Bunch of Fives – part 1: top hits of the season
8 May 2021
The 2020/21 regular season had its challenges, but it also added several more moments to the Dragons’ highlight reel. So, take a short trip down memory lane with us as we pick out some of our top moments of the campaign – and why not join the debate on the official KRS Twitter feed with your own favorites?
Hunter Shinkaruk vs Barys
The highlight of Hunter’s season, of course, was his club record eight-game productive streak. But our Canadian forward also has a fine appreciation of the game on the other side of the puck, as evidenced in Nur-Sultan back in October. Early in our game against Barys, Shinkaruk reminded the home team that it was in for a bruising day when he laid a hefty hit on Nikita Kleshchenko beside the defenseman’s own net. This one made the KHL’s top 10 hits for the month.
Parker Foo vs Barys
And, just in case Barys thought the biggest hits were out of the way early, along came Parker Foo a couple of minutes later to hand out another dose of the same medicine. Once again, the play was around the home net and this time Leonid Metalnikov was on the receiving end as Parker took him off his feet in the trapezoid zone. This game was played the day before Hallowe’en … and we suspect the home defense had a few nightmares about the treatment it faced!
Jake Chelios vs Amur
When your father is a Hall of Famer, noted for uncompromising defense as well as some offensive props, you’d better hope that genetics can pass on a few of the family skills. It would be a huge ask to expect Jake Chelios to match his dad’s record of 26 NHL seasons, but as a Dragon he has shown a familiar appetite for uncompromising defense. Just ask Tomas Zohorna, assuming Amur’s Czech international has recovered from performing this unexpected somersault in our meeting on Nov. 24. Jake’s big hit made the KHL’s top plays of the month.
Ruslan Pedan vs Barys
Ruslan Pedan has his own take on the age-old philosophical question about irresistible force and immovable objects. In his philosophy, the immovable object wins. And there’s no better demonstration than this juddering open-ice hit on pacey Barys forward Nikita Mikhailis, who found his eye for a breakaway led him straight into the path of a defenseman who had no intention of giving way. This crunching clash was listed among the KHL’s top hits for December.
Danny Kristo vs Traktor
But there’s no question about our favorite hit of the 2021/22 season. It came during our game against Traktor on Nov. 14 when the visitor’s Alexander Avtsin thought he spotted a chance to break down the left wing with designs on scoring his second goal of the game. Kristo had other ideas, catching up with his opponent and depositing him unceremoniously on the Red Star bench. This wasn’t Danny’s only big contribution of the day – the American forward also scored our first goal of the evening but, unfortunately, finished on the wrong side of a 3-5 scoreline in Mytishchi.
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