Tournament action underway

Last week saw the start of the first summer tournament and the end of one of the most protracted transfer sagas of the year. We also saw a Russian Canadian head to his homeland and a couple of renowned defensemen find new clubs in the KHL.

Minsk Cup kicks off summer schedule

The first summer tournament of the year got underway in Minsk. Despite some disruption to the schedule, caused by Sochi’s late arrival, the six-team tournament got underway on Thursday with a high-scoring 7-5 win for Dinamo Minsk over Shanghai Dragons. In the event, Metallurg and Admiral topped the two groups and will meet in tomorrow’s gold-medal game. Sochi, disrupted and delayed, suffered two losses. Sibir completes the line-up. Last week also saw warm-up action for SKA, with two wins over Avtomobilist.

Ruzicka saga resolved at last

Slovakia’s Olympian Adam Ruzicka has confirmed a move to Avtomobilist following his contentious departure from Spartak last season. In February, Ruzicka went to Milan as one of just a handful of KHLers at the Winter Olympics and went on to star for his country. But within a month Spartak tore up his contract, claiming the forward had breached the terms. An on-going argument over compensation rumbled on into the summer, but agreement was reached last week and Ruzicka was able to sign for the Motormen. He will help compensate for the departures of fellow centers Stephane da Costa, Alexei Byvaltsev and Danil Romantsev.

Returning to his roots

Canadian forward Boris Katchouk is the second North American power forward to join Traktor this summer. But unlike his new team-mate Nathan Legare, Katchouk boasts Russian heritage. The Vancouver native’s mother, Elena Tumanova, was an Olympic speedskater at Calgary and his grandmother still lives near Nizhny Novgorod. But his international hockey was with Canada, winning the 2018 World Juniors. He went on to play 179 NHL games for Tampa Bay and Chicago, but arrives in Chelyabinsk from Lehigh Valley of the AHL.

Addison joins Dragons

Calen Addison is the latest new recruit for Shanghai Dragons. The right-handed D-man had a hat-trick of assists in the 2020 World Junior final when Canada rallied from 1-3 to defeat Russia. In his senior career, he typically produces 20-30 assists a season – and managed that in his NHL campaign with Minnesota in 2022/2023. Last season the 26-year-old played for Utica Comets in the AHL, with 31 (6+25) points from 65 games. This is his first season outside of North America.

Falkovsky rejoins Kvartalnov

Stepan Falkovsky played under Dmitry Kvartalnov for Team Belarus in the past couple of seasons. Now the pair are reunited at Lokomotiv, where Kvartalnov is the new head coach and Falkovsky is only the second new player to join the defending champion. Seldom a prolific two-way option, Falkovsky’s gargantuan frame helps him play a solid defensive role. In his time in the KHL, he’s played for Dinamo Minsk, SKA and most recently Ak Bars. With 266 KHL games, plus 80 more in the playoffs, he brings plenty of experience – including of last season’s Gagarin Cup final against Loko. However, his game is rather different from Martin Gernat, who left the club during the summer.

Voynov goes east

Vyacheslav Voynov’s on-going tour of the KHL is up to six clubs after he signed for Amur this week. The vastly experienced defenseman has won two Gagarin Cups and Olympic gold after leaving the LA Kings in 2015. However, he’s now 36 and found himself playing a relatively minor role for Avangard last season. Coming to Amur takes him away from the league’s biggest clubs, but potentially offers him a bigger role on and off the ice.

Coming up …

The week begins with the delayed conclusion of the Minsk Cup. Sochi plays Shanghai Dragons for fifth place, Dinamo Minsk faces Sibir in the third-place game, then Monday concludes with Metallurg and Admiral going for the trophy. As one tournament ends, the next starts: four teams head to Ufa for the Republic of Bashkortostan Cup. Barys, Amur, Lada and host Salavat Yulaev contest a round-robin contest on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The week also brings defending champion Lokomotiv’s first pre-season games with Dmitry Kvartalnov taking charge of the team for the first time in games at home to Torpedo and Severstal.