«We communicate with Valiullin every day»: Ak Bars lost to Sibir, and Gatiaytulin is waiting for the deadline

Yashkin is not in the lineup again

The game against Sibir was the last for Ak Bars before the transfer window closes. The transfer deadline for this KHL season is set for January 25. After this date, teams will not be able to sign new players. Therefore, the match against Sibir acquired additional importance. The coaching staff of Ak Bars had to make a decision on a number of hockey players — to trade them or go to the playoffs with the current roster.

The most discussed topic at the moment is the fate of last year's Ak Bars captain Dmitry Yashkin. The forward is not on the team roster again and is close to leaving Kazan. According to rumours, Minsk Dynamo is actively interested in the player and is ready to strengthen their team with an experienced cup fighter. Putting the hockey player on the ice in such a situation is a big risk, so his absence from the roster was expected.

At the same time, Ak Bars missed three leading defenders due to injuries. While Albert Yarullin has been recovering since the fall, Nikita Lyamkin and Stepan Falkovsky have recently suffered injuries. In this regard, Artemy Knyazev and Stepan Terekhov were added to the roster urgently, and young Alexander Ivanov was listed as the seventh defender.

The return of Mikhail Berdin to the Tatneft Arena was particularly interesting. The goalkeeper started the current season with Ak Bars, but failed to secure a place in the team and was sent to Sibir.

Berdin got involved when the score was 0:2

The first five minutes were dominated by Alexander Ivanov. The 18-year-old Ak Bars defender dangerously attacked the Sibir goal twice. The guests' goalkeeper Berdin did not cope with the young hockey player's shots without difficulty. In general, Kazan was more active than their opponent at the beginning of the match.

Towards the middle of the period, Berdin started to make mistakes. The Sibir goalkeeper managed to correct his mistake at first, but a minute later he conceded. Semenov shot from a zero angle into the goalkeeper's gear, from where the puck bounced into the net along with Berdin — 1:0.

After the goal, the game calmed down. Both teams had difficulty bringing their attacks to a shot, mostly fumbling in the centre of the rink. The referees tried to wake up the hockey players by giving the home team the opportunity to play with an extra player. The majority of Kazan players was memorable only for the unpleasant injury of the Sibir forward Mikhail Abramov.

Then the goals started to fly in. First, Ak Bars scored. Dmitry Katelevsky perfectly adjusted Artur Brovkin's long shot — 2:0. Then Ivan Klimovich fought in front of the Ak Bars goal, and Timur Akhiyarov sent the puck into the net with one touch — 2:1. Immediately after that, Novosibirsk launched a beautiful counterattack, which was completed by an accurate shot from Anton Kosolapov — 2:2.

In the third period, the Ak Bars hockey players became more active. Kazan launched a flurry of shots at the Sibir goal, but the guests' defence, led by Berdin, played without mistakes. The power play also did not go well for the Bars. In overtime, the teams could not determine the winner, and in the shootout, the Sibir hockey players were more accurate.

The Far Eastern tour hit the Bars hard

Meanwhile, Ak Bars has extended its series without victories over Sibir in Kazan to eight matches. The Siberian team is currently the most uncomfortable opponent for the Bars in the KHL. The last time Kazan beat the team from Novosibirsk at home was back in October 2020. Since then, it has been a struggle.

The current loss was influenced by the Far Eastern trip. Gatiaytulin spoke about this after the game. However, in terms of the game and movement on the ice, Ak Bars had a good match. However, the difficulties of the long flight were compounded by Berdin's motivation, who had a «game of a lifetime» against his former team.

«We understood that the Far Eastern tour needed to be completed correctly not only in terms of performance, but also to avoid consequences. The movement was good, we spent a lot of effort to take a two-goal lead and lost it so easily. After 2:2, there was a lot of activity, we could have avoided the shootout», Gatiaytulin said.

«I communicate with Valiullin every day»

But everyone was more interested in the upcoming deadline than the loss to Sibir. The main topic of Gatiaytulin's conversation with the press was the upcoming deadline. There are a little over 24 hours left until the end of the KHL transfer window, and the club still does not have a clear decision on some of the team's players.

First of all, the talk is about Yashkin. It is obvious that the team may have communication problems within the team if the disgraced forward stays at Ak Bars. But the club, apparently, does not have a clear option for trading the hockey player.

Gatiaytulin also could not answer the question about transfers. However, the coach said that he communicates with the club's general manager Marat Valiullin every day on the topic of strengthening the team.

«There is no point in specifying positions, we need to wait until the end of the deadline and then talk about this topic. I have already said how this process works. The team is formed in the spring and summer, during the championship we look at whether this roster provides the expected performance. Then we report to the management and discuss how we can strengthen our squad. Of course, we communicate with Valiullin every day, these issues are resolved in the office. But now there is no point in talking about anything without specifics», Gatiaytulin said.

Ak Bars — Sibir — 2:3 (1:0, 1:2, 0:0, 0:0, 0:1)
Goals:
1:0 — Semenov (Knyazev, Pustozerov, 08:01);
2:0 — Katelevsky (Brovkin, Dynyak, 34:41);
2:1 — Akhiyarov (Klimovich, Kosolapov, 35:15);
2:2 — Kosolapov (Alanov, Bek, 36:23);
2:3 — Wilson (decisive shootout goal).

Ak Bars will play their next match on January 28 in Kazan against Salavat Yulaev at 19:00 Moscow time. Interestingly, based on the situation in the Eastern Conference table, it seems that there will be a Tatar-Bashkir confrontation in the first round of the playoffs. So the upcoming match could be a showcase of the rosters that the teams will need to start the fight for the Gagarin Cup with.