GM: Igor Kirunov
Coach: Dave Tippett
Last season: 2nd overall. In playoffs, defeated Stockholm; defeated Belfast; lost to Helsinki
Ins and Outs
(Season 17 to Season 18)
In: Kyle Connor (trade), Hampus Lindholm (free agent), Vince Trocheck (trade), Michael Del Zotto (free agent), Brandon Saad (free agent), Jonas Holos (free agent), Gurkan Cetinkaya (free agent), Par Arlbrandt (free agent), Adam Lowry (free agent), Jakub Krejcik (free agent), Radek Faksa (free agent), Tomas Jurco (free agent), Jaden Schwartz (free agent), Maxim Noreau (free agent), Sean Couturier (free agent)
Out: Anthony Duclair (free agent), Fyodor Malykhin (free agent), Rasmus Ristolainen (free agent), Markus Granlund (free agent), Alex Formenton (trade), Beau Bennett (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Kyle Connor/Bo Horvat/Matthias Asperup
Anthony Beauvillier/Nick Suzuki/Par Arlbrandt
Jimmie Ericsson/Victor Rask/Brandon Saad
Kirill Marchenko/Vince Trocheck/Vasili Podkolzin
Aaron Ekblad/Ivan Provorov
Brock Faber/Maxim Chudinov
Hampus Lindholm/Morgan Rielly
Attila Adorjan/Janis Voris
A Question
Is Minsk motivated to win or what? Minsk came so very close to the grand prize in Season 17, exactly a season after losing the Cup by a goal in Season 16. They are halfway to being the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s, although the Bills didn’t win two EURO Cups like the Hussars did. Losing the Season 17 regular season by a tie-breaker to Helsinki was a big reason they didn’t achieve their ultimate goal for a third time. Both teams ended up with 120 points by season’s end. So you could look back at any one-goal loss Minsk suffered during the season … say, the 5-4 loss to Milan on Day 1 of their schedule, for example … and say that if Attila Adorjan stopped Alex Tuch’s shot 3:36 into the season, then Minsk would have had 121 points by the end of the year. In that game, Minsk forward Anthony Duclair scored 3 goals but 7 of his other shots didn’t go into the net. Again, you could say if Duclair scored on one of those 7 shots, then Minsk would have finished first and won home ice advantage over Helsinki 82 games later. But, in the playoffs, it was those same Jokerits who had home-ice and they knocked out the Hussars in the conference finals. An important moment in that series came in Game 5 in Helsinki when Kyle Connor scored in overtime to give the Finnish team a 3-2 lead. Connor won’t hurt them this season, or at least he shouldn’t, because General Manager Igor Kirunov traded to get him on his side. Connor will work with Nick Suzuki or Bo Horvat to power the team’s offense. But offense isn’t really Minsk’s game. Defense is and has been what has won games for the Hussars. With Adorjan in goal and a dream of a defense corps that includes Aaron Ekblad, Maxim Chudinov, Ivan Provorov, Morgan Rielly, Brock Faber and now Rasmus Ristolainen, they could be better than they have ever been.
Rose’s Focus
“Alright I admit I’m not quite as stunning as I was in my earlier years. Still, every time he sees me, Igor Kirunov showers me with compliments about my bod. He always said he wishes he met me earlier and has often looked at me and said in a wistful way … ‘Mrs. Kirnuov.’ Igor should have seen me about 60 years ago! Sometimes I wish I still looked like that earlier version, even though the current version is a 9.9. I always think if I was a hockey team, I would be a team like Minsk: one that always has people looking at it with admiration. In fact, as the season begins they have two strong EURO League forward lines playing at the farm club level. The Hussars start the season as one of the favorites for the Cup. What, again? Yes, since they have assembled such an impossible defense. Every season, Minsk has been able to replenish its beauty through trades and free agency, sort of like how I maintain my look with smart-fitting new clothing. But with every trade, you lose something. Minsk lost a good young forward this summer. But they still have a few good young players like Nick Suzuki, Matthias Asperup, Vasily Podkolzin and especially 23-year-old defensive wunderkind Brock Faber. He has that same look in his eyes I had 60 years ago. I sense that he knows he’s beautiful. Last season, his second in the league, he was +49 with 48 takeaways versus just 20 giveaways. And he’s a good passer. Igor couldn’t land me, but he has a really beauty in Faber. He should wine and dine, caress and kiss Faber every chance he gets. Figuratively, of course.”
