Season preview: Admiral. Can Bratash work wonders again?

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the coming season with a look at Admiral. A bunch of key figures left the club last season and over the summer, suggesting a tough campaign ahead in Vladivostok.

Last season

Admiral’s brief history is not yet rich in notable achievements, but last season was objectively the worst the club has known. The Sailors finished last in the Eastern Conference, and third last in the overall standings, winning just 20 games out of 68. Admiral was the only team that never once won a game after falling behind.

That cost Leonids Tambijevs his job, even though he twice took the club to the playoffs and once even made the second round. He was dismissed after a defeat against defending champion Lokomotiv. The decision was not taken on the basis of that one result, but at the time of Tambijevs’ departure Admiral was just one point away from a playoff spot and four clear of Sibir. Yet by the end of the season, Sibir was in the playoffs and Admiral was 17 points adrift.

Recruitment

Since Tambijevs took the team to the second round in 2023, Admiral’s roster has steadily strengthened, albeit not very much. Last season, not only did Tambijevs leave, but several leaders were traded away or simply had contracts terminated. That exodus continued in the summer. The current influx of players is substantial, but more in terms of quantity than proven quality. Many newcomers are on try-outs, or have come from the VHL or junior hockey. The only stand-out feature of the transfer strategy is the lack of anything resembling a high-profile signing.

Departures:
Goalies:
Timofei Ivanov, Adam Huska. Defensemen: Ruslan Pedan, Semyon Ruchkin (Neftekhimik), Georgy Solyannikov (Sochi), Alexander Shepelev. Forwards: Vladimir Bryukvin, Vladislav Kara, Maxim Maltsev (returned to Lokomotiv after loan), Vyacheslav Osnovin, Nikita Soshnikov (Traktor), Stepan Starkov (Metallurg), Nikita Tertyshny (Dynamo Moscow), Arkady Shestakov (Barys), Pavel Shen (Dynamo Moscow)

Arrivals:
Goalies: Jelal-ad-Din Amirbekov (Metallurg), Nikita Boyarkin (Barys). Defensemen: Grigory Vashchenko (Severstal), Mikhail Gordeyev (Zvezda, VHL, try-out), Kirill Zhukov (Metallurg), Fyodor Kroshchinsky (Neftekhimik), Konstantin Luchevnikov (Ak Bars), Ilya Morozov. Forwards: Pavel Anokhin (Ryazan, NJHL, try-out), Alexander Volkov (Lokomotiv, loan), Mikhail Grass (Metallurg), Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (rights, Dynamo Moscow), Anthony Camara (Oserlohn, Germany), Danila Kvartalnov (Neftekhimik, try-out), Yegor Korbit (Rostov, VHL), Danila Moiseyev (CSKA, try-out), Maxim Musorov (Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk, KAZ), Dmitry Mukhtarov (Krylya Sovietov, JHL), Artyom Pimenov (Salavat Yulaev), Alexander Tochilkin (Dynamo-Altai, VHL), Danila Khulapov (Zvezda, VHL, try-out), Vladislav Tsitsyura (Severstal)

Top 3 signings

Anthony Camara played two-and-a-half seasons in the KHL before a spell in Germany. His debut season was his best, when he produced 14+19 in 69 games for Neftekhimik. Then he set a club record seven-game goal streak at Barys, overtaking the great Nigel Dawes. Camara isn’t a true hotshot, but he’s a reliably productive player who is also ready to play the role of an irritant and drop the gloves to protect his team-mates.

Vladislav Tsitsyura grew up in SKA’s system and enjoyed himself playing under Andrei Kozyrev at Severstal until injury limited him to just 26 games. Tsitsyura is expected be Admiral’s top center, playing on the first line and special teams.

Nikita Boyarkin was terrific two seasons ago but then suffered a serious injury that ruled him out for more than nine months. He then needed another couple of months to get back to fitness and, arguably, didn’t quite get there last season. Frozen out at Barys, he’s looking to reboot his career with Admiral.

