Season preview. Avangard: Guy Boucher’s first full season

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the upcoming 2025/2026 season. This summer saw Avangard willing to trade away two top stars, but it’s hard to say their departures left the team weaker overall.

Last season

Avangard began with three wins, but then slumped to a seven-game skid that set the tone for the season. The Hawks regularly rebuilt its roster during the campaign, making trades or signing free agents to refresh the ranks. Many of those new faces – whether signed in the summer or during the season – didn’t last long and the revolving door only ceased to spin on deadline day. In total, Avangard used four goals, 14 defensemen and 28 (!) forwards, with two more players dressing for games but not getting on the ice. All this was overseen by two head coaches and three interim head coaches, with Sergei Zvyagin holding both titles for a time.

The handover of power from Zvyagin to Guy Boucher came with the deadline, ruling out any further transfer activity and stabilizing the situation at last. Avangard powered to the finish line in the regular season, losing just three of its last 18 games (and two of those in overtime or a shootout). Top forward Vladimir Tkachyov returned to the team after missing almost the entire campaign following a serious injury in pre-season. Despite that good finish, Avangard was left down in sixth place in the East having dropped so many points in the first half of the season that for a time, a playoff place seemed questionable. In the first round of post season, the Hawks faced defending champion Metallurg and won through to face champion-elect Lokomotiv. The series proved to be Loko’s toughest test, going to seven games, and double overtime in game seven, before the Railwaymen moved on.

Recruitment

Back in December it seemed that only the deadline halted the storm of activity at Avangard. And this summer proved the point. The roster continues to undergo serious revision, including some shock decisions: the reluctance to offer top goalscorer Reid Boucher a new contract, the signing and almost immediate release of defenseman Jesse Blacker, and, most contentious of all, terminating Tkachyov’s contract.

Departures:

Goalies: Mikhail Berdin (Ak Bars), Ilya Proskuryakov. Defensemen: Sergei Boykov (Torpedo), Yegor Voronko (Amur), Alex Grant, Pavel Koledov (Admiral), Evgeny Kulik, Alexei Solovyov (Amur). Forwards: Danil Bashkirov (Lada), Reid Boucher (Avtomobilist), Mark Verba, Emil Galimov (Barys), Ilya Reingardt (Lada), Ryan Spooner (Shanghai Dragons), Kirill Tankov (Severstal, loan), Vladimir Tkachyov (Metallurg), Alexander Filatyev (Amur), Nikita Kholodilin (Spartak)

Arrivals:

Goalie: Andrei Mishurov (Admiral, return from loan). Defensemen: Artyom Blazhievsky (Traktor), Slava Voynov (Torpedo), Alexei Yegorov (Spartak), Marsel Ibragimov (Lada), Max Lajoie (Coachella, AHL), Joseph Cecconi (Ontario, AHL). Forwards: Alexander Volkov (Dinamo Minsk), Ilya Kozhukov (Sokol, VHL), Yury Kozyukov (Sokol, VHL), Mikhail Kotlyarevsky (Severstal), Yegor Manin (Norilsk, VHL), Vasily Ponomaryov (Wilkes-Barre, AHL), Andrew Poturalski (San Jose, AHL), Denis Pochivalov (Traktor, via Severstal), Dmitry Rashevsky (Dynamo Moscow), Yegor Stepanov (Admiral)

Top 3 signings

It wouldn’t be any exaggeration to say that Tkachyov and Boucher were fundamental to Avangard’s offensive potential, so it’s no surprise that the summer activity has focused on rebuilding the forward line. Freed from Tkachyov’s heavy contract, Avangard had the cap space to invite Andrew Poturalsi, who scored more than 500 points (187 goals, 379 assists) in a decade in the AHL. He was the league’s top scorer three times, including last season, and was twice named MVP.

