KHL Season 2018/2019

[Milos Krasic]

Yeah, Sibir wasted no time ditching Junttila. They can just plug in some young Russian player for what they were getting out of him.

 

[Ciccarelli]

I wrote before the season that relying on Liiga imports to score is a big gamble and so far it's going terribly. Teams which went that route, Sibir and Neftekhimik, have 11 goals in 9 games combined.

Neftehimik has now scored 17 goals in this season so far, 10 of them by the new finns, Puustinen, Ruohomaa and Nättinen. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk at eliteprospects.com

They also top the scroring for their team. Both Korva-Puustinen and Ruohomaha top 20 in KHL scoring, Nättis-Jone tied 8th in goal scoring.

Matthew Maione, aka Majoneesi Matti (39 points in 60 Liiga-games last season) now with 7 points in 6 KHL games as a defenseman.

 

[vorky]

Neftehimik has now scored 17 goals in this season so far, 10 of them by the new finns, Puustinen, Ruohomaa and Nättinen. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk at eliteprospects.com

They also top the scroring for their team. Both Korva-Puustinen and Ruohomaha top 20 in KHL scoring, Nättis-Jone tied 8th in goal scoring.

Matthew Maione, aka Majoneesi Matti (39 points in 60 Liiga-games last season) now with 7 points in 6 KHL games as a defenseman.

Who is Korva? Nickname for Puustinen?

if speaking about Puustinen

 

[SoundAndFury]

Well that's what gamble is, sometimes you get rewarded, sometimes you get a dud. Obviously, Neftekhimik guys are extremely hot right now, they are bound to slow down by quite a bit eventually.

Maione is amazing though, his career path is not the most conventional one but he is one of hell of the player in the end.

 

[Rcknrollkillnmachine]

Awful turn-out at the Kunlun - Slovan game although it is Monday; does anybody know if Kunlun have made a real push advertising-wise this season?

Slovan don't look great.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Looking at the stands I think they gave up on expecting someone to attend their games.

Also Slovan if one of the bigger surprises to me honestly, they are getting way better results than I expected and even their losses are in a big part Ciliak's fault. With Stepanek starting they would have 1-2 points more.

 

[hansomreiste]

Awful turn-out at the Kunlun - Slovan game although it is Monday; does anybody know if Kunlun have made a real push advertising-wise this season?

Slovan don't look great.

Color me shocked. I'm not sure if these moves are to keep the Chinese happy so they won't invade Siberia but this is appalling. It has been what, third season already? This team has no place in KHL. People kept saying it took NHL decades to become what they are now. This was 100 years ago. If you can't prop up a hockey team in a league as good as KHL in three years, maybe just accept the fact that this project is bound to fail sooner than later. Nobody cares about Kunlun. Am I happy because of that? No. I wish there would be decent eastern rivalries and a richer hockey culture in our beloved Kontinental Boi but nah, it is not happening. At least in China.

 

[Rcknrollkillnmachine]

I've written it before, Kunlun will be gone after the Olympics probably. Their Wiki page hasn't been updated since last February hence apathy seems to be setting in. They should have placed a team in Harbin where I think it's more into hockey.

 

[Faterson]

even their losses are in a big part Ciliak's fault.

I don't think so. Stats and save percentages can lie, and they do so in this case, I believe. I'd definitely blame Slovan's frequently pathetic defence before criticizing Čiliak.

 

[Kshahdoo]

I've written it before, Kunlun will be gone after the Olympics probably. Their Wiki page hasn't been updated since last February hence apathy seems to be setting in. They should have placed a team in Harbin where I think it's more into hockey.

Kunlun should be a Harbin team, where people know and love hockey.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I don't think so. Stats and save percentages can lie, and they do so in this case, I believe. I'd definitely blame Slovan's frequently pathetic defence before criticizing Čiliak.

Well Stepanek plays behind the very same defense and allows 1 goal per game less. Even yesterday, with Ciliak in goal that was almost a guaranteed loss.

Stats and save percentages might lie on occasion but season after season Ciliak was mediocre Extraliga goalie. Him struggling in the KHL should be a natural thing rather than something you have to blame Slovan's defense for.

