International reinforcements at the transfer deadline

Last week, several imports changed teams or found themselves a new home in the league as the transfer deadline occurred. KHL.ru presents the best international players who made headlines during the deadline by switching teams and are expected to make a significant impact in the second half of the season.

Nathan Todd, from Spartak to Ak Bars

Brendan Biro, from Ak Bars to Spartak

The very last deal, and one of the loudest in terms of significance, was the trade between Ak Bars and Spartak. Its central figure was Nathan Todd, a forward who shares the top spot among Spartak’s leading scorers with 36 points. The move can be viewed as a swap of two Canadian centermen, although Todd, unlike during his time in Ufa, rarely played in the middle in the capital, while Brandon Biro’s statistics are not directly comparable to Todd’s numbers, with only one goals scored through 33 games. How can Spartak’s decision to part ways with Nathan Todd, who joined the club only this past offseason, be explained? First, he failed to score in his last six games for Spartak, and his ice time was gradually reduced. Todd also lacked consistency. Second, the arrivals of Daniil Gutik and Ignat Korotkikh intensified competition within Spartak’s forward group. Most importantly, the Muscovites included Artemy Knyazev in the trade — a promising defenseman whom Anvar Gatiyatulin did not see as a regular in Ak Bars’ lineup, but who should be able to carve out a role on Spartak’s blue line. As for Todd, he will reunite in Kazan with Alexander Chmelevsky, with whom he showed chemistry during their time in Ufa.

Scott Wilson, from Sibir to SKA

After two steady and productive seasons with Vityaz, Scott Wilson lost his way under Andrei Razin. The Magnitogorsk head coach never managed to find a permanent role in the lineup for the Canadian forward. Viktor Kozlov, however, succeeded where Razin did not. Surrounded by other North American imports at Salavat Yulaev, Wilson flourished and earned himself a contract with Sibir. That said, he never became a true leader in Novosibirsk, even though the club initially built its top line around the trio of Wilson, Vladimir Tkachyov and Nikita Soshikov. Wilson played under three different head coaches but ultimately followed his former linemates out of the club. He left Sibir on a high note, scoring the decisive shootout goal in a win in Kazan. Now Wilson will join Trevor Murphy, Brendan Leipsic, Rocco Grimaldi, and Joseph Blandisi in Saint Petersburg. In other words, the 33-year-old forward once again finds himself in an English-speaking environment, working under a coach who, like Wilson himself, once played for Detroit—albeit in a very different era.

Michal Cajkovsky, from HC Ambrì-Piotta (Switzerland) to Traktor

In addition to goalie Dmitry Nikolaev, acquired from Spartak, Traktor got Alexander Kisakov from Dynamo Moscow and also strengthened its defense with the addition of Michal Cajkovsky. The Slovak is a big, experienced defenseman with two Olympic appearances, several World Championships, and 444 KHL games to his name. Cajkovsky’s best seasons came with Moscow clubs: playing for Dynamo and Spartak, he recorded more than 30 points, firing plenty of shots and seeing significant time on the power play. He left the Red-and-Whites during the offseason while dealing with health issues. He worked his way back into shape in Switzerland, where he played six league games for HC Ambrì-Piotta and added two more appearances at the Spengler Cup with Fribourg. With Traktor, Cajkovsky is expected to ease the workload on the team’s core defensemen, as no fewer than four blueliners on the Black-and-Whites are averaging over 19 minutes of ice time per game.

Nick Ebert – signs with CSKA

Fourteen points — that is the current tally of CSKA’s most productive defenseman, Jeremy Roy. It is noticeably lower than what he posted last season with Vityaz. The numbers have also dipped for former CSKA captain Nikita Nesterov. During the season, CSKA added Mac Hollowell to the roster, a player who had originally arrived at Lokomotiv back when Igor Nikitin was still head coach in Yaroslavl. The reshaping of CSKA’s blue line continued on the eve of the trade deadline, when the club signed Nick Ebert. On the one hand, the Moscow side clearly needed an offensively minded defenseman. On the other hand, given the playing model employed by the coaching staff, blueliners of that profile are unlikely to put up big point totals anyway. Still, the arrival of the Canadian — who initially signed with Avtomobilist in the offseason before terminating that deal for personal reasons — can be explained by the serious injury suffered by Vladislav Provolnev. In Ebert, CSKA found his replacement.

Ryan Spooner

From Lausanne HC (Switzerland) to Dinamo Minsk

Another interesting return is the signing of Ryan Spooner by Dinamo Minsk, bringing the experienced Canadian forward back to Belarus for the remainder of the season. Spooner started the current campaign with the Shanghai Dragons, where in 31 games he registered five goals and 15 assists, totaling 20 points before his contract was mutually terminated in December. He then spent a brief period in Switzerland with Lausanne HC, contributing one assist in six appearances. This return marks Spooner’s third stint with Dinamo Minsk; during his earlier time with the club he was a consistent offensive force, posting 47 points in 64 games in the 2022–2023 season and adding 36 points in 39 games in 2020–2021. At 33 years old, the veteran playmaker brings a blend of experience and scoring pedigree to the Minsk lineup as they push deeper into the KHL season.