Dmitry Rashevsky is one of the most reliable goalscorers in the KHL over the past four seasons. Each time, despite rarely playing on the first line, he has scored more than 20 goals (and in the last three he has cleared 40 points). The club wanted to bring him to Omsk as a restricted free agent, but Dynamo matched the offer – only to release him for some solid financial compensation. There are suggestions that the money could have funded a new contract for Boucher, whose goal return is even better than Rashevsky’s (138 goals against 91 in the past four years). If that’s the case, it puts more pressure on the new guy. That responsibility can be partially shared with two other newbies, Alexander Volkov and Vasily Ponomaryov. Volkov is a multi-faceted forward, accomplished as a creator and a finisher, unafraid of the physical game where he tends to come out on top.

Ponomaryov’s productivity stood out in youth hockey and he probably crossed the Atlantic before he was ready. Thus, when he first returned to Russia, he struggled to step up to the adult game and went back to North America. Now he is back for a second time, this time with AHL experience and even a taste of the NHL, and he is ready to play a leading role.

Coaching

It was largely thanks to Guy Boucher that Omsk produced a powerful finish to last year’s regular season and impressed in the playoffs. He’s an experienced coach, having worked in the AHL and NHL, and with Canadian national teams at all age groups as well as a short spell in Switzerland. Some of his tactical tricks from 10 years ago were innovative and often baffled opponents until they found ways to counter him. Boucher’s hockey is not spectacular but more often than not it gets results. It’s true that his most notable victories came in the distant past: in 2008 and 2009 he was an assistant on U18 and U20 World Champion teams, in 2009 he was coach of the year after winning the QMJHL as head coach. A year later he was coach of the year again, this time in the AHL and without winning the cup. He also led Tampa Bay and Ottawa to conference finals in 2011 and 2017 (on both occasions, that was his first season on the team; subsequently he failed to improve and missed the playoffs).

Goaltending

Nikita Serebryakov’s transfer to SKA almost sank his career, but his next move to Avangard restored his status as an elite goalie. Andrei Mishurov, back from loan at Admiral, has improved and will be a reliable back-up.

Defensemen

The defensive line is on a par with the goaltending. Damir Sharipzyanov and Semyon Chistyakov stood out on this team. Both averaged more than 20 minutes and posted strong plus/minus ratings alongside high scoring. Sharipzyanov had 53 points, Chistyakov 47; next Mikhail Gulyayev on 18. On plus/minus, Chistyakov had 37, Sharipzyanov 25 and next came Ryan Merkley (who arrived during the season and played far less) on 6.
Summer brought the arrival of Artyom Blazhievsky from Traktor, the experienced Slava Vyonov and two North Americans: two-way option Max Lajoie and the more defensive Joseph Cecconi.

Forwards

Tkachyov barely featured in the last regular season, so it’s fair to say that Avangard is already used to playing without him even though his departure is clearly a significant loss. Boucher’s significance should not be understated either. It’s sufficient to say that in Reid’s five years in the KHL nobody has scored as many goals (170) and the closest contender is almost 30 adrift. Only Vadim Shipachyov has more points and even here it’s a tight-run thing: 314 against 308. Clearly, the Guy Boucher system intends to compensate for this with collective effort. As well as the attacking reinforcements mentioned above, it’s also worth pointing out the hard-working Mikhail Kotlarevsky, who should be a perfect fit here. And Nail Yakupov, Konstantin Okulov and Nikolai Prokhorkin are still here. Even without Tkachyov and Boucher, Avangard still looks to have a formidable offense.

Prospects

Not only did Avangard use a huge number of players last season, it was also one of the oldest teams in the league. As usual, when a team undergoes a big reshuffle, there was little opportunity for individual youngsters to make a mark. Only Gulyayev really had a regular role, and he was third behind Sharipzyanov and Chistyakov in scoring among defensemen. He should continue his progress, although there is more competition for time on defense.
On offense, that competition is even more intense. It’s possible we’ll see something of JHL captain Pavel Leuka and team-mate Vyacheslav Malov, but they are unlikely to play a big part.

What to expect this season

If Guy Boucher’s NHL career is any guide, his spells as head coach follow a common pattern: a strong first season, then a slump in seasons two and three, followed by dismissal. However, the latter half of last season can’t really be counted as a first season at Avangard and in reality that begins now. Any everything is in place for a good campaign with the Hawks. The question is how good: on paper, Avangard should easily progress through two rounds of the playoffs. But can it go further than the semifinals?