Gagarin Cup: Battle of Coaches

The exit of the Kazan "Ak Bars" and St. Petersburg SKA to the final of the Gagarin Cup promises hockey lovers one of the most striking confrontations in the shortest history of this tournament

The release of the Kazan "Ak Bars" and St. Petersburg SKA to the final of the Gagarin Cup promises hockey lovers one of the most striking confrontations in the shortest history of this tournament.

The point is not that in the current finale the teams met, as they say, worthy. The Kazan club twice owned the Gagarin Cup, and SKA, although until now he has not won the main trophy of the KHL, has long been considered the nominally strongest in the league - at least in capabilities. It is not surprising, because behind the team of the team from St. Petersburg there is a powerful Gazprom, the club president is Gennady Timchenko , the vice president is Roman Rotenberg . Most likely, this allows her to have one of the most legendary veterans of Russian hockey - Ilya Kovalchuk, who receives about ten million US dollars per year. The confrontation between the goalkeepers - Finn Mikko Koskinen (SKA) and the Swede Anders Nilsson (Ak Bars) will be interesting.

Head coach "Ak Bars" Zinetula Bilyaletdinov

But, of course, the coaching duel attracts attention most of all in the current finale. The Kazan club is headed by Zinetula Bilyaletdinov , St. Petersburg is led by Vyacheslav Bykov . Both of them at one time were players in the USSR national team, both were Olympic champions and world champions. Both coaches at the head of the Russian national team won the world championships, both lost the Olympic Games. So far, the advantage of Bilyaletdinov over Bykov is obvious only in one thing: on Gagarin's cups 2-0 in his favor ...

Bilyadetdinov, as a former defender, has long professed a proprietary defensive game in his teams, sometimes reminiscent of the hockey that the famous team of Czechoslovakia played in the 70s. A neatly, sometimes even excessively careful game, often causes those who do not like Ak Bars, irritation and even indignation - they say that such a game goes against Russian hockey traditions. True, supporters of this point of view forget that in Soviet hockey there was a Voskresensky “chemist”, who, under the leadership of Nikolai Epstein, played about the same game, which at that time was largely due to the absence, so to speak, resources. As for Ak Bars, with resources the main hockey team of Tatarstan is all right, and the manner of the game that the coach builds is a matter of his hockey education and experience.

SKA head coach Vyacheslav Bykov

Bykov was once a very bright attacking in CSKA, played in one of the last famous three attacks of the army: Khomutov - Bykov - Kamensky. Its coaching manner is characterized by an almost scientifically balanced combination of attack and defense, the desire to, so to speak, hockey fundamentalism in all lines. SKA most Russian hockey teams do not like, believing that the army team enjoy the privileged position of the Gazprom Club. However, this season they literally created a miracle: in the semifinals they were able to win a series after three lost starting meetings. This happened for the first time in the history of the KHL, and, of course, perseverance and faith in the success of Bykov hockey players are worthy of respect.

Before the final series, it is worth recalling that the championship of the country and the Gagarin Cup this season were virtually two different competitions . The champion of the country was CSKA, who won regular championship. In the Gagarin Cup, CSKA lost precisely SKA - and now many are saying that SKA’s victory in the final would be a fair outcome. At the same time, Ak Bars stands in the tournament grid above SKA, and therefore has the advantage of its field. But the forces of the rivals are quite equal, and now it is unlikely that anyone will risk predict the winner. Perhaps if the losers in the semifinals of CSKA and Siberia were reached the final, emotionally hockey in their performance would be more vivid, open and “cheerful - from the point of view of fans. But“ Ak Bars ”and SKA will show the game much more solid,“ adult ”, even more“ closed. ”It is thought that there will be a bit more for such participants. The final is very important!