Here you buy! Barys fired off a series of transfers. How will this change the Astana club?
Jul 1, 2023 19:30 UTC Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Among the newcomers there are four tops, but it is premature to say that the team’s business will go uphill.
Nothing could wake up the KHL space frozen in a state of vacation… if Barys didn’t exist in the league. The Kazakh club stormed into transfer territory and got people talking about themselves. One day, Astana residents announced the signing of contracts with four well-known newcomers at once. First of all, Barys closed the topic of the goal: now Eddie Pasquale will join the team. Salavat Yulaev and Metallurg battled for the free agent who entered the market with varying degrees of success. Ufimtsy, apparently, abandoned Pasquale, having reached an agreement with Alexander Samonov. But Magnitogorsk probably just lost the competition.
Numerous experts reported that Eddie commanded a fabulous salary, and not even all major clubs were ready to take on such expenses. At the same time, the Kazakh edition of Sports.kz now claims that Pasquale will receive 65 million rubles for each of the next two seasons.
Cover with Pasquale:
Plushev named the top three legionnaires of the last KHL season
The fact of Pasquale’s negotiations with other employers was confirmed by the general manager of Barys, Vyacheslav Belan: “The coaching staff knows very well the playing qualities of Eddie Pasquale (the goalkeeper played for Barys in the 2019/2020 season. – Championship Note), must strengthen the team’s goal line. Given the tight schedule and the large number of matches in the season, including pre-season tournaments, signing a contract with a goalkeeper of this level will allow you to properly distribute the load. As far as I know, Eddie Pasquale had several offers from the KHL clubs, but he decided to return to Astana ”.
Defender David Sklenichka will also help defend Pasquale’s goal. The 26-year-old defender is well known to attentive KHL viewers. Previously, he played for Jokerit for a year and a half. Sklenichka spent the previous year in Swedish Brunes, where he scored 33 (7 + 26) points in 55 games. The Czech is in his best sporting moment and is perfectly adapted to the league: there is no doubt that he will bring power and confidence to Barys.
Defenders Adil Beketayev and Alex Grant also extended deals with the Kazakhs. The former is not without reason considered the most reliable defender of the republic, in the course of last season he only strengthened those around him in this opinion. The latter went down in KHL history as the only defensive player with poker in a match.
Grant and his record:
How is this possible?! Defender in the KHL completed the historic poker in 24 minutes
Astana breeders did not ignore the line of attack. After a year-long “business trip” to Spartak, Roman Starchenko returns home. The 37-year-old striker played inspirational for the national team at the World Cup and at critical moments became the figure everyone else rallied around. Starchenko hit several big shots in the key matchup with the Norwegians and didn’t get out of the rhythm of the game in the classic 5v5 format.
Chronology of this great game for Kazakhstan:
Well done Kazakhstan! He was ruled out beforehand and started the World Cup with a big win.
But, perhaps, even more significant for the “leopards” is the signature that Pontus Oberg put under the documents. The Swede has real experience at the NHL level, and now this is even brighter on any resume. Three years ago, Oberg already appeared in the KHL – he tried to help Traktor. He was not very good: the Swede knocked out less than 0.5 points on average per game. On the other hand, Anvar Gatiyatulin may not have been able to find a decent use for the non-standard striker.
In “Barys” the features of Pontus are realized. “A technical hockey player with a right grip who can pass and complete the attack on his own,” Belan characterizes. “On other teams, he often played with power and scored, so he should add variety to attacking formations.”
However, such a powerful and unique purchase should not cloud your eyes. Previously, Barys lost Nikita Mikhailis and Yegor Petukhov, young and already quite experienced strikers, as well as Graham’s effective defender. So far, new acquisitions are, at best, compensation for losses.
