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Lokomotiv collected multiple awards at the KHL Closing Ceremony in Barvikha on Thursday evening.

KHL.ru takes a closer look at the nominees for the Golden Stick award — the shortlist following the 2025-2026 regular season includes Sam Anas (Dinamo Minsk), Damir Sharipzyanov (Avangard), and Vladimir Tkachyov (Metallurg).

KHL TV commentator Anton Vasyatin takes an in-depth look at the nominees for the Alexei Cherepanov Award, presented annually to the league’s top rookie. Following the 2025-2026 season, the award contenders are Alexander Zharovsky, Matvei Polyakov, and Mikhail Fyodorov. For the first time in four seasons, the list of nominees consists exclusively of forwards.

KHL.ru takes a closer look at the nominees for the league’s Best Goalie award — the finalists are Semyon Vyazovoi (Salavat Yulaev), Daniil Isayev (Lokomotiv), and Nikita Serebryakov (Avangard).

KHL.ru highlights the nominees for the Best Coach award—for the 2025–2026 season, the nominees are Anvar Gatiyatulin (Ak Bars), Viktor Kozlov (Salavat Yulaev), and Andrei Razin (Metallurg).

Canada’s Byron Froese, USA’s record-breaking Mitchel Miller, and Slovakia’s Martin Gernat and Richard Panik headline a championship cast that powered Lokomotiv’s second straight Gagarin Cup and closed the season with history written in gold. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

The KHL season came to a spectacular end on Thursday, with Lokomotiv completing a successful defense of the Gagarin Cup. And, after beating Ak Bars, the Yaroslavl club continued the celebrations at the weekend when the juniors won the Kharlamov Cup.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Bob Hartley. It was a busy week for the Canadian bench boss: first, he led Lokomotiv to its second straight Gagarin Cup, lifting his second trophy in the league. Then, he announced his retirement.

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the 2026 Gagarin Cup playoffs’ final round in four categories.

Lokomotiv goalie Daniil Isayev was named playoff MVP after backstopping his team to a second Gagarin Cup. He had 16 win and five shut-outs in 22 games, stopping 93.1% of shots. After the game, Isayev spoke to journalists.

After Lokomotiv won the Gagarin Cup on Thursday, KHL President Alexei Morozov spoke with journalists about the 18th KHL season.

A 3-2 victory in Kazan in game six seals back-to-back championships for Lokomotiv Yaroslav. Two goals from Yegor Surin and another from Maxim Shalunov secured the decisive victory for Bob Hartley’s men, settling the series against Ak Bars.

KHL.ru presents the finalists for the Alexei Cherepanov award, whose recipient is the top rookie of the 2025-2026 season.

Lokomotiv arrives in Kazan with the Gagarin Cup within touching distance after a commanding Game Five victory, while Ak Bars faces a win-or-go-home showdown on home ice as it tries to extend the series and force a decisive Game Seven.

A quickfire double blast midway through the game helped Lokomotiv to victory in game five of the Gagarin Cup final. The defending champion is now up 3-2 in the series and can wrap things up in Kazan on Thursday.

KHL.ru presents the finalists for the Best coach award – the trophy for the top head coach of the 2025-2026 Fonbet KHL season.

After splitting the first four games, Lokomotiv and Ak Bars head into a pivotal Game Five in Yaroslavl with the Gagarin Cup Finals tied at 2-2. Ak Bars regained momentum thanks to Alexander Chmelevski’s decisive goal in Kazan, but Lokomotiv now returns home with a chance to move one win away from the trophy in front of its fans.

Four games played, two wins apiece. Ak Bars and Lokomotiv look set to serve up another cup final for the ages. Read on for the inside track on the climactic battle of the season.

Alexander Chmelevski’s goal midway through the third period snapped a 1-1 tie in game four. The Ak Bars forward sends the 2026 Gagarin Cup Final series back to Yaroslavl locked at 2-2.

Gagarin Cup Final shifts into Game Four in Kazan with Ak Bars now under real pressure after Lokomotiv’s composed Game Three performance moved the defending champions to within one win of the title. With the series at 2–1 for the visitors, the home side will be aiming to respond and level things up, while Lokomotiv look to take another step toward closing out the championship.

