At the start of attention: Russians have started the NHL preseason brightly
The NHL preseason has started in North America — the last weeks of preparation for the regular season, which will begin in October. The first matches of the team are traditionally held with experimental squads: while some of the leaders are just getting in shape, young hockey players and players from farm clubs get a chance to compete for a place in the base. For many, these meetings can determine the near future. Russians Ilya Nabokov, Aidar Suniev and Ivan Miroshnichenko look especially bright at the start of the preseason.
"Washington" is still without Ovi
The competition in the NHL is very serious: As scouts like to say, in training camps, sometimes one place is divided between a dozen players. Many Russians were forced to talk about themselves from the very first matches. Aidar Suniev has the brightest start. """" The 21-year-old Calgary forward scored both of the team's goals in the match with "Seattle" (2:4) and scored four shots — the most of all the "Flames". Suniev has already made his NHL debut (he played six games in the 2025/26 season), but has not yet received a permanent position, and such a match significantly increases his promotions. In the same match, Matvey Gridin and Yan Kuznetsov were left without points. Gridin, however, already played 37 games in the NHL last season and is now much closer to the base.
Another hero is Ivan Miroshnichenko. In "Washington" versus "Boston" (2:3B), he scored two points.: first, he helped organize the first goal, and then scored himself two seconds after the end of the majority. This is especially important for a 22-year-old Russian. ""He""shuttled" between "Washington" and "Hershey" for the previous three seasons, and in the past he played only 13 games for the Capitals and scored three points. Now he needs to prove that he has already outgrown the AHL level and is ready to go out with Alexander Ovechkin. But at one time Miroshnichenko was called a follower of the great sniper.
Ilya Nabokov, the former "Metallurg" goalkeeper, started his overseas career excellently. " " In his first NHL preseason game with "Colorado", he blocked 16 of 17 shots from "Utah". After the KHL and a brief introduction to the AHL, Ilya begins a full season in North America. Georgy Romanov played reliably for "St. Louis" - 10 saves out of 10 after coming on as a substitute. "Toronto""s"Artur Akhtyamov made 13 of 15 shots, Sergey Bobrovsky made 10 of 11 in his debut for the "Leafs", and Pyotr Kochetkov returned to the game after a nine—month break and two operations: he deflected 28 of 33 shots against "Florida", but his team lost (3-6).
It is especially interesting to follow young Russians who are just getting close to the NHL. ""Anton Silaev, who went overseas from the Torpedo system, played for "New Jersey" for the first time in the preseason: he spent almost 17 minutes, made two shots on target and five power plays. Daniil Prokhorov also scored five hits and scored twice for the "Islanders." Artyom Duda earned a transfer for "Utah". "Carolina" Gleb Trikozov also scored an assist in the match with the "Panthers". But Viktor Neuchev and Ivan Ryabkin did not score points.
Who needs September matches the most? It is more important for Silaev and Nabokov to show their readiness for North American hockey than to break into the base right from October at any cost. Most likely, everyone will start the season at the farm club to speed up their adaptation. A similar fate awaits Suniev, but Gridin is much closer to the status of a regular NHL player after last season — "Calgary" may well use him in the top 9.
The main fork is at Miroshnichenko, Chibrikov and Kuznetsov. They have been in the systems of their clubs for several years, but they have not yet received a stable place at the base. One bright September match does not guarantee anything, but another season mainly in the AHL for these guys will inevitably raise a career question: continue to wait for a chance or look towards the KHL — to return there or go for the first time.
Waiting for Varlamov
Of the Russians already familiar to the NHL, Ivan Demidov scored the most goals for "Montreal" — they played a great combination with Lane Hutson. Ilya Mikheev has already opened the scoring for "Tampa", where he joined in the offseason. But Nikita Kucherov, who is in full discussion about a new contract with "Lightning", scored no points.
"Washington" began the preseason without Alexander Ovechkin. " " While Miroshnichenko scored for the Capitals in the match against "Boston", the best sniper in the history of the regular season of the NHL remained out of the squad. "Stolich" lost to "Bruins" in shootouts. Ovi's preseason debut has been postponed for now, but there is no doubt that he will be on the ice in the last games.
But our other veteran, Semyon Varlamov, is already in action. The 38-year-old goalkeeper, who underwent two major surgeries, has fully recovered and has started training with the "Islanders". The Russian goalkeeper's last match in the NHL took place back in November 2024, after which both knee joints were partially replaced. At times, the hockey player doubted whether he would be able to continue his career, but now he is ready to fight for the place of Ilya Sorokin's replacement.
"I just wasn't mentally ready to end my career," the NHL's official website quotes the 2012 world champion as saying. — Of course, there were days when things weren't going well and this thought came up. Thought: "Maybe this is the end and I won't be able to come back." But now I feel good. It's clear that returning to hockey was a pretty crazy idea, a very risky one. Many people do such operations, but hockey players did not return to the sport after them. However, I took that risk. I had to work hard in rehabilitation and be very patient.
Knee replacements are not uncommon in themselves, but returning to professional hockey after such surgery is a unique case. ""Varlamov has already been on the ice this year: two matches for the "Islanders" farm club from the AHL, Bridgeport, at the end of last season, became a key test. Together with Semyon, the team won both meetings. The goalkeeper missed three goals and blocked 93.9% of shots. In the first game, the Russian felt a lack of practice, but his knees withstood the load. In the second, according to the goalkeeper, he felt like himself again.
Varlamov believes that these matches helped him get a chance in the current camp. Mathieu Darche, general manager of the New Yorkers, called the Russian's story impressive. According to him, the club's staff, who have known Varlamov for a long time, assure that the goalkeeper moves on the ice in the same way as before the operations.
At the same time, the "Islanders" are in no hurry to draw final conclusions. Summer training is one load, a full—fledged camp is quite another. It is important for the club to see how the 38-year-old goalkeeper's body will cope with intensive training. Prior to his injury, Varlamov played 621 games in the regular NHL championships. " """ He joined the league in 2008 and scored 289 wins for "Washington", "Colorado" and "Islanders".
Semyon played 65 matches in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and was in the starting lineup in 62 of them. He has 32 wins with 30 losses, and has averaged 2.44 goals per game. Together with the "Islanders", the Russian reached the third round twice.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
