WC: Team Kazakhstan 2025

[Khokhlach86]

Final roster

Goalkeepers: Jalal-Ad-Din Amirbekov (Magnitka, Magnitogorsk, VHL), Sergei Kudryavtsev (Arlan, Kokshetau), Maxim Pavlenko (Ryazan - VDV, Ryazan, VHL);

Defenders: Adil Beketaev, Samat Daniyar, Tamirlan Gaitamirov, Artem Korolev (all - Barys, Astana, KHL), Dmitry Breus (Torpedo, Nizhny Novgorod, KHL), Leonid Metalnikov (Admiral, Vladivostok, KHL) Eduard Mikhailov (Arlan, Kokshetau), Valery Orekhov (Metallurg, Magnitogorsk, KHL);

Forwards: Alikhan Asetov, Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan, Batyrlan Muratov, Maxim Mukhametov, Alikhan Omirbekov, Kirill Panyukov, Kirill Savitsky, Roman Starchenko (all - Barys, Astana, KHL), Vladimir Volkov (Arlan, Kokshetau), Vyacheslav Kolesnikov (Nomad, Astana), Artem Likhotnikov (Humo, Tashkent), Nikita Mikhailis (Metallurg, Magnitogorsk, KHL), Evgeny Rymarev (Unison, Moscow, VHL), Arkady Shestakov (Admiral, Vladivostok, KHL).

 

[Uleke]

meanwhile today is a friendly game Kazakhstan vs Slovenia PS. I have not seen any announcement beforehand anywhere, neither can i locate live broadcasting

 

[ozo]

Loss 2:3 against Slovenia in exhibition game, Being up 2:0, first goal allowed by Pavlenko and last two in final 20 minutes by Amirbekov. Not much to add because the game was not televised.

 

[fico zg]

Loss 2:3 against Slovenia in exhibition game, Being up 2:0, first goal allowed by Pavlenko and last two in final 20 minutes by Amirbekov. Not much to add because the game was not televised.

Slovenija – Kazahstan 3:2 (0:0, 1:2, 2:0)
Strelci: 0:1 Panjukov (Gaitamirov, Asetov, 21.), 0:2 Šestakov (Koroljov, Mihailis, 31.), 1:2 Sitar (Langus, Drozg, 37.), 2:2 Török (Gregorc, Kapel, 44.), 3:2 Kapel (Sabolič, 53.).
Kazenske minute: Slovenija 2, Kazahstan 2.

 

[Uleke]

...while one of the key player would join the team in the middle of the tournament due to his visa issues...the Kazakh officials is proved to be largest in the WC: all 20 members attends this WC....

 

[ozo]

All things considered, Kazakhstan is doing better than expected results wise, but their actual hockey is as exactly as bad as expected. Realistically even one point against Hungary eventually might be enough to avoid relegation this year.

 

[ozo]

Bleak that it seems that the best hope of Kazakhstan's survival is Norway beating Hungary by 3+ goals so in a three way tie Hungary has the worst goal difference...

This team is playing baaaaad hockey. They are not good in general, but their play is just abysmal, Pavlenko ain't it and would love to see Amirbekov in net today, but chance of that happening probably is non-existant.

But yeah, we see that this team mostly consists of players that lucked into having a pro career just because Barys at some point needed a warm body on their 4th line. Very few players are capable of making a play.

 

[SoundAndFury]

The defense should be much better than it is though: Orekhov, Breus, Metalnikov, Beketayev are all actual hockey players yet they do nothing to move the needle even against Hungary, if you don't count Orekhov's somewhat legitimate presence on the PP.

Forwards meanwhile... Latvian centers are bad yet for Kazakhstan, they would probably sacrifice a dozen of goats to get someone like Egle.

 

[weklof]

Kazakstan seems to be dropping at the junior level as well. Whens Russia and Belarus are reinstated, it'll be hard for Kazakstan to be a regular top division team I imagine

 

[SoundAndFury]

Kazakstan seems to be dropping at the junior level as well. Whens Russia and Belarus are reinstated, it'll be hard for Kazakstan to be a regular top division team I imagine

Kazakhstan certainly IS NOT dropping at the junior level. One can definitely make a point that they are making significant steps forward, but as far as the senior level goes of course it is going to be difficult for them to stay up with the new no-naturalization policy.

They used to be an elevator team with a dozen foreigners on the roster and now they need high-end talent of their own to be a viable candidate for the top division and the current pace of developing 1 player per position per 10 years is just not good enough. Especially when almost all the other teams contesting that position still employ naturalization quite liberally.

 

[weklof]

Kazakhstan certainly IS NOT dropping at the junior level. One can definitely make a point that they are making significant steps forward, but as far as the senior level goes of course it is going to be difficult for them to stay up with the new no-naturalization policy.

They used to be an elevator team with a dozen foreigners on the roster and now they need high-end talent of their own to be a viable candidate for the top division and the current pace of developing 1 player per position per 10 years is just not good enough. Especially when almost all the other teams contesting that position still employ naturalization quite liberally.

