Season review. CSKA: Nikitin’s second stint and big signings in the offensive zone

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the coming season. CSKA hired back Gagarin Cup reigning champion Igor Nikitin and his staff and rehauled its roster to return to past glory.

Last season

CSKA entered the 2024-2025 campaign with a seriously revamped roster. The club brought in several Russian players who had previously played in North America, and the head coach’s role was taken by Gagarin Cup winner Ilya Vorobyov. The overhaul didn’t fully pay off — throughout the regular season, CSKA played inconsistently. The team finished the regular championship in fifth place in the Western Conference and met Dinamo Minsk in the first round, losing the series 2–4.

Recruitment

Arrivals:

Goalie: Martin Spencer (Carolina, NHL). Defensemen: Alexander Gubanov (HC Sochi, trade), Vladislav Yeryomenko (Metallurg), Jeremy Roy (Vityaz, free agent). Forwards: Dmitry Buchelnikov (Vityaz, trade), Rhett Gardner (Lehigh Valley, AHL), Denis Zernov (Metallurg, trade), Nikolai Kovalenko (San Jose, NHL), Danila Moiseyev (Lada), Daniel Sprong (New Jersey, NHL).

Retained:

Goalie: Dmitry Gamzin. Defensemen: Nikolai Makarov, Nikita Nesterov, Nikita Okhotyuk, Vladislav Provolnev, Dmitry Samorukov, Colby Williams. Forwards: Vitaly Abramov, Denis Guryanov, Kirill Dolzhenkov, Ivan Drozdov, Yegor Fateyev, Vladislav Kamenev, Pavel Karnaukhov, Takhir Mingachyov, Prokhor Poltapov, Maxim Sorkin.

Departures:

Goalies: Pavel Khomchenko (HC Sochi), Ivan Prosvetov (Calgary, NHL). Defensemen: Fredrik Claesson (Dynamo Moscow), Mikhail Gordeyev (Zvezda, VHL), Christian Jaros (Columbus, NHL), Roman Kalinichenko (Sibir), Anton Malyshev (HC Sochi, trade), Nikita Sedov. Forwards: Yegor Afanasyev, Cole Cassels, Rourke Chartier, Stanislav Galiev (Dinamo Minsk), Ruslan Iskhakov (Metallurg, trade), Danila Khulapov (Zvezda, VHL), Maxim Mamin (Dynamo Moscow), Nikita Rozhkov (Torpedo, trade).

Top-3 acquisitions

Daniel Sprong
Sprong’s move to CSKA stands out not only because Daniel will become the first Dutch player in the KHL. The Amsterdam native is a highly skilled forward with an excellent shot. He is 28 years old and over his career has played 374 games in NHL regular seasons, scoring 166 (87+79) points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he appeared in 14 games and recorded 3 points (1+2). Sprong’s weak spot has traditionally been his defensive play — several coaches have criticized him for it. But in terms of offense, he’s a major addition.

Dmitry Buchelnikov
Buchelnikov can, without exaggeration, be called a rising superstar of Russian hockey. The forward is only 21 years old, yet he already has 130 KHL games under his belt with 85 points (29 goals + 56 assists). Last season, Dmitry played for Vityaz and proved himself as the team’s true leader, finishing as both their top scorer and best playmaker. At the same time, Buchelnikov also led Vityaz in takeaways — something that, combined with his speed, always created serious problems for opponents.

Nikolai Kovalenko
Kovalenko returns to the KHL after a short stint overseas. In the NHL, he recorded 8 points (4 goals + 4 assists) in 30 games for Colorado and 12 (3+9) in 29 games for San Jose. In our League, Nikolai previously played for Lokomotiv, Ak Bars, and Torpedo — in Yaroslavl’s system he twice won the Kharlamov Cup, and in Nizhny Novgorod he truly emerged as a team leader. Altogether, he has 158 (62+96) points in 304 KHL games.

Coaching

CSKA enters the new season under the leadership of Igor Nikitin. Last year, the coach guided Lokomotiv to the Gagarin Cup triumph, after which he made a surprising return to CSKA. Nikitin is no stranger to the Muscovite club — he previously worked here as Dmitry Kvartalnov’s assistant and later as head coach. From 2017 to 2021, under Nikitin, CSKA reached the finals three times and in 2019 lifted the Gagarin Cup.

Goalies

CSKA has refreshed its goaltending tandem — this season, the red-and-blues’ net will be guarded by Martin Spencer and Dmitry Gamzin. Last season, Spencer played mainly in the AHL but also appeared in nine games for Carolina in the NHL. In total, he has 66 NHL games and 24 wins with Colorado, Vancouver, Columbus, and Carolina.

Gamzin has 39 KHL games and 16 wins for CSKA to his name, and his stats are impressive — a .933 save percentage, 2.10 goals-against average, and three shutouts. At just 22 years old, Dmitry is ready to compete for the role of CSKA’s number one netminder.

Defense

CSKA kept the core of its defense intact, and among the newcomers, Jeremy Roy stands out — he was Vityaz’s top defenseman in recent seasons. The productive Canadian will boost CSKA’s power-play potential and offensive support. Clearly, Nikita Nesterov is the team’s primary option in this regard, but Roy will provide a solid secondary threat. Another new addition is Vladislav Yeryomenko, who won the Gagarin Cup in 2024 with Metallurg.

Overall, CSKA’s defense hasn’t undergone significant changes. Claesson, Sedov, and Jaros are gone, but they’ve been replaced by a pair of proven battlers.

Forwards

CSKA parted ways without regret with several forwards who had been underwhelming last season. Fans may only really miss Maxim Mamin — a CSKA homegrown player and two-time Gagarin Cup winner, who has moved on to Dynamo Moscow. His last season wasn’t perfect, but he still collected 26 points, with thirteen goals and as many assists.

The newcomers in this department are powerful. Buchelnikov, Sprong, Kovalenko, Denis Zernov (acquired from Metallurg in exchange for Ruslan Iskhakov), and Canadian Rhett Gardner, who will take on the role of bottom-six center. All of them are quality additions who will make CSKA’s offense stronger.

Prospects

Traditionally, CSKA’s system has no shortage of talented young players. In goal, there’s Dmitry Gamzin and Pyotr Andreyanov — while Dmitry has already proven himself at the KHL level, Andreyanov, considered one of the best (if not the best) Russian goaltenders born in 2007, still awaits his debut at the top level.

On defense, Anton Barabosha (born 2004) and Nikolai Makarov (born 2003) stand out. Both have already played in the KHL, but now it’s time for them to take the next step and establish themselves on the main roster. This is especially true for Makarov, who for several years has been either CSKA’s seventh defenseman (and even won the Gagarin Cup with the team) or sent down to the VHL.

Among the forwards, the selection is truly impressive — besides newcomer Buchelnikov, there are Kirill Dolzhenkov (2004), Yegor Solovyov (2005), Yaroslav Yapparov (2004), and Oleg Maistrenko (2005). All of them featured for the main team in the KHL last season. Also training with the senior squad this summer is 21-year-old Ivan Yanchenko — he made his KHL debut in 2023-2024 and had an excellent campaign in the VHL last season with Zvezda, recording 20 (16+4) points in 48 games.

What to expect

The roster overhaul and a championship-winning coaching staff at CSKA have one clear goal — to return to the top. It’s not guaranteed that Nikitin and his staff will succeed on their first try, but CSKA should at the very least re-establish themselves as contenders for a top-4 spot in the West.