Blues 2025-2026 Prospect Thread
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ExJbeck
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Матвей Короткий: «Я хотел хлопнуть дверью перед выпуском из МХЛ, но что-то пошло не так»: Новости
Матвей Короткий: «Я хотел хлопнуть дверью перед выпуском из МХЛ, но что-то пошло не так»: последние новости на официальном сайте Континентальной хоккейной лиги (КХЛ)
www.khl.ru
Matvey Korotky: “I wanted to slam the door before leaving the MHL, but something went wrong”
In an exclusive interview with the official MHL website, Matvey Korotky talked about his injury, return to SKA-1946, the KHL All-Star Game, and physical play.
Matvey Korotky is one of the brightest young players in the KHL. In his debut MHL season, he did not play for SKA-1946 in the playoff elimination games due to his young age and strong competition. A year later, he scored 14 points in 18 playoff games and lifted the Kharlamov Cup. The following season was even more eventful: in December, he was called up to the first team, later scored a hat trick in a Challenge Cup game, and participated in the KHL All-Star Game. In 30 games for SKA, he scored nine points, and when the army team was eliminated from the Gagarin Cup, he returned to SKA-1946, became a key player, and reached the Kharlamov Cup final.
In October 2025, a serious injury sidelined him for three months. Upon recovery, Korotky couldn’t immediately regain peak condition but still managed to contribute on the ice. After the first round of the Gagarin Cup, he rejoined SKA-1946, but this time did not win any medals and finished the season with a series against Krasnaya Armiya.
“In SKA, the approach to mistakes has changed; before, they just weren’t allowed”
— What are you up to in mid-May?— I go to the gym, visit the ice rink a couple of times a week to stay in shape. At the end of May, I’ll go to Vietnam to rest, and from the beginning of June, I’ll start preparing for the season.
— Was it unusual to end the season in early April?
— Yes, it was something new. Before that, I played two seasons in the Kharlamov Cup finals. In April, I was eliminated in the first playoff round with two teams, and it hit me hard. It gave me a lot to think about and work on.
— Who hit you hard?
— Myself.
— Do you reflect on frustrating losses?
— Yes, sometimes I beat myself up. It was hard to play for SKA-1946 after SKA’s elimination; I couldn’t quickly adjust. After the season ended, I was definitely sad for a couple of days.
— What helped you start this season so well?
— I was put in a young line with Polyakov and Dishkovsky, and then Romanov joined. Coaches trusted us: they let us play and make mistakes, but we tried to immediately correct them. That approach helped the whole team. So I highlight trust, skill execution, and passion on the ice.
— Has the cost of mistakes changed compared to last season?
— Not so much the cost of mistakes as the approach to them. At SKA, everyone realized you can make mistakes, but it’s important to handle them correctly. Before, mistakes were critical; they simply couldn’t happen. I can’t say Larionov’s coaching staff never scolded us for errors. If they repeated, the player could be benched—that happens on every team.
— What else changed at SKA after the coaching staff changed?
— We started passing more, often following the “pass—open—receive—shoot” scheme.
— What did you improve compared to last season?
— In the summer, I focused on strength training to be bigger, tougher, and persistent. I also worked on my legs, though people still say I’m slow. I partly agree. I’m not running like Dishkovsky, but I’m not slow either—let’s just say I have average speed. I mainly improved my understanding of the game at the KHL level. My pre-game prep, nutrition, and warm-up routine changed too. I started going to bed earlier, sleeping more, reducing physical load on game days, and resting more.
— What does your ideal game day look like?
— I wake up at eight, eat depending on the game time: if it’s at 5 p.m., I skip breakfast; if at 7, I eat. At 8:30, I leave for warm-ups, which start at 10:00. After warm-ups, I drink protein and go to the hotel. I have lunch, nap for an hour, take coffee, and go to the game.
— Did you give anything up in your diet?
