Season preview. Lokomotiv: Retaining the roster and bringing in Bob Hartley

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the upcoming 2025-2026 season with Lokomotiv. The Yaroslavl franchise will do everything to repeat its recent triumph. 

Last Season

Living up to its name, from the very start of the 2024-2025 season, Lokomotiv was a true armored train. The Yaroslavl team won the Opening Cup, seized the lead in the Western Conference and in the overall league standings, steadily increased their advantage, and by mid-March added the Continental Cup to their collection. In total, Lokomotiv earned 49 wins in the regular season, setting a new club record. In the playoffs, the mighty Yaroslavl side swept aside Torpedo (4–0), battled past Avangard (4–3), dispatched Salavat Yulaev (4–2), and finally reached the main trophy by defeating Traktor in the final series (4–1).

Recruitment

Arrivals:

Goalie: Nikolai Nikulshin (Sochi, returned from loan). Defensemen: Alexei Kozhevnikov (Kunlun Red Star, returned from loan), Daniil Misyul (Providence, AHL). Forwards: Yaroslav Likhachyov (Kunlun Red Star, returned from loan), Alexander Volkov (Lada, returned from loan).

Retained:

Goalies: Daniil Isayev, Maxim Mayorov, Alexei Melnichuk. Defensemen: Alexei Bereglazov, Nikita Cherepanov, Martin Gernat, Alexander Yelesin, Rushan Rafikov, Andrei Sergeyev, Mark Ulyev. Forwards: Denis Alexeyev, Maxim Beryozkin, Byron Froese, Georgy Ivanov, Artur Kayumov, Nikita Kiryanov, Pavel Kraskovsky, Ilya Nikolayev, Stepan Nikulin, Alexander Polunin, Alexander Radulov, Yegor Surin, Daniil Tesanov, Maxim Shalunov, Dmitry Yabelov.

Departures:

Defensemen: Maxim Belousov (Lada), Bogdan Kiselevich, Dmitry Simashev (Utah, NHL), Mac Hollowell (Lada, trade). Forwards: Daniil But (Utah, NHL), Richard Panik.

Coaching

After lifting another Gagarin Cup, Igor Nikitin left for CSKA. To replace him, Lokomotiv’s management brought in no less an impressive figure — in early July, the club signed a contract with Bob Hartley. The 64-year-old Canadian boasts an impressive track record: he won the Calder Cup (1997), the Stanley Cup (2001), a Swiss championship (2012), and the Gagarin Cup (2021). He was also named Coach of the Year in both the NHL (2015) and the KHL (2021). In our League, Hartley coached Avangard from 2019 to 2022, with 293 games and 177 wins in the KHL to his name.

Goalies

Daniil Isayev will continue to guard Lokomotiv’s net — the contract of the best goaltender of the past two seasons runs for another year. In 2024-2025, Isayev played 62 games in the regular season and playoffs, ranking among the league’s top five goalies in save percentage (92.9% across the season). He also finished first in goals-against average (1.58) and shutouts (10).

Supporting Isayev will be Alexei Melnichuk and Maxim Mayorov. However, judging by recent trends, the two of them will likely combine for no more than 20–25 regular-season games.

Defense

This offseason, Lokomotiv lost Dmitry Simashev and Bogdan Kiselevich. Otherwise, the blue line remains unchanged — almost all defensemen from the championship roster, except Andrei Sergeyev and Mark Ulyev, technically became free agents but went on to sign new contracts. Among them was Martin Gernat — the productive Slovak, who makes Lokomotiv’s power play more dangerous, decided after long consideration to return for his third season in Yaroslavl.

Lokomotiv also signed Daniil Misyul, who returned to his hometown club from North America, and Mac Hollowell. However, Hollowell was soon traded to Lada — seemingly because Gernat had agreed to a new contract. 

Forwards

Here too it’s “minus two” — Daniil But departed for North America along with Simashev, while Richard Panik’s contract expired. The Slovak joined the team during last season and became an important piece, though a return is not ruled out. Not long ago, club president Yuri Yakovlev said of Panik: “It’s a real pity he left. Maybe we’ll bring him back, if he agrees.”

Otherwise, the situation is similar to the defense — Lokomotiv retained nearly all of its championship forward group. Some players, like Maxim Beryozkin and Stepan Nikulin, had their contracts extended, while others were offered new deals. Among those staying are last year’s playoff MVP Alexander Radulov and cup-clinching scorer Maxim Shalunov — both signed one-year contracts.

The attack also gained Yaroslav Likhachyov, returning from his loan spell with Kunlun Red Star. He started last season with Lokomotiv (0+1 in 14 games) before gaining experience with the Chinese franchise, where he performed well as a sniper — 10+4 in 36 games.

Prospects

One of the brightest young talents not only in Lokomotiv but in the entire league, Yegor Surin, signed a new two-year deal with the club. The forward, who turned 19 this summer, stood out last season with 14 (7+7) points in his first full regular season and 5+2 in the playoffs. But even beyond the numbers, Surin impressed the crowd with an incredible burst of energy, reminiscent of Radulov himself. The two even played together on the same line, quickly developing and showcasing great chemistry.

Among the other young players who featured for the main squad last season were 20-year-old defenseman Mark Ulyev and 23-year-old Nikita Kiryanov. Ulyev made his full KHL debut last year, appearing in 40 regular-season games (0+6, plus-5), while for Kiryanov it was his second full season — he played an important role not only in the regular season (4+18) but also in the Gagarin Cup playoffs (3+5).

Also back from a loan spell with Lada is 22-year-old forward Alexander Volkov. He had previously played for Lokomotiv under Igor Nikitin, though back then his ice time rarely exceeded 6–7 minutes. In Tolyatti, however, Volkov averaged 17 minutes per game and regularly contributed on the scoresheet — 13 (7+6) points in 34 games.

What to expect

Lokomotiv has retained nearly 100% of its championship roster, while the team’s newcomers are hardly newcomers at all — either returning from loan or players like Daniil Misyul, who spent seven years in the Lokomotiv system. This depth and continuity are now in the hands of an experienced coach with a championship pedigree.

The players will likely need some time to adjust to all the nuances of working with the new head coach Bob Hartley, but in any case, this Lokomotiv squad will almost certainly be one of the main contenders for the Gagarin Cup.