The Capitals future in net, which was already bright, appears to be getting brighter.
2015 first-round pick Ilya Samsonov is currently dominating the KHL right now and having his best stretch as a pro.
On Tuesday, the 19-year-old was named the KHL’s Rookie Of The Week after stopping 69 of 71 shots in consecutive victories against Avangard (3-1 win) and Medvescak (6-1 win).
Ahead of the World Cup of Hockey, the Russian national team has been practicing together in St. Petersburg. On Thursday, Alex Ovechkin participated in Knowledge Day ceremonies, welcoming children back to school. Today, in that same vein, the Russian machine joined Evgeny Kuznetsov and Evgeni Malkin out on the ice to play hockey against children during the first intermission of the SKA/Lada Togliatti game.
The Russian superstars were dressed — I’m serious — as mascots.
After he was put on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens in December, former Capitals forward Alex Semin flew home to Russia and completed the 2015-16 season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Semin scored five goals and nine assists in 20 regular season games. In the playoffs, Semin did even better, notching seven goals and eight assists in 23 playoff games. Semin and Magnitogorsk won the Gagarin Cup as league champions.
Despite spending 11 seasons and playing 650 games in North America, Semin will not test the NHL free agent market. Instead, last Tuesday, Semin agreed to terms with Magnitogorsk. Sports.ru was the first to report the news.
After he was put on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens in December, former Capitals forward Alex Semin flew home to Russia and completed the 2015-16 season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Semin scored five goals and nine assists in 20 regular season games. In the playoffs, Semin did even better, notching seven goals and eight assists in 23 playoff games. Semin and Magnitogorsk won the Gagarin Cup as league champions.
Despite spending 11 seasons and playing 650 games in North America, Semin will not test the NHL free agent market. Instead, last Tuesday, Semin agreed to terms with Magnitogorsk. Sports.ru was the first to report the news.
Photo: Art Livak
Alex Semin is a champion.
Tuesday, the former Washington Capitals “Young Gun” and current 19-year-old Caps goaltending prospect Ilya Samsonov won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Metallurg defeated CSKA Moscow at home in Game Seven, 3-1. The win comes after firing coach Mike Keenan part way through the season.
The Gagarin Cup is the KHL’s equivalent of the Stanley Cup. It is the same cup that Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom kinda-sorta technically won while they played in the KHL during the lockout shortened 2012-2013 NHL season. Semin scored 7 goals and put up 15 points in 23 playoff games en route to the final Game Seven victory. Samsonov was the backup goaltender throughout the playoffs, but he did post a 2-2 record in 6 appearances with a 2.29 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
By Chris Cerullo 5 years ago
SKA’s mascot Firehorse is confused.
The KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow may have set a record for the largest trade in hockey history as Spartak acquired 24 of SKA’s players and prospects for monetary compensation.
By 6 years ago
Photo: Atlant-MO.ru
A few days after the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the signing of one of the KHL’s top young players Nikita Soshnikov from the Atlant Moscow Region, some interesting details about the move have come up.
Via Maple Leafs Hot Stove, here’s what Leafs’ Director of player personnel Mark Hunter had to say about the move.
We got a lead from Evgeny Namestnikov, who we hired as a scout for us over in Russia. He said come over to watch this young man who he liked a lot, who he coached.
The Maple Leafs hired Namestnikov, a former NHL player and father of current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vlad, to scout for them while working as an assistant coach for Soshnikov’s Atlant. This went mostly unnoticed in North America, but Russia’s top hockey reporter Alexei Shevchenko, after confirming Namestnikov’s double affiliation, referred to situation as “awkward.”
I think what the Leafs did was an unfair practice and requires an NHL investigation regarding its legality and possibly prohibiting it in the future.
By 6 years ago
Photo: Getty Images
SKA St. Petersburg’s forwards Artemy Panarin and Viktor Tikhonov intend to come over to North America this summer, as reported by Mikahil Zislis and Konstantin Nuzhdenov of the national news agency TASS. Tikhonov’s versatility and proven chemistry with Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin should immediately put him on Washington’s radar. Panarin oozes offensive talent and has high-reward potential for any NHL team.
By 6 years ago
Photo: Dave Sandford
In an interview with SovSport on Saturday, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was asked straight up if he wanted to return to Russia next year. Ya know, to debunk the rumor once and for all so we could all move on. Instead, Ovechkin left the door open for a possible return and even sounded like he has put a lot of thought into the idea.
Sigh.
By 6 years ago
Sochi’s Olympic boss Dmitry Chernyshenko will face the hardest challenge in the KHL’s history in his first year as president. (Photo: Sergey Kuznetsov / RIA Novosti)
Russia’s financial crisis is in full throttle as the ruble fell below 65 to one dollar (as opposed to 33 one year ago), while Russia’s main export, oil, has fallen below 60 dollars per barrel for the first time since May 2009.
The changes in the economy will affect Russian hockey.
By 6 years ago
