July 17 – it all starts again

14 June 2022

It’s been a quiet few months in the Dragons’ Lair, with the KRS management discreetly going about its business to prepare for the coming season.

As we know, despite media mutterings, the Dragons are continuing in the KHL for a seventh successive season. Once again, due to China’s Covid restrictions, the team will be based in Mytishchi, our adopted home for the past two campaigns.

And very soon, preparations for the 2022/23 season will begin in earnest. The team is set to assemble in Moscow Region on July 17. Two days of medical checks will follow, then our pre-season camp gets underway on July 19.

The guys will stay in Mytishchi until Aug. 14, playing their first warm-up game against Vityaz on Aug. 13. Then, the games come thick and fast for the rest of the month.

Nur-Sultan is the next destination as Red Star takes part in the Kazakhstan President’s Cup from Aug. 16-21. As well as the host team, Barys, we’ll be up against Metallurg, Avtomobilist and Neftekhimik in a competition that has twice been part of our preparations for the new season. Last year, the Dragons finished third in the competition, winning the bronze medal game against Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk. In 2016, during our first ever pre-season, we also took part in the tournament but the event was overshadowed by controversy after Damir Ryspayev’s notorious assault on all-comers which forced the abandonment of our game against Barys and resulted in the Kazakh forward facing an indefinite ban from the KHL.

After Kazakhstan, it’s back to Russia in time to wrap things up at the Mayor of Moscow Cup. Last season, the Dragons took part in this tournament for the first time as it expanded to include six teams. As you’d expect, the three capital clubs – CSKA, Dynamo and Spartak – are all involved, along with Vityaz from nearby Podolsk. Having secured our own Moscow ‘propiska’ by virtue of our temporary residence in Mytishchi, our Dragons are a natural fit in this company. Amur Khabarovsk, a reminder of our Far Eastern heritage, completes the line-up. The competition runs from Aug. 24-28 with the teams playing two groups of three followed by a playoff round.

Key dates:

July 17 – team assembles in Mytishchi
July 18-19 – medical checks
July 19 – Aug. 14 – team camp in Mytishchi

Games:

Aug. 13 vs Vityaz
Aug. 24-28 – Mayor of Moscow’s Cup (featuring KRS, CSKA, Dynamo, Spartak, Vityaz and Amur)