Who are they, Olympians from SKA, why they got to the main tournament of the four years.

Ten with clubs. Which of SKA players fell to the Olympics?

At the Olympics-2022 in Beijing, SKA will not be, like four years ago in previous games, the base club of the Russian team. But hockey players from the St. Petersburg team in Beijing will still be quite a lot – ten people. Who are they, Olympians from SKA, why they got to the main tournament of the four years.

Alexander Samonov (RCR team)

The goalkeeper clearly does not succeed in the current season-only nine matches for SKA and not the best indicators of statistics, but at the World Cup 2021 he was the first number of the Russian team. Let the stars have developed in favor of Samon, but he played well. So today the coaches in the goalkeeper issue are not up to fat. These are several strong Russian goalkeepers in the NHL at once, while in the KHL, on the basis of which I had to assemble a team, the choice is rather scarce. For the goalkeeper, SKA played international experience, for other Russian goalkeepers KHL, his cat cried. In addition, Alexander is considered in the national team a very talented goalkeeper who is important to give a chance. At the same time, Ivan Fedotov from CSKA should obviously become the first number in Beijing. But suddenly the stars will come together again in favor of Samonov …

Lars Yukhansson (Sweden)

What is the numbers, which is essentially the best goalkeeper KHL this season. His competitors for a place in the framework of the Sweden national team are also well known to us – this is Adam Reidorn from CSKA and Magnus Hellberg from HC Sochi, perfectly familiar to SKA fans, but both in terms of reliability are noticeably inferior to Yukhansson. As a rule, Lars SKA, as a rule, does not lose. And if it loses, then often only due to the fact that the goalkeeper is tired – the load in the club is decent. Yuhansson, in principle, is one of the most stable goalkeepers of the KHL. For five years in the league, he has developed excellent numbers and victorious experience in the form of the Gagarin 2019 Cup, which he took from CSKA. He also has championship seasons in Sweden and in the Champions League with Frelenda. Here is the international experience of the army soldier from St. Petersburg is rather scarce. He did not work out with Trunur from an early age – he was not really involved in the junior or youth teams, and he spoke only for the Eurotour for the main team.

Oscar Fantenberg (Sweden)

Another Swede from SKA, one of the most clear defense men of the army club. In the ability to act positionally, few will be equal to him. Pretty quickly conquered playing time in St. Petersburg and now spends more than twenty minutes in the site for the match. Oscar began to be trusted not only when the team plays in the minority and it caught everything that is possible, but with a numerical advantage. The leadership qualities and dedication of the Swede are also indisputable. In Russian teams, the leader’s pipe is rarely trusted by a foreigner, and Fantenberg has repeatedly brought SKA to the ice as a captain, he performs the duties of the vice-capitan on an ongoing basis.But the only major international tournament with the participation of Fantenberg ended with a serious Fiasco for the Swedes. It was the St. Petersburg-Moscow World Cup 2016. The Swedes then became sixth and were literally defeated in the quarter -finals of Canadians (0: 6).

Mikko Lechton (Finland)

It was part of the Finnish team that at the 2019 World Cup in the semifinals was not afraid of the Russian star team and eventually became the first. Lechtonin then entered the symbolic team of the tournament and scored more points among the Finnish defenders. Mikko is a classic bilateral defense player, showing excellent skating around the entire perimeter. Two years ago, he managed to enter the top 6 bombers of the KHL regularly (49 points for Yokerit), after which he went to the NHL, where, however, having not received the necessary coaching confidence, he did not delay and signed a contract last fall from SKA to 2025 . By European standards, Lechtonen is still a top attacking defender, and he can doubt it will deliver a lot of trouble to the rivals at the Olympics.

Mat Robinson (Canada)

For Robinson, as for Lechtonen, this is the second Olympics. Both, however, got to the games only because the NHL did not let her players even four years ago in Pyeongchang, now in Beijing, otherwise they would hardly have made their way to the composition. For Canadian hockey Robinson with his 176 cm height, the character is atypical. Such low defenders in the NHL take root infrequently, so the main part of the career was held in Europe. In the KHL clubs (SKA already the fourth team of Mat in the League) to play for more than twenty minutes for the match for him in the order of things. Robinson is a useful hockey player. It is physically shot down physically, rarely inferior in the power struggle, reads the game well, rides a lot, as if he throws it very much. In a word, the perfect defender for the game is in the most part. In Pyeongchang, however, Mat could not open – only two points scored. Perhaps that is why Canadians became only third four years ago.

Yonas Kemppainen (Finland)

And for this Finn Olympics in Beijing the second in a row. He completed the previous one in the quarterfinals with 4 (2+2) points in the asset and has never been involved in serious tournaments of the national team. But now experienced fighters are in the Finns in price. Kamppainen Forward is not fast, but powerful, capable of pushing the defense, imposing a struggle on a patch, from where the goalkeepers disappeared more than once. In addition, he is known for the ability to see partners and feel the game.

Leo Komarov (Finland)

We stayed with the Estonian Finn in the NHL, where he spent the past eight years, the second Olympics would hardly have happened in his career. In Sochi-2014, we recall that it was Finland who knocked out the owners of ice in the quarterfinals. The current season is not in the 35 -year -old striker not in the best way. He was not needed by the Islanders, adapted heavily in the KHL, but Yucca Yalonen, the mentor of the Finnish team, who passed with Leo more than one tournament, counts on his experience.

Nikita Gusev (ROC team)

This attacker was worth taking to Beijing, at least for good luck. His 4 (2+2) points in the final of the 2018 Olympics is the history of Russian hockey with a golden sheen. To level the score less than a minute before the end of the third period, when your team is in the minority, and even with a throw from an uncomfortable hand, of course, you need to be born very lucky. After recently returning from the NHL, Gusev's game has come close to its former standards. Yes, he has become slower, but the ability to read the game and distribute passes has not disappeared anywhere. In the current version of the national team, his connection with Vadim Shipachyov, obviously, will be a killer.

Kirill Marchenko (ROC team)

The hockey player is certainly talented, but the choice of the coaching staff in his favor was still surprising. A little less, of course, than in the case of Samonov, but nevertheless … In the current season, Marchenko does not always get into SKA, but when this happens, he plays a little. At the same time, the forward does not complain about the fate, responding to distrust with abandoned washers. With 12 goals, Kirill is the fourth SKA sniper today. The Olympics will be his first major tournament as part of an adult team. The 2021 World Cup, where Marchenko was also taken, he spent in the status of a reservist.

Andrey Kuzmenko (ROC team)

The second scorer of the KHL season is going to Beijing as a reservist. The decision of the coaches was also surprising because Andrei is always productive in the national team. Well, in terms of maneuverability, this is generally unique. Kuzmenko, apparently, became a victim of the playing style of the Russian team, where creativity will be allowed only to one link, and the task of the other three is to fight and fight. Kuzmenko obviously lost the competition for the only “creative” place on the left flank to the author of the 2018 Olympic miracle Nikita Gusev. Still, I would like to hope that the coaching concept will be corrected: this elusive striker is definitely able to bring a lot of good in Beijing.

The material was published in the newspaper Saint Petersburg Vedomosti No. 19 (7102) dated February 3, 2022 under the heading Olympic Ten with Clubs.