The defending champion took the verdict as the Gagarin Cup final moved to Kazan for game three. First period goals from Maxim Beryozkin and Richard Panik paved the way for a 3-1 victory, putting Lokomotiv up 2-1 in the series.

KHL.ru presents the finalists for the Best Goalie award.

Mitchell Miller’s hat-trick and four-point performance powered Ak Bars to a dominant Game Two victory in Yaroslavl, tying the Gagarin Cup finals at one apiece as the series now heads to Kazan, where Lokomotiv will look to regain control in a pivotal Game Three.

KHL.ru presents the finalists for the Golden Stick award – the trophy for the most valuable player of the 2025-2026 KHL regular season.

After two games of the 2026 Gagarin Cup final, there’s nothing between the teams. After Wednesday’s 5-1 win in Yaroslavl, Ak Bars brings Lokomotiv back to Kazan with the series locked a 1-1.

Radulov’s leadership, Beryozkin’s timely scoring and Isayev’s strong play in net helped Lokomotiv draw first blood in the Gagarin Cup finals, but Ak Bars now heads into Game Two looking for a response before the series shifts to Kazan.

The opening day of the Gagarin Cup final brought victory for Lokomotiv. Two goals in a minute early in the second period paved the way for a 3-1 success for the defending champion.

This is what it all comes down to – the 2026 Gagarin Cup final starts in Yaroslavl today. The match-up between Lokomotiv and Ak Bars is rich in sub-plots, as the Railwaymen look to defend their title against an opponent seeking a record-breaking fourth crown.

Lokomotiv enters its third consecutive Gagarin Cup finals, this time facing Ak Bars in a repeat of the first-ever finals back in 2009. The Railwaymen needed two OTs in Game Seven against Avangard to get there, while the Kazan side handed a 4-1 defeat to regular-season champions, Metallurg. Ak Bars is currently tied with CSKA and Metallurg for the most Gagarin Cup titles with three apiece, and now has the opportunity to become the competition’s outright most successful franchise with a fourth championship. Lokomotiv, meanwhile, is chasing its second title after last year’s triumph.

Gernat’s defensive reliability in decisive moments, Todd’s timely scoring presence and Jaskin’s consistent all-situations impact all proved decisive in their teams’ passage through the semifinals. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Shalunov. As the playoffs go deeper, his importance to his team increases, cementing his reputation of one of the best players in the league in clutch moments.

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the 2026 Gagarin Cup playoffs’ third round in four categories.

The defending champion is back in the Gagarin Cup final for the third year straight. Lokomotiv rallied from 1-3 in Wednesday’s game seven in Yaroslavl to win it in overtime. And that was an echo of the series, with Bob Hartley’s team recovering from 1-3 against Avangard to take a 4-3 verdict.

A last-minute collapse in Game Six denied Avangard a Finals berth, as Lokomotiv forced extra time and completed a dramatic comeback to send the series back to Yaroslavl for an exciting and winner-takes-all Game Seven

Two goals for Loko in the last minute of regulation robbed Avangard of a place in this year’s Gagarin Cup final – at least for now. The Hawks blew a 2-0 lead in game six of the series and fell in overtime, ensuring the teams return to Yaroslavl for a game seven showdown.

Last week confirmed the first of this year’s Gagarin Cup finalists, while the second series remains tight. Elsewhere, another KHL player celebrated a move to the NHL.

Lokomotiv kept its season alive with a dominant shutout victory in Yaroslavl and now heads to Omsk with renewed confidence for Game Six, while Avangard looks to quickly bounce back on home ice and avoid letting the series slip into a decisive seventh game.

Ak Bars is going back to the Gagarin Cup final for the sixth time after winning its semi-final series against Metallurg in five games. That equals the record for final appearance, first set by CSKA. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men will face the winner of the Lokomotiv vs Avangard series when the grand final gets underway on May 11.

Ak Bars heads back to Magnitogorsk holding a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and sitting just one victory away from a return to the Gagarin Cup Final, while Metallurg faces a must-win situation on home ice after back-to-back losses in Kazan put the regular-season champion on the brink of elimination.

Two days after failing to score in Omsk, Lokomotiv blanked Avangard in Yaroslavl. Saturday’s 4-0 victory ensures this Gagarin Cup semi-final series will return to Siberia for game six with Loko still in contention at 2-3.