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Season preview: Lada. New Head Coach, Major Roster Overhaul
KHL.ru continues its club-by-club previews for the coming season in Togliatti. Lada changed its head coach, significantly reshaped its roster and hopes to compete for a playoff spot.
Last season
September 2025 proved extremely turbulent for Togliatti. The team entered the new season under Boris Mironov, but the head coach did not last even a month after the start of the regular season. Poor results led to his dismissal, with Pavel Desyatkov taking over. However, there was no dramatic turnaround. Lada spent the entire season fighting for a place in the playoff spots and ultimately lost that battle, finishing 32 points behind eighth-place Spartak. The team recorded just twenty wins in 68 games. There were some bright spots, though, including three wins over Ak Bars and strong performances against CSKA and Dinamo Minsk. But the main objective – reaching the playoffs – was not achieved.
Recruitment
Arrivals:
Goalies: Andrei Mishurov (Avangard, trade), Danila Ovcharik (CSK VVS, VHL, trade), Nikita Podskrebalin (Metallurg Novokuznetsk, VHL), Dmitry Shikin (tryout; Shanghai Dragons). Defensemen: Karim Vafin (tryout; CSK VVS, VHL), Artyom A. Volkov (HC Sochi), Vladislav Leontyev (Shanghai Dragons), Mason Millman (Bakersfield, AHL), Doyle Somerby (Shanghai Dragons), Arsen Taymazov (Ak Bars, trade). Forwards: Mikhail Belyaev (tryout; Yugra, VHL), Ivan Vyach. Zinchenko (Dynamo Moscow, trade), Ben King (Cincinnati, ECHL), Pavel Kudryavtsev (Dynamo Moscow), Nikita A. Rozhkov (Torpedo, trade), Konstantin Ryzhov (tryout; Zauralye, VHL), Rasim Shakirov (Neftyanik, VHL, RFA), Igor Shvyryov (tryout; HC Sochi).
Departures:
Goalies: Ivan Bocharov (HC Sochi), Yaroslav Gorbenko, Alexander A. Trushkov (Amur), Kirill Ustimenko. Defensemen: Daniil Bokun (Dinamo Minsk), Yegor Ganabin (Metallurg), Artyom Zemchyonok, Marat Kalimullin (HC Sochi, trade), Alex Cotton (CSKA, trade), Vladislav Syomin (SKA), Colby Williams (HC Sochi). Forwards: Danil Borodin (HC Tambov, VHL, trade), Tyler Graovac, Andrei Grishakov, Artemy A. Kuznetsov (Avtomobilist, trade), Andrei Obidin, Alexei Ozhgikhin, Artur Tyanulin (Neftekhimik), Dmitry A. Utkin (Metallurg Novokuznetsk, VHL, trade), Tomas Jurco (HC Kosice, Slovakia).
Top 3 signings
A versatile forward with experience at top clubs, Kudryavtsev reached the Gagarin Cup semifinals with Dynamo Moscow. He excels at defensive work and penalty killing, but at Lada he could take on a more prominent role – the only question is where the coaching staff sees him playing. He also has plenty of skill and is not afraid to get involved in physical battles.
Another former Dynamo Moscow player to make the move to Togliatti. He is only 24, but has already played more than 150 KHL games for Vityaz, SKA, and Dynamo. A strong and feisty forward who is not afraid to drop the gloves – players like that have always been valued. Zinchenko is clearly yet to reach his full potential, and he should have more ice time at Lada than he did with his previous clubs.
A stay-at-home defenseman who spent his entire KHL career with the Shanghai Dragons. He logged a lot of penalty-killing minutes and blocked around 100 shots per season. All of those qualities should come in handy for Lada in the upcoming campaign. He finished two seasons with a positive differential while playing for the Chinese franchise, which says a lot given the team’s overall results in recent years.
Coaching
Pavel Zubov will lead Lada into the new season. He has already worked for the Togliatti club both as an assistant and as head coach. Importantly, Zubov is a product of Togliatti hockey and, as a Lada player, won two Russian championships. As an assistant to Dmitry Kvartalnov, he worked with him at Lokomotiv and Ak Bars, while his other KHL head-coaching experience came with Sibir. The 2024-2025 season, when he was in charge of Lada, was not particularly successful in terms of results, with the team finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference in the regular season. Can Zubov lead the team to the playoffs this time around?
Goalies
During the offseason, Lada’s management completely rebuilt its goaltending corps. Ivan Bocharov and Alexander Trushkov left the club, with Andrei Mishurov, Nikita Podskrebalin and Danila Ovcharik brought in as replacements. Experienced Dmitry Shikin is also with the club on a tryout contract. Mishurov and Podskrebalin are likely to battle for the starting job, with Ovcharik providing backup, while Shikin, if he stays with the team, could serve as a mentor and veteran presence for the younger goalies.
Defense
More than half of Lada’s defensive corps has been revamped. Somerby, Artyom Volkov and Vladislav Leontyev are experienced defensemen who have already made their mark in the KHL. Arsen Taimazov was acquired from Ak Bars after spending last season on loan at Lada, where he apparently made a good impression. Among those who left, Vladislav Syomin stands out – Lada’s leader in recent years moved to St. Petersburg, and it will be interesting to see who the Togliatti club finds to replace him.
Forwards
There have been changes here as well, although not as many. Most importantly, the club’s management managed to re-sign Riley Sawchuk, Dmitry Kugryshev and Andrei Altybarmakyan. Lada’s offensive game is built around all three, and they bring plenty to the team with their skill and commitment. Kudryavtsev and Zinchenko, Ben King and Nikita Rozhkov will add further depth up front. Lada also acquired the rights to Rasim Shakirov from VHL side Neftyanik – he once made a name for himself with Ak Bars in the KHL 3x3 Tournament and will now try to prove himself at the highest level.
Youngsters
Lada has young players in every position group. In goal, there is Ovcharik, who has made just two appearances for the club over the past two seasons. On defense, there are Taimazov and Alexander Lukin. They both had solid seasons last year, and the task now is to maintain that level at the very least. Up front, there is Maxim Belousov, who established himself as a regular last season and played 54 games – and he is only 21! There are also likely to be other young players in Lada’s system ready to make the jump to the KHL.
Expectations
The key question is how quickly the players and coaching staff will gel. Essentially, the club changed its head coach and coaching staff, as well as more than half of its roster, in the space of one offseason. In this situation, much will depend on the preseason and the start of the campaign. If Lada can avoid a repeat of last September’s disastrous start, they should have a real chance of competing for a playoff spot.
