Season review: Torpedo. From outsider to the second round of the playoffs
KHL.ru continues its club-by-club review of the 2025/2026 season. Torpedo’s regular season was a rollercoaster, but the team reached the second round of the playoffs for only the fourth time.
Last summer Torpedo struggled, failing to win a single preseason game in regulation and finishing with the worse goal differential and the leakiest defense. In August, Torpedo lost five warm-up games out of five before finally getting a win – in a shoot-out against Avtomobilist – on the final day of preseason play. So it was a surprise to see the team storm out of the blocks in the regular season, winning its first six games and remaining undefeated for longer than anyone else.
Then, it seemed, collapsing again: late September brought three straight losses (albeit, only by single goals) with four more in early October. Things stabilized, then came an even stronger surge than the start of the season – seven straight wins and points from 10 games in a row (the only defeat coming in a shootout). The latter stat matched a club record.
Torpedo ended 2025 with a 0-5 fiasco at Neftekhimik and another blank, albeit a more competitive 0-1 at Lokomotiv. 2026 began with two improbable 6-7 losses in three games: at home to Spartak and on the road at Severstal. The first game saw Torpedo blow a 4-2 tie and allow a tying goal late in the third; the second featured a fightback from 2-6. That kind of unpredictability was typical of the season: within a couple of weeks of those 6-7 games came two shut-out wins – 3-0 over Lokomotiv and 1-0 over Spartak.
This was a team that could slump to a 1-7 loss against Dinamo Minsk and lose 0-5 to Neftkhimik or Traktor, then rebound to beat Avtomobilist 7-4, CSKA 6-0 or Shanghai Dragons 7-2. And no other team comes close when we look at games won from a two-goal deficit or lost from a two-goal lead – that happened 11 times in Torpedo’s games: six comeback wins and five blown leads.
All that would make Torpedo the most unpredictable team in the KHL. But … In recent seasons, Nizhny Novgorod has routinely endured a slump at the end of the regular season. In 2023 it wasn’t a particularly deep hole, but the campaigns on either side faded alarmingly. For people who pay attention to these details, another March slump was entirely predictable. On Feb. 27, Torpedo was up in fourth in the West, just two points behind Severstal in third. Then came five losses in seven games for a sixth-placed finish and a playoff match-up against Severstal.
Up against former Torpedo coach Andrei Kozyrev, the team lost three out of four in the regular season, winning just once on Feb. 27 right before the slump. Ahead of the series, most felt that Severstal had a slight edge but the opening games confirmed there was no clear favorite. Torpedo opened with a 4-1 win, then suffered a 0-4 loss. In game four, Severstal looked set to cancel out a 1-3 loss in game three, leading 2-0 with 101 seconds remaining. But that was enough time for Torpedo to save the game before winning in second overtime. Up 3-1 in the series, Alexei Isakov’s men finished the job in game five.
Next came regular season champion Metallurg, with the Steelmen favorites from the start. Torpedo lost the series by the same 4-1 scoreline with which it defeated Severstal. But there was only one game in five that Magnitka won comfortably and on another occasion Torpedo again managed to win from 0-2.
Throughout the campaign, Torpedo played attractive, energetic hockey with a clear accent on offense. Unpredictability added to the drama and, with a few exceptions, Isakov’s team posed questions for even the strongest opponents. Failure to get past the second round isn’t really a failure, especially taking into account budget limitations and lowly expectations after pre-season. Torpedo has never gone further in the KHL era, and only reached the second round four times in 17 years. Therefore, the season can be regarded as a success.
Best players
Yegor Vinogradov
27+32 in 77 games
Four years ago, a young Vinogradov didn’t make much of an impression on Igor Larionov. He struggled for game time in the first season and in the second and third he rarely even made the team. Nonetheless, when given the chance, he looked a useful prospect, which made the lack of trust from the coaching staff a greater mystery. The fates ensured that in only the second game of the season, Torpedo faced Larionov’s SKA and Vinogradov had a hand in all three goals in a 3-2 victory, scoring the winner in overtime.
That was just the start of the story. Yegor finished as his team’s leader for points and goals, four goals and 16 points ahead of the competition. His +13 was also the best rating of the season, and he had more hits (161) than any other forward on the team.
Bogdan Konyushkov
7+36 in 77 games
and Robert Nardella
1+42 in 77 games
Vinogradov was followed by two defensemen who had 43 points each. They were also the hardest working on the team: Nardella had 19:17 average game time, Konyushkov had more than 21 minutes. They often alternated in different defensive pairings; both were regulars on the PP, Konyushkov also featured on the PK. Bogdan scored more goals, blocked more shots (126, leading the team) and appeared more versatile and irreplaceable, while Robert had more assists and finished with a higher ranking (+3 against -7).
