NZEL SEASON 28 PREVIEW: POWER RANKINGS 1. TORPEDO BELUSHYA GUBATorpedo has elite players at every position.
Anatoly Kasputin has captained his native Elejamie to two World Cup of Hockey victories and is one of the best players in the world. When you add in pieces like defenseman
Dmitriy Chupalov and
Iosif Bezukladnikov in net, this is a team that should be able to beat anyone.
2. UNITIA CITY WANDERERSThe Wanderers are defending champions and deservedly so. They are probably the team with the best depth in the league, and they have had no major changes to their roster in the off season. They are extremely tough to beat at home. However, their tough travel schedule might impact their performance on the road. Still, they will be up there when the season winds down.
3. PARTIZAN BELUSHYA GUBAPartizan had a disappointing season last year, missing the playoffs for the first time in forever. Still, we feel they have too many quality pieces to not be among the contenders this year.
Krasimir Yerokhin might be getting up there in age, but their offense still features a number of high end players. Coach
Andy Bailey has had a season to implement his system, and it is only a matter of time before it all falls into place.
4. METALLURG MATOCHKINGRADMetallurg never came close to repeating their season 26 double, when they won both the NZEL and HCL championships. They should do better this year, and should be able to sneak into the top 4, but we don't consider contenders right now. They do have a pair of elite wingers in
Ethan Swinburne and
Zakhar Golumbovsky, but they could use some reinforcements at the center position (captain
Aleksei Lubashev has lost a step or two), or perhaps an elite #1 defenseman to really get things going.
5. ANTIPHA UNITEDThe Tors had a bad year last season and are due to bounce back. Even though hockey in general seems to have taken a step back in Alphatheta, the team still has most of their core from their season 25 championship, and
Wilson Wilson is a quality coach. Forward
Ožbej Althaus looked like a legit star in the making before he ran into injury problems - if he can stay healthy he has the ability to lead the Tors to glory.
6. SEVERNAYA OBLASTFinished in a somewhat surprising second place last season, before crashing out in the quarterfinals. Their poor financial situation and undesirable location is forcing them to rely on youth development, something they do better than most clubs. Still, they need more than just
Pavel Solomakhin and good tactical systems to challenge the big dogs. Look for another QF exit this year.
7. SHAKHTER ULYANOVSKShakhter are always in the playoff picture and this season will likely be no exception. The
Foma Khabalov -
Danis Mironov duo up front and solid defense will go a long way. In order to go deep, however, they need to get some secondary scoring from their depth forwards. May we suggest they go shopping abroad for some offensive help?
8. ROTOR ROGACHEVOThe acquisition of phenom
Valeri Kalagin last off-season has made Rotor relevant again, and he is likely to drag his team into the playoffs again. In order to avoid another QF exit, however, they are going to need to find better wingers for him.
Vladimir Gerasimenko or
Vyacheslav Ugolev could turn into that elite winger, but we would not bet on it.
9. LOKOMOTIV NEZNAEMYSurprisingly made the the semifinals and qualified for Hockey Champions League last year, much due to the
Pollock brothers from Mercedini on their blueline. We suspect this year will be tougher for Lokomotiv, as opponents will take them seriously now. We predict that they will be in the mix for most of the season but narrowly miss the playoffs in the end.
10. AVANGARD OKTYABRGRADAvangard went from relegation playoffs to semifinalists in one year. They will likely have trouble repeating their success, though. Avangard has great goaltending, great defense - and not much else.
Andreios Rusus is turning into a scoring threat and many Avangard fans feel
Kyrillos Muratus should have selected him for the Ficiscian WCoH team. Behind Rusus however, there is not much going on offensively and that will be Avangard's downfall, as usual.
11. STOLITSA ARKTIKIThey have the biggest fan base in Novaya Zemlya, the biggest arena and a good financial situation, yet they never manage to put it together on the ice. Last year, the wheels fell of completely and they finished in a disappointing 13th place. They will likely do slightly better this year, but the competition is tougher than ever so we don't expect much improvement.
Edgar Rozovsky is probably a candidate for "first coach to be fired" this year.
12. NEW OKSFJORD DONSThe Dons struggled last season and would have found themselves in the relegation playoffs if not for a spectacularly bad performance from Krasnaya Zarya down the stretch. A relegation would likely have killed the hopes of growing the game in the Kingdom - hockey is still a niche sport over there and the Dons have struggled with bad attendance numbers. With another year of experience under their belt, we expect the team to fare better this year. Their top players looked gassed at the end of last season, and could use some help. Let's hope their front office doesn't continue to sit on its hands.
13. AKADEMIK SAKHANINSKAkademik is in financial trouble and the on-ice performance reflects it. They went from consistent playoff team to basement dweller in a short time span, and in order for that to change, they need their young talent, like
Akim Kurtanidze and
Mehmet Frolov, to take another step and also take a hometown discount on their next contracts. Will it happen? We don't know.
14. DYNAMO PODREZOVSKDynamo were in a playoff position for much of last season but fell off towards the end and finished in 10th place.
Zigurds Zimulis is a legit star and should be in the discussion for Team Novaya Zemlya at the next World Cup of Hockey, but the rest of the team is just not good enough.
15. ZVEZDA ROZHNOVGORSKZvezda continues to do a good job with very limited resources. They just don't have enough quality players. They should be able to avoid relegation though, and that is pretty much all they can realistically hope for.
16. KARSKOE MOREThe newcomers from Division II are in for a tough season. The gap between the NZEL and Division II is probably bigger than ever, and KM have not made enough moves to solidify their roster.
Anton Kriutckov has been among the best Division II forwards for a long time and will likely do OK against NZEL defenders. The rest of the team - not so much.