— On game days, I eat pasta with meat; other days, just a salad with fish or meat. Basically, no carbs on regular days.
— In your second KHL season, did you calmly face star opponents?
— There were never really “wow” players for me. I’m already in this league; everyone’s the same. You just go out and play. For example, there’s Sasha Radulov, who provokes everyone—you can respond in kind.
— And what did you say to him?
— I don’t remember exactly. He talked to everyone; you lose count of the exchanges.
— Was it unusual to start the season in the same line with your MHL friends?
— It was really unusual but pleasant. Last season at SKA-1946, I talked with Ignat Lutfullin and Matvey Polyakov: “This is our last year in the MHL… What’s next?” Lutfullin said: “Next, we go to the KHL! I’m sure all of us will make it.” And indeed, the young players were gradually brought into the lineup. If they hadn’t earned the coaches’ trust, they wouldn’t have played. We tried hard to benefit SKA, so we secured our spots. Of course, there were negatives, but everyone experiences that.
“Kovalenko and I ‘fought’ in all five games”
— Did the October injury prevent you from playing your best hockey?— Definitely. Before the injury, I had my best stretch in a senior career, was in great form. Recovery took three months, and it was hard to get back into rhythm. After seven games back, I had a “minus 8,” and thought: “Maybe it’s time to quit?” Just joking. I reached initial form only by playoffs, but it wasn’t enough to compete at full strength. I ended the season far from my peak.
— Did you analyze how the injury happened?
— I went to battle in the corner, saw Elesin coming to hit me, and had no choice but to hit back. We collided, I flew forward, he backward. I was faster, and if I had stopped, nothing would have happened. I just went in full speed from center ice. During recovery, I didn’t load my leg for two months. Two weeks before returning, I started cycling and went back on ice.
— Did participating in the KHL All-Star Game affect your mental state?
— Of course. It helped me reset, and my game improved. The All-Star Week allows rest, recharge, and leisure. Hockey players are treated to nice dinners, especially on the first day. Everyone enjoys the atmosphere at the All-Star Game.
— Why couldn’t you get past CSKA in the first round of the Gagarin Cup?
— Besides finishing, we lacked luck and played defense poorly.
— Are on-ice clashes with Moscow teams pure emotion or calculated?
— Clashes happen in every playoff game—it’s the essence of playoffs. Some players ignore it; some engage. You can gain a numbers advantage on those who engage.
— Did you provoke opponents too?
— Kovalenko and I “fought” all five games. After the series handshake, I said: “We never really fought…” He said: “No, but you got to me!” I tried. I didn’t aim to provoke, but if someone came to the crease, I joined the scrap calmly.
— Ready to drop the gloves if needed?
— Of course. I once told Kovalenko at a faceoff: “Let’s drop!” He said: “Sure,” but we never did. Later, we laughed about it.
— Any barrier if the opponent is ten years older?
— Even forty! What difference does it make?
— Comfortable with KHL playoff physicality?
— Absolutely. I’ve always liked physical play since the MHL, and KHL playoffs were no exception. I enjoy legal hits that benefit the team. In the series with CSKA, emotions pushed me to show my best, so I fought hard.
— Muscle gain since last year?
— I added about 3–4 kg. Now I weigh 88 kg at 187 cm.
— Always tough on the ice?
— Yes. Even in my first MHL season, I could handle people physically. I never feared hitting opponents or receiving hits. It’s part of the game. In MHL, I even made videos of my hits. People flipped over and hit the glass.
— Any role models?
— No one in particular. My idol has always been my dad; I admire his determination.
— Why no progress in faceoffs in your second KHL season?
— Before injury, I had over 50% faceoff
— Why didn’t your faceoff numbers improve in your second KHL season?
