Bogdan Konyushkov was the most used defenceman in his first game!
There was a wave of misunderstanding at the dawn of Torpedo’s season launch in the KHL. The Montreal Canadiens’ prospect, Bogdan Konyushkov, was no longer wearing the « C » like he did last year. Additionally, he was listed on the third pair with Kirill Kirsanov during the main lineup broadcast before the game. Naturally, a link was quickly made between Konyushkov’s reduced responsibilities and the possibility of seeing him in Laval soon.
This connection was rather tenuous, especially since the KHL season had just started! It’s important to remember that Bogdan Konyushkov underwent shoulder surgery this summer. It was highly likely that caution would be exercised with him at the beginning of the season. However, despite being listed on the third pair on paper, it didn’t prevent Igor Larionov from deploying Bogdan Konyushkov very regularly. In fact, he was the player most frequently sent onto the ice with a total of 25 shifts. At even strength, the presence of Voynov in the lineup does take up some space. Nevertheless, since Konyushkov plays in all situations, this did not affect his usage. Indeed, in a high-stakes season opener, the coach entrusted Konyushkov with the same responsibilities as last year, despite his post-surgery return. And he performed very well overall, handling pressure effectively and feeding his teammates beautifully. It was his first game since the surgery, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
In terms of total ice time, Konyushkov (18:04) was only surpassed by Markus Phillips (18:06) and Slava Voynov (20:15). Nevertheless, Konyushkov was the most frequently called upon from the bench when it came time to put a defenseman on the ice. He also had shifts on both the penalty kill and power play, alongside Voynov on the first pair. This demonstrates that placement on the lineup sheet means absolutely nothing. To support this argument, Anton Silayev was on the first pair with Voynov. The New Jersey Devils’ prospect played 22 shifts for a total of 15:10.
Regarding the « C », it was obvious that the captaincy would be given to the KHL veteran, Slava Voynov. We know the history of this player from his time in the NHL (domestic violence), but in the Russian professional league, it seems that this is disregarded. This is not a slight against Bogdan Konyushkov, who wore the « C » last year only intermittently throughout the season.
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