldn’t climb out of last place in the Western Conference. In February, when HC Sochi still had a theoretical chance of making the playoffs, the team put together a four-game winning streak, including two victories over CSKA (2:0 at home, 4:1 away), a historically tough opponent for them. Interestingly, the Black Sea franchise won three out of four games against CSKA during the 2024-2025 season. Sochi also performed well against Lada — two games, two wins.

Following that winning streak, they suffered losses to Torpedo and Kunlun Red Star, who at the time were direct competitors in the playoff race. That effectively ended Sochi’s hopes of making the top eight, and for the sixth consecutive year, the team missed the Gagarin Cup playoffs.

Artur Tyanulin

Tyanulin was Sochi’s top scorer in the 2024-2025 season, surpassing the 40-point mark for the second year in a row. In September and October, he put together a ten-game point streak, setting a new club record. Over the course of the season, Tyanulin climbed to second place on Sochi’s all-time scoring list with 115 points. He had a real shot at catching Ilya Krikunov (122), the club’s all-time leader, but an injury in mid-February sidelined Artur for the rest of the season. 

Daniil Seroukh

Seroukh had a breakout season in what was his second year in the KHL. After recording a modest 11 points (7+4) in his rookie season, he more than tripled his output this year. Daniil finished the season with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists), including four games in which he recorded at least three points.

The highlight of his season—and one of the most memorable moments in league history—came on February 19 in a 5:3 win over Dynamo Moscow, when Seroukh became just the second player in KHL history to score five goals in a single game.

This feat somewhat overshadowed his previous game on Feb. 17 against CSKA, where he scored a beautiful shorthanded goal that turned out to be the game-winner for Sochi.

William Bitten

The Canadian forward started the 2024-2025 season with Spartak Moscow but didn’t fit into Alexei Zhamnov’s system. Spartak placed Bitten on waivers, and Sochi quickly picked him up—a move that proved to be a real steal.

Bitten scored six goals in his first six games with Sochi and went on to tally 14 points (10 goals, 4 assists) in 30 appearances, finishing among the team's top five goal scorers. His performance earned him a new contract: Bitten will stay with Sochi for the 2025-2026 season.

Coaching

Sergei Zubov served as Sochi’s head coach during the 2024-2025 season. Before the start of the campaign, the club signed him to a two-year contract. Zubov had previously coached Sochi and led the team to the playoffs twice, securing sixth place in the regular season standings during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 KHL seasons.

Despite this past success, the results of the current season were deemed unsatisfactory, and Sochi decided to part ways with Zubov in the offseason. Nevertheless, his legacy remains significant: he holds the record for most games coached in club history (211) and ranks second in total wins (85).

Best game

Sochi had several standout performances against top Western Conference teams this season — including memorable wins over CSKA and a 5:2 road victory against SKA in November.

Still, the most remarkable game was the one against Dynamo Moscow, in which Daniil Seroukh scored an incredible five goals. Even without considering Seroukhov’s historic feat, it was a thrilling match, with the two teams combining for eight goals in total.

Youngsters

The Sochi coaching staff made notable use of young talent throughout the 2024-2025 season, particularly in the goaltending department. Early in the season, 19-year-old Yegor Zavragin served as the team’s starting goalie. Even after his midseason transfer to SKA, Sochi continued to rely on youth between the piping, regularly turning to Evgeny Volokhin and Nikita Tulinov. Volokhin turned 20 in April, while Tulinov celebrated his 21st birthday during the season.

Among skaters, two young forwards stood out: Artemy Kuznetsov and Dmitry Utkin. The 20-year-old Kuznetsov became a reliable part of Sochi’s main roster, posting 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 52 regular-season games. Utkin, now 22, has been in the lineup for three seasons, typically appearing in about a quarter of the games each year. He made the most of his opportunities, registering 4 points (2+2) in 18 games this past season.

Several other young forwards — including Alexei Vasilkov, Zakhar Mits, and Fyodor Abramov — didn’t score in the 2024-2025 campaign, but they showed promise and could break through next season.

Summer work

Sochi is entering a new chapter as Vyacheslav Kozlov takes over as head coach. Kozlov spent the past four seasons as an assistant with Dynamo Moscow and now steps into the top job.

The club’s transfer policy this summer appears focused and promising. Sochi retained a solid core — most of their key players were already under long-term contracts, and some were extended during the offseason. On top of that, management is reinforcing the roster with quality additions.

Among them are experienced goaltenders Pavel Khomchenko and Dmitry Shikin, returning defenseman Fyodor Kroshchinsky (back from loan), and Ilya Nikolaev, acquired in a trade from Traktor. Nikolaev played a notable role under Benoit Groulx in Chelyabinsk.

In the offense, the most intriguing new signing is Jean-Christophe Beaudin, a Canadian forward who played last season in the Finnish Liiga with TPS. Beaudin tallied 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 57 regular-season games, and added 2 assists in five playoff appearances.

Sochi’s mix of youth development and targeted acquisitions sets the stage for a fresh start under Kozlov’s leadership.