— Before the injury, I was winning over 50% of my faceoffs. After I returned, I didn’t take many draws at first because of my leg—I was afraid of ending up back in rehab. When you’re taking 15–20 faceoffs a game against grown men, it leaves its mark too. I weigh 88 kg, while Karnaukhov weighs 105. Why would I leave my hands exposed against him in the faceoff circle? The difference in muscle mass is very noticeable on draws, especially against someone like Andrei Stas.
— How do you plan to improve your percentage?
— I’ll work on it—strengthening my wrists, forearms, and so on.
“I expected to go as far as possible and make a statement before aging out of the MHL”
— Tell us about returning to the MHL this spring.— After the loss to CSKA, I got a call saying I was joining SKA-1946. I went to see German Mikhailovich (Titov), explained everything, and we agreed that I’d skip the first game of the series because I’d just played five KHL games every other day.
— Did missing the first game help you reset emotionally?
— After losing in the first round of the Gagarin Cup, it was very hard to motivate myself for new games. I’d already been yelling at KHL players, and now I had to go back and yell at younger guys again. Everything is different in the MHL, and you need time to readjust. You also need to find emotions from somewhere, and by the end of the season I simply had none left.
— What’s unique about junior hockey?
— A year ago on the Molodyozhka podcast, I said players skate faster in the MHL than in the KHL, but that was wrong. In the Gagarin Cup playoffs, the speed was at least twice as high. At the junior level, you have more time to think and make decisions. Another difference is that MHL players stick closely to the game plan and keep things simple. At SKA, for example, we have Yegor Savikov, who can make a cross-ice pass from his backhand through the entire rink.
— Do you think you helped SKA-1946 in the first round?
— Only in the first game. I think opponents started paying much more attention to me afterward. We began trying to do everything individually instead of together, and in the final game our line was even broken up. I tried to talk to the guys and explain that nothing would work if we didn’t play as a unit.
— How did you react to German Titov’s farewell speech after the deciding game?
— Everyone understood that German Mikhailovich would finish his contract and leave the SKA system—he had said so himself. It was sad because we’d been through a lot together: winning the Kharlamov Cup, losing in the final, and being knocked out in the first round. I always tried to help him. He always believed in us. He knows how to approach every player. If someone is struggling, he won’t yell—he’ll call him in, talk, give advice, and offer another chance.
— Can you see Titov becoming a KHL head coach?
— Absolutely. If he’s given trust and time, he’ll build a very good team.
— How was the sadness of losing in the final different from being eliminated in the first round?
— I expected to go as far as possible and make a statement before aging out of the MHL. We had a great team. SKA-1946 was no weaker than Loko or Spartak, who played in the Kharlamov Cup final. Something just went wrong.
— What did the MHL give you?
— A new version of myself. I matured, started doing more than I did in youth hockey, and changed my approach to the game.
— What are your funniest memories from your junior career?
— Everything that happened the night we won the championship and the next day. Those are my brightest memories. I also remember all the bus trips in the MHL—they were the funniest times. Back then SKA-1946 still had Romanov, Lazutin, Koromyslov, and others. We’d be laughing so hard on the way to games, then go out and play as if we’d been on the same team forever. That championship-winning SKA-1946 team will always have a place in my heart.
Now at SKA we still have fun—we joke around and tell funny stories—but I can’t exactly mess with 36-year-old Sergei Plotnikov the way I did with teammates my age.
— Who had the best sense of humor on that championship SKA-1946 team?
— Koromyslov constantly teased everyone. The whole back row of the bus was on fire: me, Lutfullin, Romanov, Lazutin, Sinyatkin, Remezovsky, Vydrenkov, and Koromyslov. The amount of trash-talking back there was unbelievable.
“Lokomotiv is my least favorite opponent in the KHL because they’re a team of robots”
— How do you avoid letting success go to your head when, at 20, you’ve already played in All-Star Games, won individual awards with SKA, lifted the Kharlamov Cup, and attracted a lot of media and fan attention?— If you achieve something and stop working, that’s the end. But if you carry that burden forward, something can come of it. My goals helped keep me grounded. I treated every achievement as something normal. Every call-up or opportunity is something earned through work. On a long road, there are many small checkpoints, and I just keep moving from one to the next until my career is over.