Coaching

In 2015/2016, Oleg Bratash was an assistant at Lokomotiv. After that, he spent seven years away from club hockey working with Russia’s U18s and U20. His return was a success: in 2023 he took charge at Lada, which was returning to the KHL after a similar absence. That roster was similar to Admiral’s – a lot of players, but no clear vision behind their acquisition – and the pundits unanimously dismissed the team’s chances.
But Bratash stunned everyone by getting those outsiders into the playoffs. He couldn’t repeat the achievement the following year, and was surprisingly dismissed in November.

Bratash’s decision to accept the Admiral job in Jan. 2026 was a bold one. He was stepping in to replace Tambijevs on a team that was built firmly in the Latvian’s image, effectively guaranteeing that things would get worse before they could get better. Admiral’s management didn’t help much, cashing in on key personnel.

Obviously, Bratash is now seeking to create “Lada 2.0” in Vladivostok. It’s hard to believe he can succeed, but he proved us wrong in summer 2023.

Goalies

Boyarkin and Ivan Kulbakov make an impressive pairing. Kulbakov looks to be the #1 at present, but if Boyarkin can regain his form of 2024/2025 he can challenge for that role. In any event, competition should be good for both players, and therefore the whole team.

Defense

Libor Sulak is very much the face of Admiral and following the departures of Semyon Ruchkov and Georgy Solyannikov his role (and Mario Grman’s) only increases in significance.

In warm-up games Ilya Morozov looked good after missing a full season, as did Nikita Yefremov and Artyom Kudashov, who arrived during the previous campaign. There’s also Semyon Ibragimov and new signings Konstantin Luchevnikov (Ak Bars), Kirill Zhukov (Metallurg) and Fyodor Kroshchinsky (Neftekhimik). So there’s no shortage of options; it merely remains to built them into a unit capable of playing Bratash’s brand of hockey.

Offense

Admiral’s offense is clearly lacking depth, despite an influx of new signings, and the return of Dmitry Zavgorodny and Kyle Olson. Reinforcements such as Tsitsyura, Camara, Mikhail Grass and also Alexander Volkov on loan from Lokomotiv, are all encouraging. But they won’t compensate the loss of Stepan Starkov, Pavel Shen, Nikita Soshnikov and Nikita Tertyshny unless two or three of the newbies produce break-out seasons. It seems unlikely that Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, whose KHL rights were traded to Admiral as part of the deal that sent Shen to Dynamo Moscow, will play in Vladivostok: if he returns to the KHL at all, it’s unlikely he’ll wish to play for Admiral. In theory, he could be traded for a good quality player but looking at the club’s recent record of unsuccessful transactions it’s hard to have too much faith in that outcome.

Youngsters

Admiral has never been a breeding ground for young players and the team began last season without a single U23 player in the first team. During the campaign there were opportunities for Oskar Bulavchuk and Ibragimov (who turns 24 this season) as well as Kudashov. The updated Admiral should be younger, especially on offense. The 22-year-old Grass arrived from Metallurg, apparently ready to play regularly at this level; it’s likely his peer Alexander Tochilkin will also get a chance. Ivan Fomin, 19, was the leading scorer for Admiral’s juniors last season with 43+31 in 60 games putting him well clear of the competition. In the first three warm-up games, where Bratash used players on try-outs and two-way contracts, Fomin played on the first line and made an impact: two goals, three assists.

On defense, Zhukov, who arrived in the same trade as Grass, will get his chance. Admiral gave up last season’s scoring leader Starkov to secure the youngsters.

Expectations

Admiral has played more games than anyone else so far this summer – four. Moreover, it has won all of them (albeit two in shoot-outs). But let’s not get carried away: objectively, Admiral’s roster is weaker then any team that looks like a serious playoff contender. Much like Lada three years ago. Back then, Bratash worked a genuine wonder, but as everyone knows it’s hard to pull off a fantastic result and harder still to repeat it. If there is no miracle this year, the Sailors face a battle to avoid finishing last in the Eastern Conference – and possibly the entire league.