Season preview: Salavat Yulaev. Will Shipachyov elevate Zharovsky & Co?

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the 2026/2027 season. Salavat Yulaev has added the best forward in KHL history to its roster and is looking forward to the start of the season with a more stable line-up.

Last season

A year ago we learned that Salavat Yulaev faced financial problems. That prompted a fire sale of leading players and the team fell towards the foot of the Eastern Conference. But after a slow start in September, the club found a way to retrieve the situation. One key detail was head coach Viktor Kozlov, who stayed with the club despite the difficulties. Under his guidance, young players began to make an impact, most notable Alexander Zharovsky. In the fall, Sheldon Rempal returned to Ufa and in winter Evgeny Kuznetsov was claimed off waivers. Steadily improving throughout, Salavat Yulaev finished the regular season in fifth and got Avtomobilist at the start of the playoffs. It was a great series, and unfancied Ufa advanced to face defending champion Lokomotiv. Hampered by untimely injuries, that proved a test too far, but the season as a whole can be regarded as a success.

Recruitment

Arrivals:

Defenseman: Alexander Alexeyev (Pittsburgh, NHL). Forward: Matthew Maggio (Bridgeport, AHL), Vadim Shipachyov (Dinamo Minsk).

Departures:

Goalie: Dmitry Braginsky. Defenseman: Alexei Vasilevsky (Amur). Forwards: Vladimir Butuzov, Evgeny Kuznetsov (Sibir), Artyom Pimenov (Admiral), Evgeny Sorokin (SKA-VMF, VHL), Alexander Suvorov (AKM, VHL), Alexander Khokhlachyov (HC Sochi), Pyotr Khokhryakov (Neftekhimik), Denis Yan (Severstal).

Top 3 signings

Vadim Shipachyov

A player who needs no introduction, the KHL’s all-time scoring leader has played more games in the league than anyone else and is the first man to reach 1,000 points. Vadim’s experience, his hockey IQ and his ability to produce the unexpected can only benefit Salavat Yulaev this season. And it will be especially interesting to see how he helps Ufa’s young players improve. In pre-season we’ve already seen him alongside Zharovsky and Yegor Suchkov.

Alexander Alexeyev

The D-man is currently in his prime, and ready to play in the top two pairs. Alexeyev already played in Ufa six years ago and did well back then. Now he’s back at the club after time overseas and looks likely to play a role on the PP. His offensive flair was apparent back in the juniors, although in North America he didn’t produce particularly impressive scoring. Alexander is a defenseman who is calm on the puck, lays a solid hit and is effective at both ends of the ice.

Matthew Maggio

Another player arriving from North America, Maggio has produced good numbers in the AHL for the past three seasons. The right-handed forward can play center or wing and should bring some variety to the Ufa offense. If he adapts smoothly, the 23-year-old could be an important cog in Kozlov’s machine.

Coaching

Last season was a real test of Viktor Kozlov’s mettle – and he passed with flying colors. He stayed on the team when it needed him most, then, even with a relatively modest pool of players, he was not forced to change his approach. In the end, he led the team to the second round and Kozlov himself was nominated for the Coach of the Year award. Moreover, young players are learning fast on his watch; Kozlov trusts them and is rewarded as the progress from game to game.

Goalies

There are no changes here. Semyon Vyazovoi is the clear first choice, ahead of Ilya Konovalov and Yaroslav Mozgovoi. Most likely we’ll see Vyazovoi in action for most of the season with Konovalov as his understudy.

Defensemen

The biggest departure of the summer was homegrown defenseman Alexei Vasilevsky, who went to Amur. There are mixed feelings about that trade, and it’s likely that Alexeyev will be expected to take on Vasilevsky’s role. But stylistically they are rather different, so it’s not impossible that the club is still working on adding a new, experienced stay-at-home D-man in Vasilevsky’s image. Otherwise, the defense is largely unchanged. That means captain Grigory Panin is back for another season – and should reach his 1,000th game in the KHL.

Offense

Here, too, all the key players are back: the club was happy to extend a contract with Rempal and also renewed its deals with Jack Rodewald, Danil Alalykin, Vladislav Yefremov and Maxim Kuznetsov. Among the players who have left, Denis Yan saw the most game time – maybe newcomer Maggio will be a direct replacement.

Youngsters

Zharkovsky is the brightest prospect at Salavat Yulaev and for now the big question is whether he can escape second season syndrome. On defense, Yaroslav Tsulygin has long been a key player in the first team. There are others who are just starting to feature in the KHL: goalie Ilya Yelin, defenseman Nikita Shcherbakov and forwards Maxim Zagrebin and Artur Faizov. Maybe we’ll see some of these emerge in the coming campaign.

Expectations

Compared with last year, Salavat Yulaev has gotten stronger, so there’s every hope of avoiding the kind of slump we saw last September. With a higher quality roster, Ufa is more than capable of competing for a spot in the top four in regular season and at least matching last year’s playoff run.