— Is your tendency to avoid media during the season superstition or personality?
— Both. I know who I can talk to and when. I’ll always answer certain people, but I’m careful with strangers. I’ve already experienced situations where my words were taken out of context and published incorrectly. So in the media, my settings are basically “friends only.”
— Are you emotional?
— Sometimes. When the team loses and I’m not playing well, I can lose my temper. I don’t really get angry at others anymore. In the MHL I sometimes snapped at teammates, but over time I realized that I should first demand more from myself. Sometimes emotions get in the way on the ice, but I try to control them. I cool down quickly.
— What does SKA think of your hairstyle?
— They’re fine with it. Only Sergei Plotnikov keeps teasing me. He says, “Get a haircut already—you’ll finally look human!” One day I probably will. Long hair might just get annoying. Besides, I was bald as a kid. I don’t believe in superstitions that a haircut can affect your game. Or that if you get out of bed on the wrong foot you won’t score. That’s nonsense. Everything depends on you.
— How much is your computer worth?
— Less than 200,000 rubles.
— How many hours do you have in Counter-Strike?
— Around 7,000.
— What hurt more: losing Game 7 of a final or breaking your leg?
— Losing Game 7.
— What felt better: scoring four goals against Akademiya Mikhaylova or three against Sochi?
— The hat trick against Sochi. The KHL is a completely different level.
— Pass to an empty net or score top corner?
— Pass to the empty net.
— Best young player in the KHL?
— Ivan Patrikhaev.
— Best player on SKA?
— Marat Khairullin.
— Strictest coach in your career?
— Dmitry Sergeyevich Tsyganov.
— Favorite KHL opponent?
— Neftekhimik. The team plays hockey and lets others play too.
— Least favorite opponent?
— Lokomotiv, because they’re a team of robots.
— What is strength?
— Desire.
The title quote—“I wanted to slam the door before leaving the MHL, but something went wrong”—is a Russian idiom meaning he hoped to make one last big statement or memorable run before aging out of junior hockey, but things didn’t work out as planned.
Probably because they have better pizza than St. Louis.
Memento
Future Authoress.
I made the mention if Dvorsky pans out (which I hope he does), Korotky would slot in just behind him (as a #2) and Thomas. I'm hoping for the best with Dvorsky; might as well hope for the best with the young players on your team, because it does no good to think that the future will fail.
I'd rather be a homer than a realist. I've spent too much time in the Asylum to be anything less than a homer towards my teams, so long as they have a plan as to where they're going.
Brian39
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I try very hard not to let myself get excited about late round Russians, because for every Kaprizov/Panarin there are dozens of guys who outproduce expectations early in their KHL careers and never amount to anything close to an NHL contributor.
But I love his game every time I see highlights. So many of his goals look like NHL goals.
For now, I will continue to do what I always do with late rounders exceeding expectations: almost fully ignore them in my long-term planning/projecting while quietly hoping we lucked into a diamond in the rough who can eventually come over and create one of those awesome "problems" of having an NHL log jam.
Well shit guys Korotky said he has 7000 hours in Counter-Strike, that's like the Russian Fortnite, gg.
I meant "number 2 fangirl" lol. I got real high hopes for Korotky.
Memento
Future Authoress.
OMG, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE A GIRL AS WELL!
But seriously, I've been on Korotky for a while, even made the prospect thread of him on the mains. Love a lot of how he plays the game. The thing that often gets underrated about him is his sheer physicality. He's able to keep the puck in his possession with a solid body and stick, able to lay solid stick checks on opponents to help strip them of the puck, and even the goals he scores are laced with physicality and a heavy shot.
And now he's actually bigger and stronger than he was before. That's the part that seriously makes me think he can make it, if he ever decides to come over.
