What is a “dream team”? This means that this KHL or NHL club has a strong roster of players. For example, Ak Bars can sound in the new season – Alexander Radulov, Vadim Shipachev, Vyacheslav Voinov, Stanislav Galiev, Dmitry Kagarlitsky and others will perform there.
Or the Stanley Cup was won by Colorado, where Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazim Kadri, where Valery Nichushkin signed a new eight-year contract for $49 million, perform. It is also a dream team.
was the first to report that SKA will be announcing their coaching staff today. We looked – there was also a “dream team” gathered there.
Let’s try to understand.
Zubov has already won the Gagarin Cup with SKA
Roman Rotenberg – as he was, he remained. There is no plot here. In January, the club’s vice-chairman of the board, vice-president and general manager was also appointed head coach of SKA. Four positions in one hand – so it seemed extravagant. Especially people laughed at the expression “Jose Marino”, said by Rotenberg during the first lecture. In the studio, in a recent interview with Dmitry Guberniev, it was explained what this meant. But in 20 games of the season, Rotenberg helped SKA become the best club in the Western Conference, as well as win the KHL season’s bronze medals. It would be strange if the general manager of SKA in this case did something with the head coach of SKA. After all, it’s the same person.
Albert Leshchev and Konstantin Shafranov – they also stayed. The first is responsible for the defenders and the minority, the second – for the attackers and the majority. Moreover, Shafranov in the 2020/21 season helped Avangard win the Gagarin Cup, and the majority of Omsk players looked great. Leshchev also led the Russian junior team. In general, they are experienced and have already worked at SKA headquarters.
Sergey Zubov also worked for SKA, last season he led the youth team. Even at the 3×3 tournament in Moscow, where Zubov arrived and met Rotenberg, I realized that there might be a date. And it happened – Sergey Alexandrovich became the assistant head coach of SKA for general matters, and he will also be responsible for working with defenders. It should be remembered that Zubov won two Stanley Cups, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and his jersey was hoisted under the arches of the palace in Dallas. None of the Russians can boast such a set (only Bure’s jersey was lifted, he is in the Hall of Fame, but did not win the Stanley Cup). Zubov is considered one of the toughest Russian defensemen in NHL history, and it’s clear he will strengthen the SKA siege. In principle, this is a ready-made head coach of many KHL clubs. At the same time, it should be remembered that Zubov was already at SKA headquarters when the team won the Gagarin Cup in 2015.
Koreshkov was a key figure in the CSKA headquarters
Evgeny Koreshkov is a big surprise that SKA signed such a valuable coach. It is clear that in the early 2000s, he was considered the main striker of the Super League, defending the colors of Magnitogorsk. Then he grew and developed as a coach, working at Metallurg, Barys and CSKA, winning a total of three Gagarin Cups (2014, 2019, 2022). Many believed that Koreshkov at CSKA last season almost played the main role at headquarters, when the team was led by rookie coach Sergei Fedorov. And it was he who prepared CSKA when Fedorov left to work for the Olympics. Now Koreshkov at SKA has become an assistant coach for general issues, responsible for working with forwards.
In addition, coach Alexei Babintsev, who last season was part of the headquarters of SKA-1946, will work at SKA, and the youth team of the St. Petersburg club won the Kharlamov Cup, and Matvey Michkov shone there , which will be drawn at the base in the new season.
Swede Stefan Persson will again be responsible for the work with the goalkeepers, with whom the 2013 silver at youth level was won – we are of course talking about Tre Krunur. At the same time, there will be another goalkeeper coach – Pavel Orlov.
Three coaches will be in charge of physical training at once: Artem Nekhoroshikh, Craig Sloanwhite and Alexander Troshin, the latter training a star like Ilya Kovalchuk for many years. And he has worked for SKA for several years.
Bragin wants to work with young people
But that’s not all. SKA invited Vladimir Yurzinov Sr. to its coaching staff to strengthen the sports block, as well as to strengthen the methodological and tactical direction, as well as as an adviser to the head coach. He is already 82 years old, and Vladimir Vladimirovich is unlikely to hang out with SKA across the country – from Minsk to Khabarovsk. But as in the Russian team, Yurzinov will be the soul of the team. A patriarch who can give valuable advice at the right time. By the way, Yurzinov, as a consultant, was also at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, where the Russian team won gold.
Finally, Valery Bragin is the legendary coach of the Russian youth team, with whom the cult gold of the MFM-2011 in Buffalo was won. At SKA, he went from head coach, who combines this position with the Russian national team, to senior coach last season. And now Valery Nikolayevich has also become an adviser. In other words, he remained at SKA, and does not mean that Bragin’s workload was reduced at 66. “He is recognized for his ability to work with young hockey players, and it is precisely in monitoring and training young players that he will be engaged in a new role. The club are well aware of the strengths of an experienced manager, and felt that the position, which involves working with promising players, of which there are many at SKA, will allow Bragin to be as effective as possible,” said a sources at the club. said.
Such a powerful approach to headquarters training reminded me of the Canadian team when they won Olympic gold twice (2010, 2014). Then Mike Babcock’s staff included Ken Hitchcock, Claude Julien, Lindy Ruff, Steve Yzerman, Doug Armstrong, Ken Holland and Kevin Lowe, who need no introduction in the hockey world.
In general, the SKA retained its structure, but at the same time strengthened the headquarters with experienced specialists. Last names are very powerful here. It remains to build a team of like-minded people, and there is already a pre-season for this.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