Ok, that just shows my ignorance then. I just see that nations at a similar level like Norway, Austria, Denmark and Belarus are producing NHL level prospects, but Kazakhstan hasn't produced an NHL player in almost a generation. There A team also seems quite old, so I just imagine there will be drop-off when the current core retires

 

[SoundAndFury]

Ok, that just shows my ignorance then. I just see that nations at a similar level like Norway, Austria, Denmark and Belarus are producing NHL level prospects, but Kazakhstan hasn't produced an NHL player in almost a generation. There A team also seems quite old, so I just imagine there will be drop-off when the current core retires

Kazakhstan spent 6 years at the D1B level between 2010 and 2015. Countries like Denmark, Norway, and Belarus have never been comparable to them. They would lose out the promotion battle to countries like Italy, Poland, Slovenia. So the fact that by now they have pulled away from these countries at all levels is a positive in itself.

The fact that they have never finished below Denmark at the U20 level, for example, over the last eight years is quite remarkable progress. And that we list them amongst the top 1A nations like Belarus, Norway, Denmark, Austria on merit.

At the senior level, the change takes time and Kazakhstan certainly lags behind these countries when it comes to their top prospects. They rely much more on depth in numbers that only produces "players that lucked into having a pro career just because Barys at some point needed a warm body", like ozo put it. But at the same time, if they can start adding legitimate top prospects like Makysh (or Sarkenov if we really push the definition of "top prospect") to that depth, they stand a good chance of matching the level of France at the very least. And sure, France is under constant threat of being relegated but so is Austria, for example. That hockey level is competitive and Kazakhstan can't just leapfrog it.

I don't know about the team being old either. I think other than Starchenko and Metalnikov, who are way past their prime as is, the rest of the 30+ crowd is pretty replaceable. You might think guys like Shestakov or Savitsky are pretty good but really those are guys who could barely hang in at the VHL level in their mid-20s. That kind of talent level is in abundance in Kazakhstan these days.

 

[ozo]

Kazakhstan has a terrible track record of turning their best prospects into pro hockey players. Their league + KHL team Barys is absurdly import heavy (very similar to EIHL/GB) so the local talent always plays tiny limited roles and it also suffocates development. Barys potentially will rely more on local players in future, so maybe it will become something similar to Dinamo Minsk which lately is producing good local players one after another. Also there is rumor that local league will announce harsh import player quotas, which will decrease the quality of play, but in long run it might be very beneficial for national team.

Kazakhstan in the last decade has done a lot at grassroots level to greatly increase the volume of kids picking up the game and sooner or later it will make a difference unless they obtain Russian passports like say Semyon Koshelev who would potentially have been their NT first liner for past decade (currently plenty of promising kids already seem lost for the NT in future - Svyatoslav Karpov, Ivan Mullerov, Yan Melnikov, Ilya Kolomytsev, etc).

 

[Uleke]

as predicted by the fans because of the mistake of the pro-russian corrupted Kazakh Fedaration assigning incompetent PE Russian coach as a general manager of Kazakh national team (despite his repetitive failure before) it looks like 99.99% 1st division is going to embrace Kazakhstan back next year

 

[Eye of Ra]

Not in any order. But quite many good kazak players through the years. Including the non-kazaks. But only Antropov was a legit NHLer.

Mikhailis
Antropov
Starchenko
Rudenko
Upper
Koshelev
Krasnoslobodtsev
Khudyakov
Alexandrov
Zhailauov
Shestakov
Pushkaryov
Dawes
Boyd
Bochenski
St. Pierre
Valk

Troshchinsky
Savchenko
Blokhin
Antipin
Beketayev
Semyonov
Orekhov
Dallman
Svedberg
Dietz
Blacker

Karlsson
Kolesnik
Yeremeyev

Etc

 

[Pan]

as predicted by the fans because of the mistake of the pro-russian corrupted Kazakh Fedaration assigning incompetent PE Russian coach as a general manager of Kazakh national team (despite his repetitive failure before) it looks like 99.99% 1st division is going to embrace Kazakhstan back next year

Besides my (rather superficial) knowledge of Kazakhstan's hockey, I also know a bit about their fans (from shaiba.kz mostly). I must admit that I felt a little satisfaction when it became clear that Kazakhstan was going to be eliminated. At least their fans deserved it.

 

[ozo]

Not in any order. But quite many good kazak players through the years. Including the non-kazaks. But only Antropov was a legit NHLer.

Mikhailis
Antropov
Starchenko
Rudenko
Upper
Koshelev
Krasnoslobodtsev
Khudyakov
Alexandrov
Zhailauov
Shestakov
Pushkaryov
Dawes
Boyd
Bochenski
St. Pierre
Valk

Troshchinsky
Savchenko
Blokhin
Antipin
Beketayev
Semyonov
Orekhov
Dallman
Svedberg
Dietz
Blacker

Karlsson
Kolesnik
Yeremeyev

Etc

If you make silly (trying not to be rude) lists at very least include Nabokov

Their entire 98 Nagano team was legit for that time.

