VP of Russian Hockey Federation appoints himself head coach of KHL team he partially owns
A very strange story out of the KHL and one that won't do anything to help the league's reputation. Roman Rotenberg - first vice-president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, general manager of the Russia national team, Deputy Chairman of the KHL board, Deputy Chairman of the SKA Hockey Club board of directors, and SKA CEO and vice-president - has been "appointed" head coach of SKA St. Petersberg. Appointed is in quotations marks here as many feel that Rotenberg named himself head coach of the team given his position of authority. The story gets stranger.
First of all, there seems to be little reason for this coaching change. SKA is first in its division, second in its conference and one of the top teams in the league. Secondly, former head coach Valeri Bragin has not been fired. Instead, he is staying on as "senior coach" while Rotenberg takes over the role of head coach.
For context, Rotenberg's family is incredibly rich and have been involved in hockey in Russia for decades. The entire family is also major supporters of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Rotenberg has no experience coaching and this move seems to have come out of nowhere. Fans of the league were noticeably skeptical following the announcement on Twitter.
What a joke.... No one can take this league seriously after this— kimmo federley (@kimmofederley) January 4, 2022
pic.twitter.com/Ksduh6nAPS— Iiro Sorsa (@navixofficial) January 4, 2022
This is only possible in Russia and KHL! pic.twitter.com/ztbj2cL3Vi— Paciano Bonemachina (@bonemachina) January 4, 2022
Hey yo, April Fool's is still months away.— Janne Jokitalo (@astraljava) January 4, 2022
Why this move was made is anyone's guess. It may have been due to Rotenberg's ego more than anything. That said, it certainly doesn't help the KHL's push to be taken more seriously in the hockey world.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Claude Giroux | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Oliver Kylington | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||