Ortega joins Dragons on a try-out deal

19 August 2024

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Kunlun Red Star 1 (1-0, 3-1, 0-0)

The Dragons’ third pre-season game pitted our guys against last season’s beaten finalist, Lokomotiv. There was a new face on the roster: Austin Ortega, a Californian forward recently released by Admiral, has joined us on a try-out contract.

Ortega, 30, comes with a great track record in the DEL. He had 224 points in 257 games and claimed a championship medal in 2023. He was on our radar before agreeing to join Admiral earlier in the summer. However, on arrival in Vladivostok it transpired that his game wasn’t a good fit with the coaching staff’s plans and player and club amicably parted ways. That scouting snafu from the Sailors could yet benefit Kunlun, since we now have a great chance to get a close look at a strong potential recruit.

Monday’s game also saw Jeremy Smith between the piping for the first time this summer. For all we know Smitty’s goaltending qualities very well, he still needs a chance to get up to speed for the coming season and it makes sense to give him game time as our schedule picks up in the latter half of August.

However, the game did not go so well for our guys. Lokomotiv, playing its first game of the summer, was eager to make a good early impression. In the early stages we found ourselves under pressure and soon allowed a goal from Georgy Ivanov. That one was ruled out when the officials spotted a rogue football move in the play, but it wasn’t long before the Railwaymen had a legitimate tally to separate the teams.

That lead survived until the first intermission, even though there was plenty of positive play from Red Star in the latter half of the first period. Chris Wilkie was a constant threat, and it took some great play from last season’s top KHL goalie, Daniil Isayev, to deny Hudson Elynuik his first goal for the Dragons after Tyler Wong stripped Alexander Yelesin of the puck and set up a dangerous counter.

Hopes of a Red Star revival were hampered when Martin Gernat doubled Loko’s lead on a power play early in the middle frame. Luke Lockhart hauled us back into contention when he made it 2-1, and our guys continued to put together some promising plays as the game went on. However, the scoring came at the other end as Alexei Kozhevnikov and Alexander Polunin assembled a commanding lead for the home team.

The third period was a disjointed affair, studded with penalties. Neither team was able to get its power play up to speed and there was no further scoring.

Monday’s action was Red Star’s third and final pre-season game. The next stage is a trip to St. Petersburg for the Puchkov Memorial tournament. Our first game in that competition is on Thursday against Ak Bars; subsequent battles will involve Severstal, SKA and a Russian representative team.