Two weeks to go

18 July 2024

Dragons getting ready for pre-season

On Aug. 1, our guys will be getting back together to start the preparations for our 2024/25 campaign. As usual, it all kicks off at our home base in Mytishchi with the traditional round of medical checks. That’s the start of a three-week camp before we head to St. Petersburg for the Puchkov Tournament.

As well as training, there’s a busy schedule of pre-season games. First up we have three stand-alone engagements: at home to Ak Bars on Aug. 12, against Spartak on neutral ice at Peresvet on Aug. 14 and finally a trip to Lokomotiv on Aug. 19.

Then comes that Puchkov tournament, which runs Aug. 22-29. This year’s event features SKA, Ak Bars, Severstal, Sochi and a Russia B team. The schedule is yet to be confirmed but it’s likely to be a round robin event as in previous years.

KRS last played in the Puchkov tournament in 2020. This was at the height of our difficulties in building a roster during the pandemic and all the associated lockdown conditions, and our guys finished fifth out of six teams. The Dragons’ only win was a 2-1 success against Sochi thanks to goals from Dmitry Markovin and Sergei Monakhov.

Earlier, in 2018, the Dragons claimed bronze in St. Petersburg, winning three out of four games. Despite losing the opener 1-4 to SKA, our guys battled back to edge Sochi 3-2 and defeat Jokerit in overtime. Saving the best for last, we finished with a 5-1 win over Severstal led by three-point games from Justin Fontaine and Taylor Beck. Rok Ticar and Alexandre Picard were also among the scorers that day.

New arrivals

Since our last update, Red Star has confirmed four new signings. Chris Wilkie is the latest addition, confirmed this week. Earlier, goalies Konstantin Volkov and Kyle Keyser came on-board alongside Jeremy Smith, while Canada’s Hudson Elyniuk adds depth to the forward line.

Volkov will be familiar to many fans following his performances against us for Dynamo Moscow in recent seasons. However, the 26-year-old Murmansk native never established himself as #1 in Blue-and-White and joins us looking for more game time. Keyser, 25, has a World Junior silver medal from 2019 when he was part of Team USA. Since then he’s been involved in the Bruins organization and dressed as an understudy in the NHL. Most of his action has come in the AHL and ECHL and his move to KRS represents his first gig outside of North America.

Elyniuk comes from a hockey family: his dad, Pat, played more than 500 NHL games through nine seasons in the show, while older brothers Campbell and Jakson both played major juniors. Hudson, 26, was drafted by the Hurricanes in 2016 but stepped up to senior hockey with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Up to now, he’s played the bulk of his games in the AHL, but he also made a handy contribution to the Newfoundland Growlers’ 2019 ECHL championship team, putting up 15 points in 16 playoff games that year.

Wilkie joins us after two seasons in Germany’s DEL, where he had 60 points in 94 games for Bietigheim Steelers and Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Prior to that, the 28-year-old American winger was part of the Blackhawks and Senators’ organizations. He had 34 points in 61 AHL games during that time.

As well as the new signings, KRS has also confirmed extensions for Tyler Graovac and Colin Campbell. Campbell returns for a third season, having established himself as a key part of the PK and a warrior on the draw. Graovac arrived partway through last season and scored 15 points in 30 games.

Thanks for the game

As well as new faces and returning friends, the Dragons also say farewell to two stalwarts. Cory Kane is third in all-time appearances for our club with 284 games. Only Luke Lockhart and Brandon Yip have worn the jersey more often. Since he arrived from Trinec in 2017/18, Kane – also known as Jian An – has been a key figure in the development of Chinese hockey. He played on the 2022 Olympic team, scoring two goals in four games in Beijing.

Versatile Jason Fram is also moving on and will play for Italian club Asiago in Austria’s cross-border league. Jason was another member of our Olympic roster in 2022 and made 186 appearances in the KHL after joining the Dragons in 2019. We thank both players for their contribution to KRS and look forward to following their future careers.