Season preview. Amur: new head coach and good signings

In our traditional pre-season round-up, KHL.ru looks at the state of each team ahead of the 2025-2026 campaign. Amur changed its head coach, did a good job on the transfer market, and is ready to compete for a playoff spot in the East.

Last season

Amur’s ambitions over the past couple of years have, unfortunately, yet to be backed up by results. Last season, the team had a poor start to the championship and eventually slipped to the bottom of the conference standings. Between late October and early November, Khabarovsk suffered five straight shutout losses with a combined score of 0:21. During this dismal run, head coach Andrei Martemyanov was dismissed and replaced by Viktor Kostyuchenok, but he was unable to bring about any major changes — Amur managed to climb just one spot, finishing the regular season second-to-last in the Eastern Conference.

Recruitment

Departures:
Goalie: Matt Jurusik. Defensemen: Alexander Bryntsev, Yefim Gurkin, Yakov Rylov (retired), Alexander Shchemerov (Torpedo). Forwards: Vladislav Barulin (Neftekhimik), Devin Brosseau (Dynamo Moscow), Vyacheslav Gretsky, Arnaud Durandeau, Sergei Lapin, Dmitry Shevchenko (Torpedo).

Arrivals
Goalie:Maxim Dorozhko (Vityaz, trade). Defensemen: Yegor Voronkov (Avangard), Yaroslav Dyblenko (Severstal, trade), Nikita Yevseyev (Ak Bars, loan), Alexei Solovyov (Avangard, trade). Forwards: Matvei Zaseda (Vityaz, trade), Kirill Petkov (Admiral, trade), Evgeny Svechnikov (Torpedo), Kirill Urakov (Neftekhimik), Alexander Filatyev (Avangard, trade), Artyom Shvaryov (Yugra, VHL, trade).

Top 3 signings

Maxim Dorozhko
The former Vityaz goalie had a strong couple of seasons, ranking among the league’s best in statistical categories and earning a call-up to the Fonbet KHL All-Star Game. When it became clear that the Moscow Region club would not take part in the upcoming season, Dorozhko instantly became the top prize on the market among Vityaz players. Amur ultimately won the battle for his signature, and the Khabarovsk management deserves credit for that — the club has secured a reliable starting goaltender who will almost certainly strengthen the team.

Evgeny Svechnikov
After returning from overseas in 2023, the elder of the Svechnikov brothers has yet to fully showcase himself in the KHL — neither with Ak Bars nor with Torpedo did he reach his full potential. At Amur, he will likely have every opportunity to perform at his projected level — Evgeny has plenty of skill, and here he can fight for a spot in the top six and on one of the power play units. On top of that, he’s adept at playing a physical game, a quality that will certainly benefit a team battling for a playoff berth.

Yaroslav Dyblenko
The experienced defenseman is expected to bolster Amur’s blue line. His résumé includes a Gagarin Cup title with CSKA and stints with SKA, Spartak, and Atlant. Last season with Severstal was far from his best, so he too has something to prove now.

Coaching

Amur will enter the new season with a new bench boss — Alexander Galchenyuk Sr. A product of Belarusian hockey, he is a two-time USSR champion (1990, 1991) and a World Junior Champion (1986) as a player. Interestingly, his entire coaching résumé consists of three seasons in the early 2010s as an assistant with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sarnia Sting. After that, Galchenyuk Sr. spent about a decade working on individual player development, before being appointed Amur’s development coach in December 2024. On one hand, his lack of KHL head coaching experience might raise some eyebrows; on the other, the league has seen rookie coaches succeed before — Igor Larionov and Andrei Kozyrev being recent examples. Galchenyuk’s tenure with Amur is thus another intriguing storyline for the Khabarovsk club heading into the upcoming season.

Goalies

Late last season, when it became clear that Amur would miss the playoffs, the coaching staff gave significant ice time to young netminders Damir Shaymardanov and Viktor Kobozev. It’s quite possible that one of them will claim the backup role in the new campaign. There’s virtually no doubt that Dorozhko will be the team’s starting goaltender, while the battle for the second spot is expected to be fierce between Shaymardanov and Kobozev.

Defense

On paper, Amur’s defense looks stronger than last year’s version — in addition to Dyblenko, the team brought in Yegor Voronkov, Alexey Solovyov, and Nikita Yevseyev, while keeping Viktor Baldayev, Ivan Mishchenko, and Cameron Lee. There’s also young Sergey Ryzhikov and Roman Abrosimov, signed to a try-out contract. Overall, the coaching staff now has a solid pool of defensemen for different game situations.

As for departures, the main one is Yakov Rylov, who retired and joined Galchenyuk Sr.’s staff at Amur, where he will be responsible for working with the defensemen. Also leaving the team are Yefim Gurkin, Alexander Bryntsev, and Alexander Shchemerov — good players, but not system-defining ones for the club.

Forwards

One of Khabarovsk’s biggest offseason successes was extending the contract of Alexander Galchenyuk Jr., Amur’s main offensive star last season. Among the newcomers, aside from Svechnikov, notable additions include Matvei Zaseda, Kirill Petkov, and Kirill Urakov, all of whom have already proven themselves at the KHL level. The team also signed Alexander Filatyev and Artyom Shvaryov — they’ve also made appearances in the league, though they haven’t yet become key players.

Among those who left, Vladislav Barulin — the team’s second-leading scorer last season after Galchenyuk — stands out, as does Dmitry Shevchenko, who often scored crucial goals and added physicality to the offense.

Prospects

Amur’s roster features young talent worth keeping an eye on this season. The best chances to make a strong impression belong to local product Ignat Korotkikh, who has already been called up to the first team for several seasons, defenseman Ryzhikov, and two new signings: Filatyev, who by age 20 had already played for Avangard’s main roster, and Yevseyev, on loan from Ak Bars and who played in the top pairing for Kazan under Oleg Znarok. All three have tremendous potential; the question is whether they can fully realize it in the new season.

What to expect

Given the offseason acquisitions, Amur looks like a clear playoff contender — and not just for the seventh or eighth seed in the conference. On the other hand, there is the risk factor of a new head coach without KHL experience. If he can adapt to the league quickly and build a competitive team, results will follow. In all their time in the KHL, Amur has made the playoffs only three times and has never advanced past the first round — this season, the Tigers have a real chance to at least match their best result.