Heading home

As the first pre-season games get underway, the big trades bring Russian stars back from the NHL.Kuznetsov returns to RussiaEvgeny Kuznetsov is back in his homeland after a decade away. The 32-year-old forward, who was on the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup-winning roster, signed a four-year deal with SKA last week. Kuznetsov, who began his career at Traktor before joining Washington in 2013, also has two World Championship golds – and now might add a Gagarin Cup to his impressive resume. For many, it’s the biggest signing to the KHL since Pavel Datsyuk returned from Detroit eight years ago.Some were surprised that Kuznetsov, who famously turned down moves to other Russian clubs when he was a hot young property prior to his NHL career, did not go back to his native Chelyabinsk. However, in an interview on Match TV, the center explained: “There are very big opportunities with SKA, it’s a very strong organization. The way things worked out, I wasn’t ready to go back to Chelyabinsk yet. I need some time to readjust. If I were to leave [the USA] and go straight to Chelyabinsk I wouldn’t have a quiet life. I probably wouldn’t be able to go out in town at all!”Barabanov’s backKuznetsov isn’t the only Russian NHLer heading back to the KHL. Alexander Barabanov is heading to Ak Bars on a two-year contract. During his time in North America, Barabanov had a couple of strong seasons with San Jose but struggled last term. That helped persuade him to return home where he’s likely to form a powerful top line with Dmitrij Jaskin and fellow newcomer Nicolas Petan in Kazan.Petan joins Ak BarsBarabanov’s likely line-mate was also secured last week. The 29-year-old BC native, whose brother Alex is an established Italian international, spent last season in the AHL where he had 69 games and 52 points for Iowa and Hartford. His NHL career brought 170 appearances for Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver and Minnesota.Torpedo strengthensAfter two seasons of potential rather than results, Torpedo looks to be upping the ante for 2024-2025. Igor Larionov’s team is boosted by the addition of veteran defenseman Slava Voynov, who left Ak Bars on Monday to take on a role as D-core leader and mentor for the club’s young stars. In addition, Evgeny Svechnikov moves from Kazan to Nizhny Novgorod. The 27-year-old forward, blessed with great stick-handling, returned to Russia last season after 172 games in the NHL plus a similar tally in the AHL.Nemirovsky excited about Astana opportunityNew Barys head coach David Nemirovsky is back at a club where he enjoyed his most productive season as a KHL player. And, after featuring in the league since the start, he’s excited by the way it’s developed over the years. “It’s getting better, it’s developing in every city in the league,” he said. “We’re seeing new hotels, everywhere has good facilities. Now almost every team has a new building. Maybe they’re a bit smaller than in the NHL, but the standards are on the same level.” As for the task ahead of him, he’s determined to bring the Kazakh team back to the playoffs after some disappointing seasons of late. But he’s not promising reckless offense in a bid for a top-eight finish in the east. “I don’t want to say we’re going to play purely attacking hockey. I don’t think anybody does that anymore. We’ll pay more attention than before to defense,” he said. “But we want to play hard and fast. That’s modern hockey, that’s how the game is played all over the world. That’s why we need to play up-to-date hockey, we need our D-core to join the attack, for the team as a whole to play a fast, exciting game and not give time and space to the opposition.”Barys brings in power forwardPower center Mikey McLoud is the newest addition on Nemirovsky’s team. The 26-year-old played 45 NHL games for New Jersey last season, collecting 19 (10+9) points. He spent six seasons within the Devils organization, having also picked up World Junior gold and silver at the start of his career. He’s on a one-year contract in Kazakhstan.Pre-season games startThe first summer action got underway last week in Belarus. In the final days of July, Admiral ran the rule over several try-out hopefuls and two-way players in trial games against teams from the VHL and the Belarusian championship. Defeat to Dynamo St. Petersburg was followed by a shoot-out win over local champion Metallurg Zhlobin. Then, on Aug. 2, Dinamo Minsk played the first warm-up game with full-time KHL players. However, Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team was without its imports and several other leaders and a youthful roster fell to a 10-4 loss to Magnitogorsk’s farm club. The coming week sees a couple more pre-season games, with Vityaz playing Admiral on Friday and Amur getting started against AKM Tula (VHL) the next day.Pre-season round-up