Sergei Brylin returns to KHL

The big news of the week saw Dinamo Minsk confirm its new head coach – and bring a three-time Stanley Cup winner back to the league after more than a decade working in the USA. There’s a new tournament to celebrate Russian hockey’s origin story, and some big signings for Ilya Kovalchuk’s Shanghai Dragons.

Brylin to Belarus

Dinamo Minsk named three-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Brylin as its new head coach. The 52-year-old New Jersey Devils legend left the organization this summer after 14 seasons on the coaching staff in the AHL and NHL. Prior to that, he played all his 13 NHL seasons with the Devils, and is one of an elite group of players to feature in all three cup-winning teams in 1995, 2000 and 2003. Brlyin also played in the early seasons of the KHL, spending three years with SKA and another season at Metallurg Novokuznetsk. In taking over from Dmitry Kvartalnov for both Dinamo Minsk and Team Belarus, the Moscow native takes on the first head coaching position of his career. Brylin signed a three-year contract.

Celebrating history

The upcoming 2026/2027 season is the 80th in history of Soviet and Russian hockey. To mark the occasion, the KHL is setting up a commemorative tournament involving Russia’s six oldest clubs. On Dec. 22, the anniversary of the first ever games in the Soviet championship, Spartak will play Dynamo Moscow, Torpedo will face SKA and CSKA will host Avtomobilist. Those games will wrap up a mini-league, which will see each of the six teams play each other home and away by that date – and the team with the most wins will claim the Cup of the First. KHL president Alexei Morozov said that he hopes the tournament – the first ever to play out within a KHL regular season – will generate even more fan interest while honoring the game’s founding clubs.

Shanghai Dragons add firepower

The appointment of Ilya Kovalchuk as club president at the Dragons looked an ambitious step, and the KHL’s Chinese franchise is backing those ambitions in the transfer market. Last week, Kovi announced the arrival of Dmitrij Jaskin from Ak Bars. It wasn’t long before Nic Petan was also confirmed, returning to the KHL after a brief spell with Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland. Jaskin and Petan were team-mates in Kazan in the 2024/2025 season, often playing on the same line. However, while Jaskin’s extended period in the league has been full of goalscoring feats and individual awards, Petan returns with a question mark against his name. He left Ambri-Piotta back in October, playing just 15 games, and did not join another club for the remainder of the season. Will rekindling an old partnership get him back to his best? And will that fire the Dragons to the playoffs at last?

Ottenbreit returns to Dragons

After big signings on offense, Shanghai also added to the D-core. Turner Ottenbreit is a Dragon once again. The 29-year-old Canadian played 64 games for Kunlun Red Star in 2023/2024, contributing 8 (1+7) points. Last week he signed a one-year contract with Shanghai Dragons, bringing him back to the franchise for a second stint in the KHL.

Lada adds import

Defenseman Mason Millman is the latest addition to Lada’s roster. The defenseman arrives from Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, where he had 8 (1+7) points from 44 games last season. The 25-year-old Canadian was drafted by the Flyers in 2019 but never made the NHL.

Vishnevsky to continue

Spartak defenseman Dmitry Vishnevsky is set to be the third player to continue his 100% record of playing in every KHL season to date. He signed an extension to his contract with Spartak and is set to join Salavat Yulaev duo Vadim Shipachyov and Grigory Panin in commencing his 19th consecutive season in the league. Vishnevsky has played 867 games, with 62 goals and 180 assists. However, Roman Starchenko, who also played in each of the league’s first 18 seasons, has retired as a player. The Kazakh legend will be an assistant coach with Nomad Astana in the coming campaign.

Bashkortostan Cup returns

After a one-season break, the Fonbet Bashkortostan Cup is back on the pre-season schedule. This year marks the 25th edition of the competition in Ufa, which started out in 1999. In that time, Salavat Yulaev has won it 12 times. Lokomotiv is the only other team with more than one success, while one-time champions include Slovakia’s Skalica and current VHL clubs Molot-Prikamiye and Ugra. This year’s tournament, played from Aug. 17-20, features Barys, Amur and Lada alongside the host. A round robin will determine the winner.

New format in Moscow

The Mayor of Moscow Cup is expanding and the 2026 edition will feature eight teams. Group one comprises Ak Bars, Dinamo Minsk, CSKA and Spartak; group two features Avtomobilist, Shanghai Dragons, Dynamo Moscow and Torpedo. The teams will play two games each the group – the opposition for the second determined by the results of the first. Then, on Aug. 30, the final positions will be decided in cross-group play – the group winners playing for the title, the runners up for third place, and so on.