The new head coach of CSKA Moscow spoke about the reasons for his return to the club.

One of the reasons for Igor Nikitin's return to HC CSKA was that it was at this club that he established himself as a coach. Nikitin himself told about this in an interview with Vedomosti.

"This club is not random for me. I am very grateful to Lokomotiv, but it was at CSKA that I became a coach. And this factor was crucial when I made the decision," said the new head coach of HC CSKA, who moved there from Lokomotiv.

Nikitin also noted that he returned to CSKA because "a constant state of drive and tone is important to him." "For me, this is the driving force and the most important criterion," he stressed.

Nikitin added that the coaching staff, which joined with him, employs real professionals. "There are no random people around me. The coaching staff is the same team. It's a very subtle chemical mechanism," he said.

The head coach stressed that at this stage he was not going to radically change anything in the team. In particular, he positively assessed the training camps of the team that took place in Belarus. "Thanks to the management of the club, Rosneft and Igor Ivanovich Sechin personally. The conditions were great. Everything went well," Nikitin stated.

According to him, the team will continue to cooperate with CSKA legend Sergey Fedorov, who helps the players to act correctly on face-offs. "We have already had experience working together, and we have maintained good relations. I am very grateful to him, because face—offs are not so noticeable, but an important part of the game, fundamental. There are very specific details, and Fedorov, with his experience and authority, will be able to convey them to the players," Nikitin said.

Igor Nikitin, who won the KHL main trophy with CSKA in the 2018/19 season, replaced Ilya Vorobyov as head coach in the offseason. CSKA will play its first match in the Kontinental Hockey League regular season 2025/26 on September 6.

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