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Season preview: Neftekhimik. Offensive reinforcements and faith in Grishin’s attacking hockey
KHL.ru looks at the state of the League’s clubs as they prepare to start the new season. Neftekhimik has retained their defensive leaders, made some targeted additions, and appear to have no intention of moving away from its offensive style of play.
Last Season
In the 2025-2026 season, Neftekhimik avoided the slow starts that had plagued them in recent years. After losing their first two games to Severstal and Traktor, the Nizhnekamsk side won seven of their next eight and even spent some time in the Eastern Conference top three.
It is also worth noting that Igor Grishin’s team played an attractive brand of hockey, with an emphasis on offense, puck movement, and active skating. Their results dipped somewhat as the regular season progressed, and they slipped to sixth or seventh place. Neftekhimik ultimately finished seventh, with one of the reasons being a lack of points against their direct competitors.
Even so, the Nizhnekamsk side secured a playoff berth with a couple of weeks of the regular season still remaining. Their first-round opponent was Avangard, and the 4-1 series score in Omsk’s favor should not be misleading. Neftekhimik won one game on the road and held leads in Games Three and Five. What Grishin’s team lacked to extend the series was that all-important playoff experience. The Wolves looked very good and can undoubtedly consider last season a success.
Recruitement
Arrivals:
Goaltender: Matvei Botov (HK Norilsk, VHL). Defensemen: Timothy Lovell (Greenville, ECHL), Semyon Ruchkin (Admiral). Forwards: Viktor Andreichenko (Toros, VHL), Sergei Artemyev (Dynamo Moscow, trade), Rafael Bikmullin (HC Sochi), Alexander Petunin (Metallurg), Artur Tyanulin (Lada), Pyotr Khokhryakov (tryout; Salavat Yulaev).
Departures:
Defensemen: Joseph Duszak (Straubing Tigers, Germany), Fyodor Kroshchinsky (Admiral), Dinar Khafizullin (retired). Forwards: Nikita Artamonov (Torpedo, returned from loan), Vladislav Yu. Barulin (Shanghai Dragons), Alexander Dergachyov (Amur), Danila Kvartalnov (Admiral), Joey-Christophe Muissu (Spartak, trade), Arsen Khisamutdinov, Bulat Shafigullin (Dynamo Moscow, trade), Raul Yakupov.
Top three signings
A quality addition to Neftekhimik’s top six. Petunin won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg and enjoyed the best years of his career under Andrei Razin, both in Cherepovets and Magnitogorsk. The coach and player have now gone their separate ways, but on paper Petunin is a very good fit for Grishin’s system as a skilled player, with a good shot and decent speed. Despite his relatively modest size, Petunin is also excellent around the crease.
A Kazan native and Ak Bars academy product, Tyanulin has returned to Tatarstan and will now face his hometown club in the derby. Another skilled player in Grishin’s arsenal, he can take matters into his own hands and make the difference in a single play. Tyanulin scored some spectacular goals for his previous clubs, and Neftekhimik fans will surely be hoping for more highlight-reel moments. He is another candidate for a top-six role: he scored 40-plus points in a regular season twice with HC Sochi and also had a very good campaign with Lada last season.
Another notable homecoming. Bikmullin, who was born in Nizhnekamsk and came through the entire Neftekhimik system, has returned home. He initially signed a tryout contract, but it was soon converted into a one-year deal. Rafael previously spent eight seasons with the Wolves, with only brief spells at Lada and HC Sochi interrupting his time with the club. Among his strengths are his ability to score and set up goals, as well as his willingness to play physically, battle for the puck and stand up for his teammates when necessary; all qualities he has demonstrated repeatedly in the KHL.
Coaching
The upcoming season will be Igor Grishin’s second at the helm of Neftekhimik. His first left a very positive impression: under his guidance, the team played entertaining hockey, upset some of the favorites and looked very good in the playoffs. Judging by the fact that the club has retained most of its key players while making targeted additions, we should not expect any major changes to their style of play. That said, for all of Neftekhimik’s strengths, a little more consistency would be welcome. That would allow them to finish higher in the regular season and perhaps dream of something beyond simply making the playoffs.
Goalies
There is stability in this department at Neftekhimik. Filipp Dolganov remains the number one goalie and will handle most of the workload, with Yaroslav Ozolin providing occasional relief. Last season’s third goalie was young Semyon Lyubalin, who signed a contract extension this summer. One of the club’s new additions is Matvei Botov, who joined from Norilsk. He has a two-way contract and will likely start the season in the VHL.
Defense
The club’s management handled the defensive situation well, signing new contracts with Ilya Pastukhov, Artyom Serikov, Maxim Fedotov, and Nikita Khlystov. Luka Profaca remains under contract, while Timur Khairullin and Yegor Yuzlenko are also staying with the club. The defense has been strengthened by Semyon Ruchkin and Timothy Lovell. Ruchkin has already made a name for himself in the KHL, while Lovell arrives from the ECHL, following the same path as Profaca.
Offense
This is perhaps where the club suffered its biggest loss, with Alexander Dergachyov and Bulat Shafigullin leaving. The former was the team’s top center and captain, while the latter was a leader and versatile two-way forward. Bikmullin could fill Shafigullin’s role, while Petunin should be capable of replacing Dergachyov – the former Metallurg forward has experience playing center. All of Neftekhimik’s other key forwards remain with the team, and with Tyanulin’s arrival, the Wolves now have two very good offensive lines.
Youngsters
Last season, Grishin gave Sevastyan Sokolov a chance with the first team. At just 19, he made his KHL debut, scored his first goal, played 18 regular-season games and all five playoff games. Sokolov will surely have more opportunities to show what he can do in the upcoming campaign.
Neftekhimik has also added Viktor Andreichenko and Sergei Artemyev, two promising young forwards who could progress if given the necessary trust from the coaching staff. And, as we know, Grishin has a knack for working with young players and, most importantly, for trusting them.
Expectations
After the offseason, Neftekhimik’s roster looks slightly stronger on paper than it did a year ago. The Nizhnekamsk side should therefore be capable of at least matching last season’s result and comfortably reaching the playoffs again. It is quite possible that the Wolves could push their first-round series to six or seven games, but that will depend on the opponent and the brand of hockey Grishin’s team brings to the matchup.
