Dancing with sticks: what to expect from the 15th KHL All-Star Game

The Sibir Arena in Novosibirsk will host the 15th KHL All-Star Game next weekend. One of the country's most hockey-friendly cities will host the event for the first time. More than 10 thousand spectators will see such bright players as Vadim Shipachev, Nikita Gusev, Alexander Nikishin, Nikolay Goldobin, Joshua Livo and many others.

Format

"Sibir Arena" for the first time in a year and a half since its opening will hold an event outside of the KHL regular season games. The stadium with a capacity of 10.5 thousand spectators was opened in 2023, the first official match there was held in the fall of the same year. Novosibirsk was supposed to host the World Youth Championship - 2023 in this arena, but after February 2022 the tournament was taken away.

Now Novosibirsk will be the easternmost point on the map, where the Hockey Stars Week, which traditionally ends with the KHL Stars Match, has ever taken place. And it starts with the Youth Hockey League (MHL) Challenge Cup. Last weekend this event was already held in Novosibirsk. And it broke the attendance record.

To see the match of the most talented young players of the league came 10.3 thousand spectators. Never before so many fans have not come to the MHL Challenge Cup. The last record was set in 2011, when almost 8 thousand spectators came to Ufa. As usual, at the end of the MHL Challenge Cup the four best players are selected to participate in the KHL All-Star Game. This year Yaromir Ermakov from Mikhailov Academy (Tula), Maxim Filimonov from Atlant (Mytishchi), Matvey Korotsky from SKA-1946 (St. Petersburg) and Egor Klimovich from Siberian Snipers (Novosibirsk) received this honor.

Occupancy is also expected to be close to maximum on both days of the KHL All-Star Game. On February 8, the semifinals will be held - in the first of them will meet the teams of Bobrov and Tarasov divisions (Western Conference), in the second - the teams of Chernyshev and Kharlamov divisions (Eastern Conference). The third place match and the final will be held the next day.

In addition, on both days the spectators will be waiting for the so-called Master Show, where the participants will compete in a variety of contests, including throws, execution of shootouts, running laps for speed and much more. As a rule, players try to execute shootouts as original as possible. One of the most creative masters of this genre is the Olympic champion - 2018 Nikita Gusev, now playing for Dynamo Moscow.

He often practiced a spectacular move - rolling down the ice towards the goal, holding the puck in the air on his stick, and, after tossing it up, he put it into the net from the fly. Gusev first performed this back in 2015 in Ufa, when he had just established himself in the KHL, playing for Khanty-Mansiysk's Yugra. In the future, he showed this trick many more times. However, in January, Nikita announced his unwillingness to participate in the shootout contest. And it's still unknown what Gusev will surprise the public next weekend. And in the mid-2010s, then-Salavat Yulaev Ufa forward Linus Umark hit a shootout with a stick with a burning hook.

- The contests at Star Matches are always the most interesting for players and fans," said Jeremy Smith, a participant in the upcoming event, goalie for the Chinese Kunlun Red Star, who shared his opinion with Izvestia. - I hope I'll be able to surprise the crowd with something, but I don't want to share any secrets ahead of time. In any case, I'm sure it will be a colorful event. Especially since people in Novosibirsk love hockey - I've seen how great people cheer there and how the arena is always full. I participated in the last Match of Stars in St. Petersburg and was delighted with the atmosphere. I hope it will be the same now.

Participants

The upcoming Match of Stars will feature several 2018 Olympic champions - Dynamo Moscow forward Nikita Gusev, Metallurg Magnitogorsk defenseman Yegor Yakovlev, Dynamo Minsk forward Vadim Shipachev, and Siberia Novosibirsk forward Sergei Shirokov. Other highlights include Spartak Moscow forwards Nikolay Goldobin and Ivan Morozov, Salavat Yulaev forward Joshua Livo and many others.

Livo is one of the heroes of the KHL this winter. The Canadian hockey player has scored 62 (40+22) points on a goal+pass system this season. He is the leader in the sniper and scorer race. And he may break Sergei Mozyakin's record for goals in a single regular season - the Russian hockey legend has 48 goals.

Several players will take part in the KHL All-Star Game for the first time. In particular, CSKA Moscow forwards Ruslan Iskhakov and Vladislav Kamenev.

- Expectations are only positive - it's cool to get to such an event, and for the first time in my career," Vladislav Kamenev told Izvestia. - It's great to represent your club at such a game. I was called up to the AHL (American Hockey League - Ed.) for the All-Star Game once, but I didn't participate because of an injury.

The KHL All-Star Game will be the last pause in the season. On February 11, the regular season will resume, which will end on March 23. After that, the playoff round will begin - it will finish at the end of May.