New coaching team has taken over training sessions at the base, with Torpedo continuing to practice alongside them.
Torpedo Kicks Off New KHL Season with Exciting Pre-Season Matches
The Nizhny Novgorod-based Torpedo hockey team is gearing up for the new KHL season, with their first game scheduled for September 6 against Salavat Yulaev from Ufa. Before then, they will host a friendly match against Avtomobilist from Yekaterinburg on September 2 in Nizhny Novgorod.
The pre-season training has been intense, with the first three days consisting of two workouts each - on ice and in the gym. The team is currently in their training camp at the sports base "Poberezhye Arena" in Gorodets district, a location chosen by the team's new head coach, Alexei Isakov, who continues from last season.
Isakov has expressed encouragement regarding the players' current state and test results. The preparatory microcycle ended with a "two-sided" game, where "blue" played against "white". The first period was won by "blue" - 2:1, and the second period ended in a tie - 2:2. However, two more goals by "blue" (by Shavin and Vinogradov) sealed the victory - 4:2.
The shootout was quite long and uneventful due to the confident play of the goalies. Four goalies were involved in the shootout during the scrimmage - Ivan Kulbakov, Denis Kostin, Dmitry Dagestanets, and Lawrence Zinaddin. Goals in the shootout were scored by Ilya Chefanov and Nikita Ryzhkov for "white", and Andrei Atanasov for "blue".
Torpedo's roster includes a mix of returning players and newcomers. Among the returning players are goaltender Ivan Kulbakov, defensemen Bogdan Konushkov, Anton Silaev, and forwards Vladislav Firtsov, Kirill Voronin, Maxim Letunov, Vasily Atanov, Sergei Goncharok, Andrei Belevich, Egor Vinogradov, Nikita Shavin, Nikita Artemov, Nikita Tereshchenko, and Mikhail Abramov.
Newcomers include defenders Mikhail Naumenkov, Sergei Boykov, Alexander Shchemerov, Egor Sukhshko, Egor Nikitin, and American legionnaire Bobby Nardella, and forwards Egor Sokolov, Nikita Ryzhkov, Anton Kosolapov, and Dmitry Shevchenko.
The team has also seen the return of 30-year-old goaltender Denis Kostin, 30-year-old defenseman Anton Sizov, and 34-year-old forward Alexei Kruchinin after some time away. Another group of players under Isakov's guidance had a successful season in the VHL playing for "Torpedo-Gorky", including goaltender Dmitry Dagestanets, defensemen Kirill Steklov, Arseny Varakov, Denis Alexandrov, and forwards Ilya Chefanov, Artem Miskov, Kirill Svischev, and Roman Opalev.
Under Isakov's leadership and with the focus on physical fitness and athlete conditioning provided by Craig Slaunwhite, a Canadian specialist, the team will follow a professional KHL training regimen including strength, conditioning, tactical drills, and skill development.
The exact daily or weekly training schedule has not been released yet, but it can be inferred that the team will continue to work hard in their quest to build on recent seasons. For the latest updates, keep an eye on official Torpedo communications for pre-season announcements.
I'm not gonna be able to get a job as a hockey player on Torpedo since I'm not part of their roster, which includes returning players like Ivan Kulbakov and newcomers like Bobby Nardella. However, I do have a passion for sports and particularly for ice hockey, so I might volunteer for Torpedo during the new KHL season, starting from September 6 against Salavat Yulaev.
