Team Russia faces off with Latvia on Saturday at the start of its World Championship defense – and expectations are high for Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s men. That opening fixture is a repeat of last year’s starting point, with Russia recovering from conceding the first goal to win 5-2 on the night in Stockholm and begin a 10-game winning streak which saw all-comers brushed aside on an imperious march to gold.
One year on, and with Olympic places in the forefront of many players’ minds, Team Russia faces a challenge to repeat that triumphant display – particularly as the NHL continues to claim the services of Evgeny Malkin, the star of the 2012 roster, and Alexander Ovechkin. However, there is still a significant North American contingent returning to represent the Motherland, from familiar faces like Ilya Kovalchuk to senior squad debutant Andrei Loktionov, who has enjoyed an impressive season alongside Kovi at New Jersey this time around.
Loktionov is one of seven players in the preliminary roster aged 25 or under, confirming Bilyaletdinov’s determination to build a new generation of Russian talent even while the nation is focusing strongly on Sochi gold. And while Traktor forward Evgeny Kuznetsov is already established at this level despite his tender years and Sibir D-man Nikita Zaitsev has been ear-marked as one of the brightest prospects in the game, there are other youngsters who know that a strong showing in the coming weeks is the best hope of booking a ticket to the Black Sea come February. That’s the carrot dangled in front of the likes of Yegor Averin of Lokomotiv and Kirill Petrov of Ak Bars, who have been added to the preliminary list of forwards since last season.
Meanwhile two stars of the lock-out, Semyon Varlamov and Artyom Anisimov, have returned from the NHL to take part in the Worlds. The duo hit fine form for Loko in the autumn, with goalie Varlamov posting a 94.6% save percentage in his 16 games while Anisimov hit a rich vein of goalscoring form, putting up points in 10 consecutive games at one stage. In the absence of Konstantin Barulin, Sergei Bobrovsky and back-to-back Gagarin Cup MVP Alexander Yeryomenko, Varlamov has a big chance to press his Olympic claims. For Anisimov, a second successive World Championship is a further opportunity to prove he is worthy of a place alongside the likes of Ovechkin, Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk when the big guns are available once again.
Trans-Atlantic connections
As always, the KHL is supplying plenty of players to other nations competing in the World Championship – and not just those countries represented in the competition. This season, even the North American powerhouses have included KHL-based players in their preliminary squads – reversing the trend that typically sees European nations drawing on the NHL and its feeder leagues to reinforce their squads. Canada has selected goalie Michael Garnett (right) of Traktor Chelyabinsk – a fitting reward for a player who has been a model of consistency in his five seasons in the KHL. Twice he’s reached a grand final, once with Oleg Znarok’s HC MVD in 2009 and again this year when Znarok’s Dynamo denied him a winner’s medal. Back-to-back appearances in the All-Star game have added to his reputation, and brought him to the attention of the Canadian selectors ahead of this tournament, where he will compete for the starting goalie spot with Edmonton Oilers’ Devan Dubnik and Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Team USA has also looked east, and selected Tim Stapleton (left) of Dinamo Minsk for the preliminary squad. The 30-year-old forward has been here before: after his breakthrough NHL season with Atlanta Thrashers in 2010-11 he was invited to the Worlds in Slovakia, where he featured in seven games, recording one assist as Team USA bowed out in the quarter finals. After swapping Winnipeg for Belarus last summer, Stapleton has impressed at Dinamo, posting 40 points in 52 games to offer a bright spot in a disappointing campaign for his team. That’s proved sufficient to earn him a recall to the national roster.
In total there were 65 non-Russian KHL players (and one MHL player, Latvian goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis) included in their countries’ preliminary squads as of Thursday. Slovakia’s 16-strong contingent, including 11 from Slovan Bratislava, was the largest; Finland, with nine players and SKA head coach Jukka Jalonen, had the largest group of any non-KHL country. That regiment is likely to provide an experienced spine to a roster which will feature 12 debutants at this level for the co-hosts.