 

[ozo]

Besides my (rather superficial) knowledge of Kazakhstan's hockey, I also know a bit about their fans (from shaiba.kz mostly). I must admit that I felt a little satisfaction when it became clear that Kazakhstan was going to be eliminated. At least their fans deserved it.

Agree, that website is a cesspool.

 

[Kshahdoo]

as predicted by the fans because of the mistake of the pro-russian corrupted Kazakh Fedaration assigning incompetent PE Russian coach as a general manager of Kazakh national team (despite his repetitive failure before) it looks like 99.99% 1st division is going to embrace Kazakhstan back next year

Do you mean Oleg Bolyakin is Russian coach? The guy who was born in Karaganda, played a few games for Team Kazakhstan and has been coaching different Kazakh teams since 2004? Or do you mean Tambiyev, who was born in Latvia and played for Team Latvia for 14 years?

Kazakhstan is one (at least) tier below Belarus now, because Belarus uses Russian development system (plays in Russian U16 tournaments, and has an MHL team). Kazakhstan goes its own way and does worse with each new year.

 

[Pan]

Do you mean Oleg Bolyakin is Russian coach? The guy who was born in Karaganda, played a few games for Team Kazakhstan and has been coaching different Kazakh teams since 2004? Or do you mean Tambiyev, who was born in Latvia and played for Team Latvia for 14 years?

Kazakhstan is one (at least) tier below Belarus now, because Belarus uses Russian development system (plays in Russian U16 tournaments, and has an MHL team). Kazakhstan goes its own way and does worse with each new year.

Belarus has been using the Russian development system since 2022, i.e. for the last three seasons. With the exception of the team in the MHL which is a full-season tournament, this "use" means one or two tournaments per year for each age group.
Players like Levshunov, Kolosov, Kolyachonok, Solovyov, Borikov, Moroz, Pinchuk, Protas, Protas Jr., Sidorov etc who determine the current level of Belarus (whatever this level is), have nothing to do with this, no matter how much you and Tretiak want to talk about it.

 

[ozo]

Kazakhstan is one (at least) tier below Belarus now, because Belarus uses Russian development system (plays in Russian U16 tournaments, and has an MHL team). Kazakhstan goes its own way and does worse with each new year.

Post that you quote is complete drivel, I agree. That said I don't think I can change you objectively false point of view, but Kazakhstan does everything you say only Belarus does and yet there's a stark of at least ''one tier'' difference. Kazakhstan is not getting worse - they are where they almost always where when KHL naturalized team was not playing for them

You can't polish a turd applies very well to hockey, if there are two arenas in a country only a handful of kids pick up hockey every year - what national team you can expect down the road? I can tell you the answer - it will be Estonia or Lithuania. Since the Lukashenko arena boom in 2005 Belarus is churning out prospects every year regularly in the last decade and the results are easy to see. Kazakhstan still is building first rinks in huge cities and prospects (if we disregard what passports they obtain) are starting to appear. Playing Russian opposition later in their junior career doesn't hurt of course, but at that point kids career trajectory is well set.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Belarus has been using the Russian development system since 2022, i.e. for the last three seasons. With the exception of the team in the MHL which is a full-season tournament, this "use" means one or two tournaments per year for each age group.
Players like Levshunov, Kolosov, Kolyachonok, Solovyov, Borikov, Moroz, Pinchuk, Protas, Protas Jr., Sidorov etc who determine the current level of Belarus (whatever this level is), have nothing to do with this, no matter how much you and Tretiak want to talk about it.

First, Belarusian U20 and younger teams are on another level compared to Kazakhstan. I'm pretty sure it will help them later to get a competitive national team.
Second, look at Dinamo Minsk roster. They have more foreigners than Barys, top3 scores are two Russians and an NA player, and still they have a bunch of great youngsters, who aren't somehow blocked by anybody.

The only right thing about Kazakhstan and its hockey said in this thread is corrupted. Corruption level in Kazakhstan is ridiculous, way higher than in Russia and Belarus. Add to this clan system, where you won't get anything without right connections. No wonder they've done no progress in hockey lately.

 

[Pan]

First, Belarusian U20 and younger teams are on another level compared to Kazakhstan. I'm pretty sure it will help them later to get a competitive national team.
Second, look at Dinamo Minsk roster. They have more foreigners than Barys, top3 scores are two Russians and an NA player, and still they have a bunch of great youngsters, who aren't somehow blocked by anybody.

Thanks for this review, but I am generally aware of what is happening in Belarusian hockey.

 

[Eye of Ra]

If you make silly (trying not to be rude) lists at very least include Nabokov

Their entire 98 Nagano team was legit for that time.

Oh sorry! I only remember him playing for Russia. Thanks for the correction.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Oh sorry! I only remember him playing for Russia. Thanks for the correction.

Kazakh born, I don't recall him playing for Kazakhstan.

Dimitri Patzold was Kazakh born and played for Germany.