St. Petersburg SKA does not change itself and still adheres to its system to assemble the best players of the Continental Hockey League into a team. Last off-season, the army team carried out a powerful transfer campaign and strengthened the offensive line as much as possible. With the start of the championship, the club seriously took up the issue of the goalkeeper position, for which until today Roman Rotenberg had four players at once: the young Artemy Pleshkov, impressive with his statistics, Dmitry Nikolaev, Sergei Ivanov and the Swede Johan Matsson. Now a new goalkeeper has joined the ranks of the “red-blues”. It was Nikita Serebryakov.
Information about the goalkeeper's imminent transfer to SKA from Admiral spread throughout the media just before the start of the head-to-head match between both teams. The St. Petersburg team won that meeting (2:1), and Serebryakov was not included in the Far Eastern team’s roster. A little more than a week has passed since then: negotiations on the deal have dragged on somewhat. As a result, the parties agreed on a somewhat complex exchange.
On October 4, Nikita Serebryakov officially ceased to be considered an Admiral player and, having left the Far Eastern club as an unrestricted free agent, signed a new contract with SKA for a period of four years. The agreement will be valid until April 30, 2027. In exchange, the St. Petersburg team loaned out goalkeeper Sergei Ivanov and forward Dmitry Buchelnikov until the end of the current season. On October 16, SKA will play with Admiral in St. Petersburg, and loaned hockey players will be able to take part in the match.
Also, through the exchange, “Admiral”, along with monetary compensation, received forward Nikita Anokhovsky, who had moved to SKA from Lada Tolyatti the day before, and sports rights to defenseman Daniil Miromanov, currently playing in the system of the NHL club “Vegas Golden Knights”. The army team acquired the sports rights to South Korean national team striker Lee Chong-hyun and Japanese forward Shomu Izumi.
The transfer to SKA was a matter of time. Active conversations about the transfer of Nikita Serebryakov began last spring. The goalkeeper had a strong regular season and played one of the main roles in the local success of Admiral, which reached the second round of the KHL playoffs. At the end of the season, the 27-year-old Russian was included in the symbolic team of the league, and was also recognized as the best goalkeeper of the 2022/23 league.
At the same time, everything hinted at Serebryakov’s move from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg. First, goalkeeper coach Yuri Klyuchnikov followed in this direction. It was his work that was obviously called the main reason for the success of the Admiral goalkeeper line and Nikita specifically. Serebryakov himself later became close to Roman Rotenberg during the Russian national team’s May 25 tour of the country. That team was led by the SKA coach, and the goalkeeper was one of the main stars of the national team.
And although Serebryakov extended his contract with Admiral for one year in the spring, rumors about his move to the banks of the Neva did not subside. It seemed that his transfer was only a matter of time. This is what happened, despite all the attempts of the Vladivostok club to keep its goalkeeper.
““The issue can be resolved not at the club level, but higher? Of course, I understand this. I was not born yesterday. We will do everything to ensure that Nikita remains in our club,” said Admiral sports director Vadim Averkin in an interview with SE.
Rotenberg is determined to become a champion. History has given us several examples where acquiring a great goalkeeper does not solve all problems. This is especially true for SKA. In recent years, a considerable number of goalkeepers have passed through the St. Petersburg army camp, who were considered to be among the best in their role in the KHL. But they failed to gain a foothold in SKA for a number of reasons. Many people remember, for example, the figure of Vladislav Podyapolsky. The goalkeeper even received a new contract from SKA until the end of the 2024/25 season, but he played only 18 matches for the St. Petersburg team, did not impress Roman Rotenberg, and a few days before the start of the new season this August he went to Lada through an exchange.
Serebryakov in SKA will have to cope with, if not more pressure, then at least similar pressure. They will expect a bright and reliable game from the goalkeeper, which is so necessary to fight for the Gagarin Cup in the playoffs. But one cannot help but pay attention to one important point — the difference in the playing style of “Admiral” and SKA. Klyuchnikov himself, answering a question about the success of his goalkeeping team during his work in Vladivostok, noted that the secret lies not only in the skill of the goalkeepers, but also in the structure of the entire team. “Admiral” defends skillfully, the field players give their opponents a minimum of opportunities for dangerous shots, and also willingly block them.
Serebryakov is not expected to have such support at SKA. The army team acts more openly due to the activity in the attack. Accordingly, more free space will be created in front of the goal, and the work of the new St. Petersburg goalkeeper will noticeably increase. Whether he will cope with it — time will tell.
But one thing is certain — SKA is determined not only to overcome the semi-final stage of the Gagarin Cup for the first time in the last few years, but also to get to the very top. Roman Rotenberg, in conversations with the media, has repeatedly made it clear that a strong and reliable goalkeeper is essential for success in the playoffs. As a rule, on the way to the Cup, a team goes with one goalkeeper, because at this stage his rotation does more harm than good, as happens in the regular season. But no one is immune from injuries, so a full-fledged replacement for the first number is also needed. Will this bring dividends to SKA? We'll find out in the spring.