With Matvei Michkov’s departure to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers for this coming season, the dynamic between these two teams won’t be (and probably wouldn’t have been, either) what it was in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. However, with them sharing owners in the form of Gazprom and generally having a good relationship, their destinies remain intertwined, including in a manner that will be covered in this article. Before we get into that, though, we’ll talk about the former of this pair’s changes and some important aspects of their roster and what we might expect from them.

This time around, we appear guaranteed to get a good look at RW/C Ivan Demidov (after his selection at fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens) in the KHL after a few false starts to his professional career (with him having played just 6 KHL games and 1 VHL game to this point), as he has made the roster out of the preseason camps/tournaments. This had to happen this year, as he very clearly has nothing left to prove in the MHL and cannot be loaned out due to it being the last year of his contract (as noted by @HockeyNewsHub on X on a few occasions – Be sure to give him a follow). If he has taken the proper steps for pro-game readiness from a style standpoint and improved his ability to play through contact, we should expect a very good season from him. Notably, D Timur Kol has made the roster, as well, following the 18-year-old’s selection by the Carolina Hurricanes in round six. With him being effectively a shutdown D-man, I am curious to see how he’ll do in terms of making pro-level reads. He is being thrown to the wolves here even if his minutes are minimal, so it should be very interesting to see how this goes. Beyond that, regarding players with NHL negotiation rights, this is the final year under contract for both RW Arseni Gritsyuk (New Jersey Devils) and D Alexander Nikishin (Carolina Hurricanes). The former exhibited a considerable amount of growth in offensive ability and productivity last season, with him registering his best PPG of his career to this point (0.76). He will want to use this last chance to make an impression on Tom Fitzgerald and co. Nikishin, meanwhile, has been one of the best defensemen in the KHL the last couple of seasons (capable of both producing points and being a physical presence and snuffing out opposing transition play in the neutral zone) and will be looking to avenge last year’s disappointment, wherein the team sunk in the postseason and were eliminated in five games in round two due in no small part to his injury towards the end of round one. He, assuredly, would love to make both a fantastic individual statement performance and achieve more with his team before he finally departs for Raleigh.

One of the most significant changes is that the team’s big ex-NHL name has changed, with C/LW Alexander Galchenyuk (most notable for his time with Montreal) having departed and signed with Amur Khabarovsk. Instead, after his rental stint with the Hurricanes, C/RW Yevgeni Kuznetsov has opted to return to the KHL and sign with one of its most historic clubs. Kuznetsov has had his personal demons and had to enter the player assistance program at one point, but he appears to be doing quite well and will have plenty to offer in terms of facilitating offense for SKA. I am excited to see what the 32-year-old brings to this environment. At minimum, he will flourish in this role more than Galchenyuk did last year, provided there are no hiccups.

Regarding Sochi, they will have to confront not having Michkov (who was loaned out to Sochi from SKA both of the last two seasons) to provide a massive bolster to their offense this season. However, I am still somewhat curious as to what they can do with their new goaltender configuration. SKA is lending out two goaltenders to the club this year. Sergei Ivanov has been dominant wherever he has gone, be it in his brief appearances with SKA or on loan with Admiral Vladivostok this past campaign. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect will be useful to the team as will likely be a 1A role, splitting duties with the likely 1B candidate, Yegor Zavragin. Zavragin (a Philadelphia Flyers prospect) is another loan player from SKA, having been traded to and signing a contract with them after having a historic year in the VHL with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (13-1-0, 1.60 GAA, .943 SV%) and having nowhere further to go in the Yugra pipeline as they are a demoted KHL franchise that has no affiliation with a club in the top league. It should be curious to see how he does while not playing behind a stout defensive team in a lower league, having to rely upon his athleticism and aggressive hybrid style more greatly. Beyond that, it should be interesting to watch how this team performs under a new coaching brain trust, with Sergei Zubov (yes, the one that played for the Dallas Stars, who is a familiar face to the org but perhaps a beneficial one) and staff now behind the bench running the show on the ice. It is definitely a “fresh start” vibe for the “Leopards” this season and we’ll see soon just where that brings them.

First regular season games:

SKA Saint Petersburg @ defending champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk – Thursday, September 5th: 10:00 AM ET

HC Sochi @ Spartak Moscow – Saturday, September 7th: 10:00 AM ET

My coverage this season will be somewhat more sporadic than usual at least to start, but I pledge that I will update this series at least once a week, then provide more frequent coverage beginning in November. I am looking forward to it at least as much as I was last season, if not more.