Staying with Bob: how KHL clubs start the preseason

KHL clubs are entering an active phase of preparation for the new season. Before the start of the regular season, the teams of our league will participate in six mini-championships. The capital of Belarus and Omsk, St. Petersburg and Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk and Moscow - the Kontinental Hockey League is actively reviving in the last month of summer. The main intrigues of the pre—season battles are described in the Izvestia article.

Fonbet Minsk Cup

(August 11-17)

Participants: Admiral, Dynamo (Mn), Lada, Metallurg.

The first offseason tournament will be held not in Russia, but in Belarus. For the first time since 2017, the Minsk Cup will once again present the audience with a lot of interesting hockey. In addition to the hosts, Dinamo Minsk, Lada, Admiral and Metallurg will take part in it. The main intrigue is the debut of Vladimir Tkachev and Sergey Tolchinsky in Magnitogorsk. The games will be held from August 11 to 17 at the Olympic and Chizhovka arenas in a round-robin system.

— Metallurg's hockey style is attacking, fast, and technical. I like this kind of game," Vladimir Tkachev confessed to Izvestia. — We played with Sergey [Tolchinsky] in Omsk. He is a good player who will add to our skills. The main thing is that he succeeds at Metallurg. The coaching staff, the team and the boys will help him with this. We will do everything for this.

FONBET Pancake Cup

(August 20-25)

The participants are Avangard, Lokomotiv, Neftekhimik, Severstal, and Sibir.

One of the most interesting pre-season tournaments will be held in Omsk. The main intrigue is Bob Hartley's return to the KHL. The Lokomotiv coach will clash with his former team. Sibir, Severstal and Neftekhimik will also play in Omsk. The tournament will be held in a round-robin system.

"I was very happy that Bob returned to work in the KHL, because a specialist like him will help develop our young boys, and this is very cool,— Olympic champion Ilya Kovalchuk emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia. — Gritsyuk and Kostin opened up under Hartley. Few people knew about them, but after two or three seasons with Bob, they made themselves known. I know how Bob works. All the young guys at Lokomotiv are lucky to have such a specialist. I think he's very similar to Nikitin in style, so it's going to be easy for the boys to adapt to Bob's demands.

"There is always one goal in Magnitogorsk — to win the Cup"

Metallurg's star newcomer Vladimir Tkachev — about the new team, Razin's preseason and comparison with Mozyakin

Nikolay Puchkov Tournament

(August 25-27)

The participants are Avtomobilist, Ak Bars, SKA.

The St. Petersburg tournament has been held for the 12th year in a row, but this offseason the number of participants has decreased significantly. Only three teams will play in the tournament, although last year their number was twice as high. SKA, Avtomobilist and Ak Bars will meet once each. The main intrigue of the tournament is the game of the army team under the leadership of the new head coach Igor Larionov.

— Everything will depend not only on Igor Nikolaevich, but also on the team that will come with him, on the composition, — Ilya Kovalchuk continued, — A lot of changes took place in the offseason. Many guys left, went overseas. It will be interesting to see what kind of team it will be. But the fact that they love hockey in St. Petersburg is for sure. There will definitely be a full stadium.

Chelyabinsk Region Governor's Cup

(August 25-29)

The participants are Amur, Lada, Sochi, and Traktor.

There won't be any VHL teams among the participants this year, but the lineup is still not impressive. Lada, Amur and Sochi will come to visit last year's Gagarin Cup finalist Traktor. The tournament will be held in a round-robin system, and the most interesting thing will be to watch the team from the shores of the Black Sea, where many interesting changes have taken place recently, for example, the appointment of 75-year-old Vladimir Krikunov as head coach.

—Hockey is my whole life, so I told myself: I have to go to work," Krikunov commented to Izvestia on his decision to lead Sochi. — What about age? I've been working in hockey for 39 years. It's the 40th year now. God forbid, I'll reach 1,500 official matches. Our goals? We don't want to finish the regular season and go on vacation. And that's why we have already started to work seriously, although there is very high competition in the "West". We've got a good crowd. "Kunlun" began to strengthen. I'm not even talking about CSKA, Lokomotiv, Dynamo, Spartak. And Torpedo and Severstal have long been strong middle-class players who always play in the playoffs.

Romazan Memorial

(August 26-29)

The participants are "Barys", "Magnitogorsk", "Metallurg", "Salavat Yulaev".

The oldest tournament in the schedule of the entire preseason is the Romazan Memorial, which has traditionally been held every summer since 1992 in Magnitogorsk. Among the participants there is one club from the VHL — Magnitogorsk, the farm club of the main Magnitogorsk team. The KHL will be represented in this competition by the host of the Metallurg tournament, as well as Salavat Yulaev and Barys.

"The young guys at Lokomotiv are lucky to be coached by Hartley."

Olympic champion Ilya Kovalchuk — about the most unexpected news of the offseason, Spartak's prospects and the farewell match

Moscow Mayor's Cup

(August 28-31)

The participants are Dynamo (M), Dynamo (Mn), Spartak, Torpedo, CSKA, Shanghai Dragons.

The Moscow Mayor's Cup will traditionally be the final and largest tournament of the offseason. Dynamo Moscow, CSKA, Spartak, Torpedo and Dinamo Minsk will take part in it. Vityaz's participation was also expected, but the team ceased to exist and will be replaced by Shanghai Dragons, recently renamed Kunlun. The teams will be divided into two groups and will play in a round-robin system, and on the last day of the tournament there will be a battle for fifth, third and first places.