The starting segment of the hockey season in the KHL is traditionally remarkable for the abundance of unique stories that are missing at the most decisive stage of the championship. This year, the author of another similar scenario was Sochi. Over the past years, the club from the shores of the Black Sea has been the object of jokes and ridicule, and was simply not taken seriously. This concerned both the results (and the Leopards had amassed a lot of losing streaks in the previous few seasons in a row) and the politics of the southerners. No offense to the Sochi bosses, but the absence of any pragmatic plan for recruiting the roster and preserving it did not allow us to look at the club as a contender for something more than a place on the list of KHL participants.< br>What can we say if the Sochi residents themselves came up with all sorts of jokes addressed to themselves. In some ways, and in self-irony, the “leopards” are no strangers. Even in case of defeats, the club media service organizes cool memes once or twice. They haven't lost their touch even now. Remember how Sochi teased itself after its defeat by Severstal in the August test match or after the recent 1:7 defeat by CSKA.
But this season, Dmitry Kokorev’s team provides few such reasons. And I will emphasize the word team — the southerners currently have one of the most united teams in the entire league, where everyone plays for each other and understands what the coaches require of them. Now “Sochi” has appeared as a real threat to its rivals, regardless of their level of skill and club budget. No one can predict how long the Sochi residents will ride this wave, but right now it’s pointless to ignore them — you just need to get high, and in Adler that’s all you can do.
Yes, the team had painful defeats at the start from Severstal, Kunlun and the capital's Dynamo with a total score of 3:13, but they were followed by an impressive winning streak of six games in a row, and in one month the Leopards dealt with league leaders Ak Bars, Lokomotiv, Torpedo and SKA, simultaneously beating the same Severstal and Spartak, which will not give anyone a quiet life in the current championship. Moreover, the “railroad workers” — a strong and awkward team of Igor Nikitin, which concedes the least in the championship — was slammed by Kokorev’s daring gang with a score of 5:0!
On the one hand, the results of the Sochi team are sensational. On the other hand, they are fair and understandable. This off-season, the Leopards management did a great job in the transfer market and diversified the talented youth with experienced fighters. And with the legionnaires we hit the nail on the head! For example, Borna Rendulic, a Croatian sniper, fit into the lineup perfectly and made a powerful comeback in the KHL. His one-timer is one of the best in the league. And it would not be an exaggeration to compare his shot with the famous shots of Alexander Ovechkin.
Or Michal Krystof. The Slovak forward brought a lot of benefits to Leonid Tambiev’s Admiral last season, and now he’s doing it in Sochi. Maybe his statistics are not so bright (although 3 goals and 7 assists in 13 matches are a normal indicator), but Krystof plays very successfully on face-offs, and he also plays very willingly on defense, not being afraid to throw himself under pucks from opponents.< br>
We’ll also add to these newcomers Matvey Michkov, who was on loan from SKA at the start of the season. As expected, the main Russian prodigy of the generation did not need time to adapt to Sochi, and he is tearing and rushing with all his might in his usual position of extreme forward. 10 points (4+6) in eight games is impressive. By the way, Matvey did not forget to upset SKA and scored three effective actions in the match against his club. And his link with Artur Tyanulin and Amir Garayev promises to make a lot of noise throughout the league.
As I already noted, in Kokorev’s team the players understand what is required of them. They are capable of organizing a full-fledged positional attack at speed with a series of passes that cut through the opponent’s defense, and can quickly dismantle the opponent’s defense with one or two vertical passes, which almost always have an addressee at the opponent’s goal. And most importantly, it bears fruit. Sochi willingly punishes opponents for mistakes. Even for the most seemingly insignificant ones. “Spartak”, SKA, “Ak Bars” and the rest managed to feel this the hard way. It is noteworthy that the “leopards” have also reached the point of flexibility in tactics. Dmitry Kokorev, in communication with journalists, noted that his coaching staff thoroughly analyzes the peculiarities of the opponents’ game. The result shows that the southerners are quite successful in this.
It is obvious that global conclusions must be drawn at a distance. Every club will experience a period of decline, and Sochi has no reason to become an exception. But right now the team is literally demanding to be treated with respect. And this is already a great achievement. The bosses of the “leopards” can only not break what works well.