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A standout week for goalies, blueliners, and forwards, with Bobby Nardella joining the list of strong newcomers. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Bobby Nardella. The Torpedo defenseman had a striking start of his KHL career and was one of the best for the Nizhny Novgorod side, who won four games in a row in a successful kickstart of the 2025-2026 campaign.

The first full week of the season left just one team undefeated in the KHL, and it’s probably not a line-up many would have picked before puck drop. The week also saw the first head-to-head meeting of Gerard Gallant and Bob Hartley, back-to-back comeback wins in Tatarstan and the emergence of a rising star in St. Petersburg.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Gage Quinney. The North American forward had a huge role in the Shanghai Dragons’ first-ever victory, a 7:4 win over SKA in the Chinese franchise’s home opener.

The 2025/2026 Fonbet KHL Championship is underway – and we’ve already seen plenty of drama. From a shoot-out to settle the Opening Cup to a clutch of teams starting with statement wins, it’s been a big few days of hockey. Read on for the key takeaways.

The last of the pre-season tournaments are over, and we’re almost ready for the 2025/2026 campaign. With the action getting underway on Friday, read on for some of the highlights of the opening weekend, plus a run-down of the latest stories from pre-season.

Pre-season action is well underway, with big crowds turning out for the latest warm-up games. Severstal lifted the Blinov Cup in Omsk in front of more five-figure crowds. We’ve seen most teams in action, but Shanghai Dragons are yet to play – when they do, they’ll bring a radically reshaped roster after a week of busy transfer action.

The first pre-season tournament of 2025 went to Metallurg, triumphant at the Minsk Cup. Shanghai Dragons unveiled a World Championship-winning head coach and announced their first players for the coming campaign. SKA also made big signings, while Barys began its rebuild.

It was a big week for one KHL team, with a new identity and a new GM. Elsewhere, we saw our first full-on pre-season action ahead of the first tournament of the summer, starting today in Minsk.

August 1 marked the end of the summer for most KHL teams. But roster-building continues, with a veteran coach returning to the league and yet another Calder Cup winner arriving from the AHL. Meanwhile, Lokomotiv staged its title parade and the league announced a couple of tweaks to the rules for the coming season.

Metallurg celebrated the career of one its biggest stars at the weekend, while CSKA signed the league’s first ever player from the Netherlands. And, amid all that, we saw our first pre-season action of 2025.

The KHL’s players will be returning to their clubs in a couple of weeks – and we already have news of 2025’s first pre-season tournament. Meanwhile, our teams continue to build their rosters. But it’s still holiday time for many, with some KHL stars showing off their gaming skills alongside some of Russia’s leading cyber-athletes.

Salavat Yulaev edged the first ever KHL 3x3 Championship title after a nail-biting gold-medal game against Ak Bars. There was more on-ice action on Sunday, when Russia’s NHL stars came home to play in the Game of the Year in Moscow. Meanwhile, off the ice, SKA had a busy week of trading players.

A former Gagarin Cup-winning head coach is back in the KHL, while the inaugural 3x3 championship reaches the final phase. Read on for more of last week’s main stories.

The on-going KHL 3x3 Championship is approaching the final stages. The six teams to go to the playoffs were confirmed at the weekend and the big showdown is coming up in Moscow next month. Elsewhere, Vityaz announced it is withdrawing from competition and a young goalie makes waves at the NHL draft.

The big news of the week was CSKA’s new head coach. Elsewhere, imports are on the move in Moscow and Traktor has an incoming goalie to replace Zach Fucale.

The KHL was shocked by news from Yaroslavl last week where last season’s champion parted ways with its head coach. But the same club also captured one of the most intriguing new imports of the summer to keep itself in the summer headlines.

The first full week of trading in the KHL brought plenty of intrigue as clubs begin shaping their personnel for the 2025/2026 campaign. From a big coaching change to the first new imports, here’s a look at the key moves so far.

The 2024/2025 is a wrap. Thursday saw the KHL’s Closing Ceremony in Moscow – and the league’s latest board meeting is already looking towards 2025/2026.

We have a new champion! Lokomotiv won its first Gagarin Cup last week, defeating Benoit Groulx’s Traktor 4-1 in the final. In the Junior Hockey League, SKA-1946 rallied from 0-3, but lost game seven to Spartak.

Martin Gernat lifted the cup with Lokomotiv, Zach Fucale stood tall in net for Traktor, and Steven Kampfer closed out a storied career. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Alexander Radulov, who led Lokomotiv to its first Gagarin Cup triumph and was named the playoff’s MVP with 16 points in 21 games.

It’s cup final time, and in KHL and Junior Hockey League alike, there’s plenty to get excited about. Loko is up 2-1 on Traktor in a Gagarin Cup final that promises to have many more twists and turns before someone lifts the cup. And among the juniors, we’ve seen record crowds in St. Petersburg as SKA-1946 takes on SKA.

23 teams started the campaign, just two are left. The Gagarin Cup final starts Tuesday in Yaroslavl. Read on for all you need to know about the biggest games of the 2024/2025 KHL season.

Zach Fucale’s heroics, Martin Gernat’s stability, and Logan Day’s grit power their teams into the Gagarin Cup Finals. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

After two rounds of very close series, the Gagarin Cup semi-finals have – so far – seen more dominant performances. Both could be settled in five games and it’s possible that the outcome will guarantee a new name on the big trophy.

Last week saw the conclusion of round two of the 2025 KHL playoffs. Now just four teams are left in the race for the Gagarin Cup. Meanwhile, after the season comes to an end, others are beginning to formalize their plans for 2025/2026.

Ruzicka and Miller crucial for their teams despite their loss, Rempal helps Salavat Yulaev moving to semifinals. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

The Gagarin Cup second round continues and Traktor is the first team to secure its place in the semi-finals. The other three ties are all heading for game six, with Dynamo Moscow, Spartak and Lokomotiv having a narrow advantage.

Commentator for KHL TV channels and expert at KHL.ru, Anton Vasyatin, presents the top ten most prominent young players (U23) in the league based on their performance in the first round of the elimination stage.

Last week brought a thrilling conclusion to the first round of the playoffs – in front of record-breaking crowds – and an exciting start to round two.

Dinamo Minsk celebrates the first won series in its KHL history with a significant contribution by its international players, with Salavat Yulaev also relying on imports, especially Sheldon Rempal. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

Six of eight first-round playoff series are in the books. We’ve seen the defending champion deposed, a new recruit for the 250-goal club and just one series ending in a sweep. And there are a couple of game seven deciders to look out for ahead of round two.

KHL.ru continues its weekly column with Scott Wilson. The Salavat Yulaev’s forward has been on fire in the first-round series against Sibir, scoring six points in a single game and equaling Nikita Gusev’s record.

The first few days of playoff action lived up to their billing. We’ve had goals, upsets, and fantastic individual performances. Here’s a run-down of what we’ve seen so far:

Leivo is a new record man in the league, while defensemen made a statement in both Eastern and Western Conference. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column goes on with Joshua Leivo. The Salavat Yulaev forward set a new record with 49 goals in this year’s regular season, surpassing Sergei Mozyakin’s record set back in the 2016-2017 campaign.

The KHL regular season is done – complete with a new name at the top of the standings and a long-standing record broken. Plus, we’re all set for the 2025 Gagarin Cup playoffs, with some intriguing pairings to come this week.

Jaros returns to production with CSKA, Murphy keeps on getting assists. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column goes on with Maxim Shabanov. The Traktor forward has been instrumental in the Chelyabinsk’s side success this season, leading the team in scoring and helping the Black-and-Whites clinching the Eastern Conference’s win in the regular season.