Fans discuss candidates for head coach of Khabarovsk SKA-Neftyanik

So far the hockey club has not announced the name of who will lead the team, which gives room for imagination

Loud but expected news about the resignation of Mikhail Pashkin who headed SKA-Neftyanik in 2022 and together with him won the Cup and Super Cup of the country, as well as gold finalist of the Russian Championship not only excited all Russian hockey fans, but also gave rise to many speculations – who will lead the team after Pashkin Jr.?

The club is keeping silent for now and one can understand it – negotiations are underway, they will report after the fact. And in publics Khabarovsk and not only Khabarovsk fans of this sport are in full swing. There are three candidates among the favorites – Dmitry Shchetinin, Ivan Maksimov and, oddly enough, Mikhail Yuryev (after 9 years, and then another year in Khabarovsk SKA, it is not so easy for fans to part with this mentor).

Skeptics immediately dismiss Yuriev, saying that the coach now works as the sports director of his native Novosibirsk Sibselmash and in Khabarovsk after two breakups not even a foot. The first time he was replaced by Mikhail Sveshnikov and Ilyas Khandaev, the second by Mikhail Pashkin. Optimists still continue to hope – where there are two, there are three, and Mikhail Yuryevich, they believe, is a top-class mentor and is clearly bored without coaching work in the elite, and leaving for Novosibirsk is more like an honorary exile.

Dmitry Shchetinin is another sports director who took this post after he was replaced on the coaching bridge of Kuzbass by the same ambitious Ilyas Khandaev. Surely Shchetinin would not mind leading a new Super League team for himself as a coach (as a player he played for SKA-Neftyanik in 2002 – 2004). In the opinion of experts, this is the most likely candidate.

Ivan Maksimov is the current head coach of Vodnik, who took this post after Ilyas Khandayev left Arkhangelsk, continuing the race for gold. And the question arises: what needs to be offered to the coach of one of the most promising hockey teams in the country so that he takes off and goes to Khabarovsk? Moreover, he became the head of Vodnik only six months ago. And especially since next year the club will celebrate a more than significant date – the centenary of its founding. Well, perhaps the climate at the mouth of the Northern Dvina is less suitable for him than on the banks of the Amur. Experts believe this is the least likely candidate. But in our bandy anything can happen.

The list of candidates compiled by the fans also includes a “dark horse” – an athlete who has not yet declared his coaching ambitions. This is Vasily Granovsky – ex-captain of SKA-Neftyanik. Fans of Russian hockey doubt that the first deputy director of the club (this is what Granovsky’s position now sounds like) will want to change his chair in the administration to the chair of the head coach. Well, what if? Evgeniy Ivanushkin, also at one time raised reasonable doubts (young, inexperienced), until he became one of the best super league mentors.

At the same time telegram channel Bandyvesti launched an anonymous survey among its subscribers: “Who will be the new head coach of SKA-Neftyanik?” So far (Friday morning) 635 people have voted. The answer “Someone else, whose name is not well-known” is in the lead – 34 percent of the votes, Ivan Maksimov is in second place – 23 percent, Pavel Franz is in third – 21 percent, Mikhail Yuryev is fourth (19 percent), Alexey Kuzmin closes the list – 3%. For some reason, Dmitry Shchetinin was not in the survey.

Well, the most incredible option is that Mikhail Sveshnikov will spit on his family circumstances in Sweden and return to Khabarovsk again, bringing us Tony Lindqvist and another Mäattya, but we don’t believe in it. There is not long to wait – the championship starts in November and there is less and less time for preparation. In addition, it is worth considering that with a change in head coach, rotation of players is inevitable and the new squad will need to be “tuned” and prepared for ice battles. Still, the current champion must fight to the end.

Read also: Mikhail Pashkin – goodbye: head coach of Khabarovsk SKA-Neftyanik resigned. The contract with the army coach, under whose leadership SKA scored a winning hat-trick last season, was terminated

Khabarovsk SKA-Neftyanik lost to Dynamo Moscow in the quarterfinals and dropped out of the fight for the Russian Cup. The match ended with a score that in this case can be called devastating – 5:1