Best Players of the 2025-2026 first week

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the 2025-2026 Regular Season’s first week in four categories.

The League’s teams played 39 games in the first ten match days, with 524 players (36 goalies, 176 defensemen, and 312 forwards) taking part in the action. The scoring was at 5.54 goals per game.

- Best goalie for the third time in his career was Patrik Rybar (Shanghai Dragons), who won two games from three last week. The Dragons’ goalie faced 113 shots, or 37.6 per game, posting a save percentage of 92.92% and a goals-against average of 2.60.

- Best defenseman for the first time in his career was Ioannis Kaldis (Severstal), who scored 4 (1+3) points in four games last week. The Cherepovets defenseman posted no negative ratings in the week, ending with a plus-5 differential. Kaldis also blocked eight shots.

- Best forward for the second time in his career was Sergei Goncharuk (Torpedo), who scored 6 (3+3) points in four games last week, with a plus-1 differential. The Nizhny Novgorod forward also made 13 hits, blocked three shots, had two takeaways and made one pass interception.

- Best rookie for the first time in his career was forward Matvei Polyakov (SKA), who scored 2 (1+1) points in four games last week, with a plus-1 differential. Polyakov’s goal against Traktor on Thursday was his first in the KHL. He also made two hits and had two takeaways.