A nightmarish majority, "zero" leaders, and Yarullin unexpectedly the best

      First takeaways from Ak Bars’ season start

      Photo: Dinar Fatyhov

      On Wednesday Ak Bars played its first home game of the season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). But the debut was unsuccessful. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team suffered a heavy 3:6 defeat to Avtomobilist. Kazan’s goalkeepers conceded the same number of goals in their last match in Kazan in the previous playoffs, when they were routed 1:6 by Moscow Dynamo. Moreover, this loss was already the team’s second in three games this season. What is behind Ak Bars’ poor start — in a report by Realnoe Vremya.

      Problem in the first period

      Ak Bars began the season with a road trip to Magnitogorsk and Omsk. In the first game of the season the Bars lost to Metallurg (3:4 in a shootout) only on penalties. However, during the match the team had to come back twice — from 0:2 and 2:3. In the first period the Ural side overwhelmed Gatiyatulin’s charges with speed; the Kazan players could barely exit their zone, and ended up down by two goals.

      Dinar Fatyhov / realnoevremya.ru

      The same pattern repeated in the second game, this time in Omsk against Avangard. The final result was positive (2:1 in favor of the Bars), but the opening period belonged to the home team in terms of initiative. Unlike the game in Magnitogorsk, this time Ak Bars managed to score first. Grigory Denisenko’s accurate shot after one of the rare counterattacks opened the scoring. After that the Kazan side operated from a position well-suited to their style, forcing the opponent to open up and adapt to the Bars’ conditions. The Omsk side came slowly into the season and could not respond.

      Against Avtomobilist the start of the first period was the best of the three matches for the Greens. But two factors coincided. First, it was the debut home game in front of their own fans. Second, the visitors took a penalty almost from the opening faceoff. Ak Bars took full advantage of the situation, immediately pressing Nikolai Zavarukhin’s team and taking the lead. But by the end of the period everything returned “to normal.” Avtomobilist increased their pace and aggression, the Kazan players began to make mistakes and conceded twice. Gatiyatulin even called a timeout, but it did not have a decisive effect on the overall result.

      “After analyzing last season we identified one of the main tasks — to avoid the storms that happened in certain stretches. There were mistakes here too, so I decided to take a pause. It seemed we regained the advantage, but then we made mistakes in our own end,” Gatiyatulin admitted after the game in Kazan.

      Dinar Fatyhov / realnoevremya.ru

      The Chelyabinsk experience

      Storms occur in both directions for Ak Bars. For example, after uninspiring first periods the Kazan team often plays very strong second twenty-minute stretches. The team’s area of strength can be called the period from the 25th to the 30th minute. In that interval Gatiyatulin’s team scored against Metallurg and Avangard. They should also have equalized in the game with Avtomobilist. But the hosts did not convert their chances, and Metallurg forward Reid Boucher expertly capitalized on a defensive mistake. Ak Bars went chasing the game and ran into three straight conceded goals.

      At the start of the season such emotional and gameplay swings happen — there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s too early to draw far-reaching conclusions. At the same time it’s worth keeping in mind that the Bars face a tough schedule. In upcoming matches the team will play at home against Metallurg, Neftekhimik (the Tatar derby), Salavat Yulaev (the green derby) and Avangard. Each of those presents its own difficulty, even if the games against struggling Nizhnekamsk and Ufa look like gimmes (to the extent any derby can be considered that).

      Dinar Fatyhov / realnoevremya.ru

      In Gatiyatulin’s coaching career it has happened that his team entered a season as one of the conference favorites and then ran into problems. Traktor stalled at the start two years ago despite having a decent roster on paper. Of course, it’s too early to compare, but something similar could happen at Ak Bars. There’s no sense of stability in Kazan’s play and there is a risk of repeating the Chelyabinsk experience of the coach.

      Yarullin — the best

      The best player for Ak Bars in these matches has been Albert Yarullin. The Kazan native somehow finished the game with a +2 plus-minus despite the six goals conceded by Avtomobilist, becoming the only Kazan defenseman not to finish with a minus. And this amid talks of Yarullin’s salary potentially being cut to make room for a full contract for Vladimir Alistrov. Although they could simply have parted ways with Canadian defenseman Wyatt Kalynyuk, who has been left off the roster for the third match in a row. Right now the foreigner is of no use.

      In the final third of the match with Avtomobilist Gatiyatulin changed the line combinations. The first line began to feature Barabanov — Safonov — Galimov, while the second had Denisenko — Semenov — Yashkin. The former Kazan captain is out of form. Maybe it’s because of his pairing with Brandon Biro, who has already been moved to the third line after an unremarkable KHL start, or maybe it’s something else. Alistrov also lost his spot; he appeared at the end of the Avtomobilist match alongside the Canadian and Aleksey Pustozorov.

      Dinar Fatyhov / realnoevremya.ru

      They also split up the two defense pairings. After several defensive mistakes the duo of attacking defensemen Nikita Lyamkin and Mitchell Miller was temporarily broken up. More reliable Alexey Marchenko and Ilya Karpukhin were paired with them. So far Gatiyatulin’s idea of a super-attacking pairing of defensemen on the top unit is not working. Nor is the power play: the team failed to convert any of nine opportunities across three matches.

      Returning to the topic, Yarullin looks like the best player in the current Ak Bars roster. It’s ironic, but only because by his role he doesn’t fit the profile of a leader for a top club, which Kazan’s team still continues to be considered by inertia. Yarullin performs the work required of him well, supports the group when he can, and acts as an experienced mentor for teammates. But the leaders should be the forwards, who have yet to show the required level. Barabanov, Galimov and Yashkin have scored just one goal between them, which only underscores the problem.

