Trophy for Severstal, rebuild for Shanghai
Pre-season action is well underway, with big crowds turning out for the latest warm-up games. Severstal lifted the Blinov Cup in Omsk in front of more five-figure crowds. We’ve seen most teams in action, but Shanghai Dragons are yet to play – when they do, they’ll bring a radically reshaped roster after a week of busy transfer action.
Severstal wins the Blinov Cup
The second tournament of the summer went to Severstal. The battle for the Blinov Cup came down to a winner-takes-all clash between Avangard and the Lynx on Sunday evening in Omsk – with the visitor prevailing in a shoot-out after a 3-3 tie. Both teams were undefeated through three games coming into the decider, but the Hawks were unable to continue their winning streak and lift the trophy. Lokomotiv finished third, Sibir and Neftekhimik play for fourth and fifth place on Monday.
Leivo, Goldobin find new clubs
Josh Leivo, last season’s scoring leader and the record-holder for goals in a regular season, will spend 2025/2026 at Traktor. After the Canadian was released by cash-strapped Salavat Yulaev, he agreed a one-year deal in Chelyabinsk. Leivo was straight into the team for Traktor’s first pre-season game and made his mark by getting into a fight on his debut. Nikolai Goldobin was another high-profile forward on the move: SKA claimed him off waivers after he fell out with Spartak.
Big week for Dragons
It took a long time for Shanghai Dragons to kickstart its recruitment drive – but now the new-look franchise is filling in the blanks fast.
The arrivals list includes five imports new to the KHL. On defense, there are two new Canadians, Jeremy Groleau and Will Reilly. Groleau, 25, spent the past two seasons in Sweden with Farjestad, where he showed a solid defensive game. Reilly, 28, played in Czechia for Motor, and contributed 12 (5+7) in 45 games but finished with a -12 coefficient.
Max Ellis, Riley Sutter and Nate Sucese add offensive options. Ellis, 25, played on the right wing for Jukurit last season in Finland having spent two previous seasons in the Maple Leafs’ system. Sutter, a 25-year-old center, joins from Hershey where he won two Calder Cups and had 6+6 in 63 games last season, while Sucese, 29, had 28 points for Hartford. Both are coming to Europe for the first time.
As well as new imports, there are several familiar KHL players on Gerard Gallant’s roster. Ivan Chekhovich arrives from Vityaz, where he had 36 (12+24) in 47 games, while Alexander Burmistrov has almost 500 KHL games, and Borna Redulic offers some attacking flair. Goalie Andrei Tikhomirov, defenseman Vladislav Valentsov and forward Vladimir Kuznetsov also arrive.
In addition, two of last season’s KRS defensemen, Adam Clendening and Joey Duszak, are back for the coming campaign.
New imports for Barys
After slumping to the foot of the standings last season, Barys is determined to produce a stronger show this term. And the Kazakhs are bringing imports back to the team after relying on home-grown talent for much of 2024/2025. Defenseman Reilly Walsh and forward Mason Morelli are arriving from the AHL on one-year deals. Walsh, 26, had 32 (6+26) points in 72 games for Ontario Reign while center Morelli, 29, had 19 (13+6) points for Henderson Silver Knight.
Dal Colle heads to Belarus
Canadian forward Michael Dal Colle signed a two-year deal with Dinamo Minsk. The 29-year-old was a first-round draft pick for the Islanders back in 2014 and went on to play 116 NHL games (8+13 points). More recently he played a season in Finland with TPS and two in Germany with Iserlohn Roosters, where he had 38 (13+25) points in 47 games last season.
Slovak stars sign up
Two Slovak internationals have extended their stays with KHL clubs. Lokomotiv’s defenseman Martin Gernat agreed to return to the champion for another season. Last term he contributed 7+29, taking his career total to 73 (20+53) in 168 games. Winger Adam Ruzicka inked a two-year contract with Spartak. Last season he led the Red-and-Whites in goals with 33, and also had 24 assists in 77 games.
Fans flock to summer hockey
It’s been a summer for big crowds at pre-season games, and that trend is continuing. After Sibir attracted five-figure attendances for its warm-up games in Novosibirsk, Avangard did the same at the Blinov Cup in Omsk. Meanwhile, in Chelyabinsk, Traktor was close to filling its arena for a scrimmage against farm-club Chelmet to start its pre-season campaign. There’s still two weeks to go until the season starts – and KHL fans are already getting excited for it.
Dynamo pays Ovechkin tribute
When Alex Ovechkin started his hockey career, he was a rising star at Dynamo Moscow. Since then, he’s achieved just about everything possible in world hockey – culminating in last season’s record-breaking achievement when he topped the legendary Wayne Gretzky’s NHL regular season goal tally. Of course, that called for a celebration back home and Ovi was the guest of honor as Dynamo began its pre-season preparations against Ak Bars. A new banner to mark the Great 8’s 895 NHL goals was hoisted to the rafters of the VTB Arena, and the man himself was presented with a commemorative stick and puck.
Coming soon ...
This week sees the final game of the Blinov Cup on Monday, with Neftekhimik playing Sibir in a bid to escape last place. And there are four more tournaments to look forward to. First, the Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup starts Monday with host Traktor facing Lada, Amur and Sochi in a four-team round robin. The same day sees SKA start the Puchkov Tournament in Petersburg, which is a three-team event involving Ak Bars and Avtomobilist. That will be finished on Wednesday, by which time the Romazan Memorial will be underway in Magnitogorsk. This long-running competition feature Metallurg, Salavat Yulaev, Barys and VHL team Magnitka. Then, on Aug. 28-31, the final tournament of the summer, the Mayor of Moscow Cup, brings a first look at Shanghai Dragons in competition with Dynamo, Spartak, CSKA, Dinamo Minsk and Torpedo.