Denis Kostin
92.2 % saves (1487 of 1612) , 2.38 GAA in 58 games
A year ago, Kostin ended up taking over the lead role from Anton Krasotkin at Sibir, but that wasn’t enough to persuade the Siberians to offer him a better contract. So he moved to Torpedo and again had to prove his worth, beginning the season as understudy to Ivan Kulbakov. It didn’t take long for him to assume top spot, and Kulbakov moved to Admiral (Kostin’s replacement at Sibir, Luis Domingues, lasted even less time). Denis himself recorded five shut-outs, joining a group of five goalies. He was ninth in the league for saves, not elite but a solid position in a league of 22 teams. And he might have produced better stats had he been the starter from day one.
Coaching
Alexei Isakov is a coach with an unusual biography in the KHL. Most of his colleagues have impressive playing experience but limiting coaching at any level. Isakov is the other way round: he hung up his skates at just 24 and has since honed his coaching skills at all levels – kids tournaments, the lower leagues, the JHL and the VHL. He spent the last two seasons in the Nizhny Novgorod set-up, leading Chayka to JHL bronze and winning the VHL Petrov Cup with Torpedo Gorky. After lifting that trophy he was named as Larionov’s replacement at Torpedo. So while Isakov was a KHL rookie, he had plenty of coaching experience and success.
During Larionov’s three years at the helm, Torpedo changed a lot. Arguably, the team took on a whole new character. After promotion from a lower league, Isakov inevitably attracts comparison with his predecessor but – unusually – the scales are tipped in the newcomer’s favor. That’s not just in Torpedo’s context: he was the stand-out new coach in the entire league. He did not impose a drastic change of style, but added aggression and variety to the team’s play. He also reinforced a more competitive spirit, helping his players rebound in games that were going against them. In terms of results, Isakov matched Larionov’s first season and reached the second round of the playoffs. That improved on a pair of first-round exits in the previous two campaigns.
Best game
Torpedo’s series against Severstal seemed to be following the team’s up-and-down pattern. Torpedo won games one and three, but lost game two and was up against it in game four. Nobody could find the net for 50 minutes and it felt as though the first goal would be decisive. That opener went to Severstal, soon followed by a second. Down 0-2, with five to play, Isakov replaced Kostin with a sixth skater and Torpedo whipped up a late storm. Andrei Belevich pulled one back with 1:41 left to play. Then Nikita Shavin tied it up 50 seconds before the hooter. Neither team could score in the first period of overtime, but 13 seconds after the restart Sergei Goncharuk gave Torpedo the win. Instead of a series tied at 2-2, Torpedo had a 3-1 lead and went on to finish the job in game five.
Young players
In recent seasons Torpedo has been one of the youngest teams in the league, but that cannot continue indefinitely. Prospects mature, and there is little point in immediately replacing players in their mid-20s with a new generation. Last season’s Torpedo was in the middle of KHL’s age range, with the bulk of the team aged 23-32.
Among the outliers, we’ve already discussed Vinogradov, who turned 23 in April. Apart from him, only Anton Silayev was a regular on the team. His progress seemed to plateau this term, he had less playing time and, consequently, his stats declined (apart from his 145 hits, which placed him third on the team). From January, 20-year-old Kirill Svishchyov began to make more of an impact. He had some good one-off performances, but is still adding consistency.
18-year-old wunderkind Viktor Fyodorov, tipped for a big future, was carefully introduced to the first team. Isakov used him in 13 games, with ice time ranging from three to 11 minutes. Viktor became the first player born in 2008 to score a KHL goal, and added a couple of an assists.
Off-season work
It’s not a full-scale reconstruction, but there are significant changes in place in Nizhny Novgorod this summer. And, at the moment, they look like changes for the better. The goaltending stable is secure, and four leading defensemen have rejoined. Silayev decided to try his luck in North America, while Sergei Boykov and Mikhail Naumenkov joined Shanghai Dragons, but two of them played less than 13 minutes a night, and Naumenkov 16:33. Meanwhile, Nikita Kamalov’s arrival from Severstal will only strengthen the defense.
Up front, there are two significant departures – Vasily Atanasov and Maxim Letunov – but more notable arrivals: Barys’s leading scorer Michael Vecchione, one of SKA’s leaders Mikhail Vorobyov and one of last season’s top rookies Matvei Polyakov, also from SKA. It’s possible, albeit less certain, that Daniil Seroukh’s move from Sochi could be another transfer coup; for now, it remains to be seen how he will adapt to life on a far more competitive forward line.