      Dinar Fatyhov / realnoevremya.ru

      “We were good at applying pressure”

      Gatiyatulin himself looks to the future with optimism. The coach is convinced that at times the team can play with pressure and adhere to the original tactics. The only thing that doesn’t yet work is avoiding a large number of mistakes.

      “We were good at applying pressure, regardless of the score. We suffocated the opponent, created many chances, but made mistakes — individual ones. But all that is fixable, we will work. We’ve only played three matches. Taking the game as a whole, not always, but in stretches we see the game we trained. We can see some of our adjustments. But we need to avoid storms, look for stability and solidity in the play,” Gatiyatulin believes.

      Dinar Fatyhov / realnoevremya.ru

      Ak Bars will play its next match on September 14 in Kazan against Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The second home game for the Kazan team must end in a win. First, the opponent has its own problems, and second, it would be unbecoming to delay victories in front of the home fans. And if not, the team will have chances in other matches. The main thing is not to plunge into a steep nosedive right at the start of the championship.

      Zulfat Shafigullin

      More news about the event:

      “Ak Bars received 111 million rubles from the KHL based on last season’s results. Meanwhile the league paid Neftekhimik 64 million rubles.

      In the 2024/25 season Ak Bars reached the Gagarin Cup quarterfinals. 16:15 11.09.2025 Komsomolskaya Pravda Kazan — Kazan”

      “Ak Bars lost to Yekaterinburg’s Avtomobilist

      Ak Bars lost its first home game of the new KHL season to Yekaterinburg’s Avtomobilist. 15:18 11.09.2025 TRK Tatarstan — Novy Vek — Kazan”

      “Nightmarish power play, ‘zero’ leaders, and Yarullin unexpectedly the best

      First takeaways from Ak Bars’ season start

      Photo: Dinar Fatyhov

      On Wednesday Ak Bars played its first home game of the season in the KHL. 15:10 11.09.2025 Realnoe Vremya — Kazan”

      Regional news on the topic:

      “Tickets for Novokuznetsk Metallurg’s first home game sold out in 28 hours

      All tickets for Metallurg’s first home game are sold out.

      Photo: RIA ‘Kuzbass’. 17:27 11.09.2025 Komsomolskaya Pravda — Kemerovo”

      “Avtomobilist piled six goals on Ak Bars

      Photo: Anastasia Sibiryakova © IA ‘Ural Meridian’ Avtomobilist secured a convincing victory over Ak Bars in the KHL match. 10:41 11.09.2025 IA Ural Meridian — Yekaterinburg”

      “Avangard will play its second match of the season against Amur

      Today, September 11, Avangard will play its second game in the new KHL season. 10:42 11.09.2025 RIA Omsk-Inform — Omsk”

      “Omsk’s Avangard will play Amur from Khabarovsk

      The match will be held at the home arena. The Hawks are still without points; the team has played one match and lost to Kazan’s Ak Bars 1:2. 09:52 11.09.2025 Channel 12 — Omsk”

      “Avtomobilist’s roster for the match against Ak Bars

      Match center

      We present Avtomobilist’s roster for the match against Ak Bars, which will take place today in Kazan and start at 21:30 Yekaterinburg time. 00:44 11.09.2025 HC Avtomobilist — Yekaterinburg”

      “Hockey: Avtomobilist ready to meet Ak Bars

      The game begins at 21:30 Yekaterinburg time.

      Hockey club Avtomobilist will play its second away game at Ak Bars on Wednesday, September 10, as part of the regular KHL championship. 14:53 10.09.2025 City Administration — Yekaterinburg”

      “Yaroslavl Lokomotiv recorded their second victory at the start of the KHL season

      Lokomotiv routed Cherepovets Severstal in a regular season Fonbet KHL match. 12:34 10.09.2025 City TV — Yaroslavl”

      “Nizhny Novgorod Start drew with Kazan’s Ak Bars-Dynamo

      Nizhny Novgorod Start drew with Kazan’s Ak Bars-Dynamo. 10:34 10.09.2025 Vremya N — Nizhny Novgorod”

      “Preview: Ak Bars — Avtomobilist

      Match center

      Avtomobilist will play its second match of the away series today. 11:35 10.09.2025 HC Avtomobilist — Yekaterinburg”

      “Forward to the Cup!

      Omsk’s Avangard lost at home to Kazan’s Ak Bars in the season opener, 1:2. 11:29 10.09.2025 IA Omskregion — Omsk”

      “Forward to the Cup!

      Omsk’s Avangard lost at home to Kazan’s Ak Bars in the season opener, 1:2. 11:13 10.09.2025 Omskaya Pravda — Omsk”

      “Slip at the start

      Omsk’s Avangard lost at home to Kazan’s Ak Bars in the season opener, 1:2. 08:29 10.09.2025 IA Omskregion — Omsk”

      “Hockey players of Start have practically lost their chances to reach the Russian Cup playoffs

      After a draw with Ak Bars-Dynamo from Kazan, Start’s chances of finishing in the top four in the West are practically gone. 01:22 10.09.2025 Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod”

      “Isaev the best KHL goalie by win percentage

      The 18th Fonbet KHL season started on September 5. Over 17 seasons 387 goalies have taken the ice. 17:55 09.09.2025 Sport76.Ru — Yaroslavl”

      “In the second game of the road series Molot lost to Magnitka

      In the second game of the road series Molot lost to Magnitka 3:1.

      The opening segment was marked by sharp exchanges and plenty of physical play. 19:48 09.09.2025 HC Molot — Perm”