 

[Rigafan]

When are we likely to see Kunlun actually in Beijing? They should just rebrand if they aren't ever going back

 

[Go Donbass]

I'd be interested to see some year after year comparisons, because it seems like offence is way up in the early going of this season. Except for CSKA, which has never scored more than 3 goals in a game (2 plus an empty netter) in the history of the franchise, it seems like there's been a lot more 4-3, 5-4 and even 6-5 games this year than we are accustomed to seeing.

BTW, I still have very high hopes that Sibir will actually win a game this year.

 

[SoundAndFury]

BTW, I still have very high hopes that Sibir will actually win a game this year.

With all the injuries I wouldn't bet on it

Minsk, meanwhile, releases Beau Bennett. They did him no favors by playing at center, interesting if somebody else in the KHL gives him a chance. He is the kind of player who should have all the tools to succeed here in the end.

 

[aonb]

Brule on PTO with Flames lol

Watching Maione is real pleasure

 

[SoundAndFury]

Traktor currently holds combined 0-13 result in their last 2 games. That is something.

 

[Go Donbass]

Traktor currently holds combined 0-13 result in their last 2 games. That is something.

I assume you mean their goals for an against, and not their won-lost record

 

[EXTRAS]

How good do u guys think the older Vladimir tkachyov that plays for ak bars kazan would be in the NHL? A top 6 forward?

 

[SoundAndFury]

How good do u guys think the older Vladimir tkachyov that plays for ak bars kazan would be in the NHL? A top 6 forward?

3rd line center if all goes well.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I love how we are back to the old KHL scoring system where nobody gets secondary assists anymore.

4 goals scored in Sibir - Ava game so far, 3 assists awarded.

 

[EXTRAS]

Any predictions on next good khl players to come to North america, other than gusev? Could be young guys that are 21/22 who would come over in a few years.

 

[Go Donbass]

Any predictions on next good khl players to come to North america, other than gusev? Could be young guys that are 21/22 who would come over in a few years.

Hi EXTRAS, there's an existing thread for these kinds of questions. Can you post them in that thread? This thread is for people that want to talk about the current KHL season. Thanks partner

 

[Go Donbass]

Avto are the real goods this year. They shut out Jokerit, in Helsinki. That's never an easy task.

I know we are only 8 or 9 games into the season, but the West Conference standings don't look like I would have predicted, with Riga, Podolsk, and Slovan all in the top 8, and Dynamo Moscow on bottom. The East standings look pretty much like one would have expected at this point.

 

[vorky]

Avto are the real goods this year. They shut out Jokerit, in Helsinki. That's never an easy task.

I know we are only 8 or 9 games into the season, but the West Conference standings don't look like I would have predicted, with Riga, Podolsk, and Slovan all in the top 8, and Dynamo Moscow on bottom. The East standings look pretty much like one would have expected at this point.

I like how it looks like now. All talk about two clubs & non-parity we heart before the season. The league did just two things - exclude two teams & changed points system. Even salary cap is not what it will be in near future.

 

[hansomreiste]

I like how it looks like now. All talk about two clubs & non-parity we heart before the season. The league did just two things - exclude two teams & changed points system. Even salary cap is not what it will be in near future.

This season has been perfect so far but we shouldn't forget the fact that some structural changes still have to be made, most important of which is hard salary cap that is not circumventable. Jokerit or Avtomobilist won't stay like this forever - what we need is not two or three teams popping up for a period of time (this is not unwanted either, still a good thing) but structural changes that would allow teams to get better if this is what they intend to do.

As I always stress, parity is not when ten teams challenge for the cup. It is when ten teams are able to do so. Personally, I don't care if Ak Bars win five consecutive titles if they beat some really good contenders. The problem is that most teams in KHL used to play for nothing and we could already name three teams at the top.

This may be OK for football leagues but it is not good for a hockey league consisting of clubs from different countries. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying KHL is in a very bad position. Right on the contrary, I really like how things have developed so far but the problem is a little bit deeper than that and it should be worked on regardless of how well Avtomobilist, Jokerit or some other team does.