Season Preview. Sochi: Vladimir Krikunov back in business

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the 2025/2026 season. Sochi went through a change of management and two coaching departures in the summer. Now, the new-look Leopards are preparing for the new campaign under the guidance of Vladimir Krikunov, the oldest coach in KHL history.

Last season

The Black Sea boys continued their unhappy sequence. Sochi finished last in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the sixth year in a row. Nonetheless, there were bright spots. Artur Tyanulin had a great season, putting up 40 points and closing on the club’s all-time scoring record. But the most memorable moment was Daniil Seroukh scoring five in a game against Dynamo Moscow on Feb. 19. It’s only the second time any player has managed that feat in the KHL.

Recruitment

Arrivals: 

Goalie: Pavel Khomchenko (CSKA). Defensemen: Anton Malyshev (CSKA), Ilya Nikolayev  (Traktor), Mikhail Orlov (Torpedo), Noel Hoefenmayer (Laval, AHL). Forwards:  Matvei Babenko (Salavat Yulaev), Rafael Bikmullin (Lada, try-out), Jean-Christophe Beaudin (TPC, FIN), Matvei Guskov (Traktor), Pavel Dedunov (SKA), Troy Josephs (Metallurg), Pavel Kudryavtsev (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Moiseyev (Metallurg)

Retained:

Defensemen: Artyom Volkov, Semyon Ibragimov, Vasily Machulin, Danil Mokrushev, Maxim Fedotov. Forwards: Danil Avershin, Will Bitten, Alexei Vasilkov, Denis Vengryzhanovsky, Amir Garayev, Artemy Kuznetsov, Sergei Popov, Daniil Seroukh, Artur Tyanulin, Dmitry Utkin, Timur Khafizov, Igor Shvyryov, Alexander Yaremchuk

Departures: 

Goalies: Evgeny Volokhin (Spartak), Sergei Ivanov (SKA, return from loan), Nikolai Nikulshin(Lokomotiv, return from loan). Defensemen: Nikita Baklashyov (Dynamo Moscow, return from loan), Jesse Graham, Gleb Koryagin, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Roman Manukhov, Akim Trishin. Forwards: Andrei Nikonov (Traktor), Yegor Spiridonov, Alexander Khokhlachyov (Lada)

Top 3 signings

Jean-Christophe Beaudin

The arrival of Canadian forward Jean-Christophe Beaudin looks like one of the most interesting moves from Sochi this summer. Last season he played with TPS in Finland, putting up 42 (15+27) points in 57 regular season games, plus two more assists in five playoff outings. 

Pavel Dedunov

Although Pavel Dedunov has never been prolific (0.16 points per game through his career to date), he’s a reliable team player ready to block shots and excellent on the penalty kill. A Gagarin Cup winner with more than 640 games in the KHL, he looks a potential captain at Sochi.

Pavel Kudryavtsev

Last season was the best in the 27-year-old Pavel Kudryavtsev’s career. He had 29 points for Dynamo – 24 in the regular season and five more in the playoffs. Despite playing mostly in the bottom six, Pavel often featured on the power play. At Sochi, he can expect more game time and more opportunities to show his qualities. 

Coaching

During the summer, Sochi went through two coaching changes. Sergei Zubov, who has coached (211) and won (58) more games than anyone else with the club, was fired after a disappointing season. За межсезонье «Сочи» пережил две смены тренера. Initially, Vyacheslav Kozlov was named as his replacement but before he could start his rookie season as a head coach in the KHL the club changed ownership and the new management dispensed with Kozlov’s services.

The new man turned out to be the oldest head coach in KHL history. Vladimir Krikunov, 75, was hugely experienced before the league came into being. Since then, he’s coached 722 games, winning 374 of them. His last job in the KHL was with Dinamo Riga in 2021/2022, and his most recent role was in the VHL with Dynamo St. Petersburg in 2023/2024.

Goalies

Ahead of the new season Sochi seems to be looking for a new approach to its goaltending, bringing in more experience between the piping. Over the summer, Evgeny Volokhin, Sergei Ivanov and Nikolai Nikulshin left the club to be replaced by Pavel Khomchenko from CSKA and Dmitry Shikin from Vityaz.

The latter had played 126 games in six previous seasons with Sochi, but won’t add to that tally. On Aug. 14, his contract was cancelled. The vacancy might be fill by 21-year-old Nikita Tulinov, who made 10 appearances for the first team last season. Another 21-year-old, Kirill Kapustin, is currently on a try-out contract.

Defense

There are several interesting new faces on defense. Ilya Nikolayev stands out after arriving from Traktor. Experienced Mikhail Orlov, who has more than 400 games in the league, should bring stability following his move from Torpedo, while Noel Hoefenmayer looks like a replacement for Jesse Graham in the attacking defenseman role. 

Forwards

The big thing here was securing last season’s leaders. Artur Tyanulin, Amir Garayev, Timur Khafizov and Daniil Seroukh were already under contract, and Will Bitten was quick to sign an extended deal after he was claimed off waivers last season and fit in perfectly from day one. They’ll get help from the players mentioned in the “Top 3 Signings” section, but also from the likes of Troy Josephs. The Canadian did well at Lada and got a move to Metallurg. With 54 points in 114 KHL games, he’s proven at this level. 

Prospects

Sochi already has several youngsters with decent KHL experience. Defenseman Semyon Ibragimov, 22, made 31 appearances last season, picking up four assists and a rating of -5. Fellow D-man Alexei Vasilkov, 21, had one assist and a -4 tally from 19 games. Vasilkov also has some playoff experience: in 2023/2024 he played three post-season games for Lada.

Dmitry Utkin, who played in the JHL Challenge Cup in 2022, turns 23 at the start of the season and looks set to step up to a new level. He has played in 53 games over the past three seasons for 12 (7+5) points. His best game to date came against Ak Bars in Jan. 2024 when he scored twice.

Sochi acquired 19-year-old Matvei Babenko from Salavat Yulaev over the summer. In 2023/2024 he made his KHL debut, playing eight games and scoring one goal. Last season Babenko played in the JHL for Tolpar, collecting 22 (11+11) points in 18 regular season games, then adding a couple of assists in two post-season outings.

What to expect

Although a few positions on the team have seen quality reinforcements, it’s hard to claim that Sochi will be much stronger than last year. The opposition in the Western Conference have also made good use of the summer and to gain ground on them Vladimir Krikunov’s team needs less of a step forward and more of a leap. Can they do it? That’s an open question. Right now, it seems that, at the very least, the Leopards are capable of escaping the Western Conference basement.