We traded him along with pick 15 and 29 for Dylan Larkin
Real hockey players do blow and chain smoke cigarettes until 3am at the strip clubs. What’s with these kids today? Where are their priorities?
The big knock on him will be his skating speed, but everything else seems to already be in place for him. He doesn't seem to agree with the skating criticisms, and FWIW I don't either. In my viewings, I've rarely seen him arrive late, and his separation gear looks more than adequate to me. I also think people default to criticizing "skating" as an umbrella category of not liking something undefinable about a guy. But that's neither here nor there.OMG, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE A GIRL AS WELL!
But seriously, I've been on Korotky for a while, even made the prospect thread of him on the mains. Love a lot of how he plays the game. The thing that often gets underrated about him is his sheer physicality. He's able to keep the puck in his possession with a solid body and stick, able to lay solid stick checks on opponents to help strip them of the puck, and even the goals he scores are laced with physicality and a heavy shot.
And now he's actually bigger and stronger than he was before. That's the part that seriously makes me think he can make it, if he ever decides to come over.
I think Korotky's floor is a bigger, RH center version of Barbashev. I have so much time for players like that. My main fear with Russian prospects is that they just want to focus on offense, and the reality is that you can't really do that in the NHL. Korotky doesn't seem to think that way at all. He's got a true 200-foot game, and that leads to his offensive production, which is at the top of the pile for our prospect pool. To me, that's a recipe for translating directly to the North American game. Once his contract is up with SKA, I think he's going to slot in right away.
Snubbed4Vezina
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Brian39
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I think that is an insanely optimistic floor.
Barby just had his 5th consecutive 45+ point season. He topped 60 points in 2 of those years and had another 51 point (in 70 games) season sprinkled in there. Almost all of that production is without PP time. He was 24th in even strength points this year. Over the last 5 seasons he is 45th in even strength points and 58th in even strength goals.
He has played on the top line of a Cup Final team twice in the last 4 years and is a hitting machine. 18 points in 22 playoff games in his Cup win with Vegas and 14 points through 21 games this year while being 2nd and 1st on the team in hits in those runs.
I think that is a hell of a lot closer to Korotky's ceiling than his floor.
STL fan in MN
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Did Yzerman and Army forget to tell him?
They forgot to tell him, didn’t they?..
—————————————————————-
My real guess would be that since it’s pretty darn hard for Russians to get a visa to the USA right now, maybe the more viable route currently is going to Canada and then into the States. So maybe he’s only in Detroit because that’s where he crossed?
Idk, just a guess. I recall Zherenko had to go through some sort of series of countries like that to get here. But hopefully this is a sign Buchelnikov will be in STL for Development Camp next month.
Does anyone think Buchelnikov could come over at the end of this season or next year and compete for a spot on the Blues? He seems like he could have top 6 upside. It would be nice to get him and Korotky to come over next year. Hopefully they are both at development camp this year. I believe Korotky planned to come to camp last year but was not allowed by his KHL team.
It is pretty crazy to think we have now added Gastrin. As he just turned 19, do you put him in the CHL for a year and hope for his offense to take off a bit?
And where does he fall in our current pool?
And where does he fall in our current pool?
Memento
Future Authoress.
Loved Gastrin in his draft year. I think he’s got middle-six center (most likely third line) upside. Great on the dot, solid 200 foot player, great passer, high IQ. Maybe he’s not going to be an elite offensive center, but I could see him get to fifty points at his peak, along with providing excellent all-ice ability.
I’ve heard Boone Jenner comps, and I don’t think it’s far off.
I had him 19. While that may have been optimistic, I’m not sure I see huge difference between him and guy like command.
Memento
Future Authoress.
19 as in his draft or 19 as in the pool? I could agree with the former, have him higher in the latter (unless we do use all of our picks, in which case, I agree).
aceoutdoor
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