International influence on both sides. Gagarin Cup Finals top imports
Canada’s Byron Froese, USA’s record-breaking Mitchel Miller, and Slovakia’s Martin Gernat and Richard Panik headline a championship cast that powered Lokomotiv’s second straight Gagarin Cup and closed the season with history written in gold. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
Canada
Lokomotiv, F, 6 G, 3 (3+0) points, -2
Canada’s Byron Froese delivered when Lokomotiv needed him most as the team lifted its second straight Gagarin Cup. The veteran forward scored the decisive goal in Game One before exploding for a two-goal performance in Game Five, putting Ak Bars on the back foot in the series. Froese finished the Final with three goals in six games, and consistently handled difficult defensive assignments while winning key faceoffs for Bob Hartley’s side. His experience and timely scoring became one of the defining factors behind Lokomotiv’s championship run.
US
Ak Bars, D, 6 G, 8 (5+3) points, -5
Despite Ak Bars falling short in the Final, American defenseman Mitchel Miller emerged as one of the team’s brightest stars. The blueliner produced eight points in six games, highlighted by a historic hat trick in Game Two — making him the first defenseman in KHL history to score three goals in a Gagarin Cup Final game. Miller consistently drove Ak Bars’ offense from the back end, logging huge minutes throughout the series and adding five goals overall, the most among defensemen in the Final.
Slovakia
Martin Gernat and Richard Panik
D, Lokomotiv, 6 G, 2 (0+2) points, +1
F, Lokomotiv, 6 G, 3 (1+2) points, -1
Slovakia had two key representatives in Lokomotiv’s championship-winning lineup. Defenseman Martin Gernat capped another excellent season by helping the club lift the Gagarin Cup while continuing to establish himself as one of the steadiest Slovak blueliners in Europe. Earlier in the year, he also played a major role for Slovakia at the Olympics, carrying that momentum into the KHL playoffs with calm defensive play and timely production from the back end.
Alongside him, veteran Richard Panik delivered the kind of veteran postseason performance that rarely shows fully on the scoresheet. The former NHL forward brought physicality, defensive reliability, and experience to Lokomotiv’s top-nine rotation, while also contributing three points in the Final. His impact was recognized after the series, when he was named the Best Forward of the Gagarin Cup Finals.
