Lokomotiv Yaroslavl begin shaping up new squad, sign two, expect one more

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl have begun to sign new players for the team that will soon start participating in the VHL, the second tier of the Russian hockey system beneath the KHL. Their debut match is scheduled for December 12.

Lokomotiv’s first signing is the 20-year-old defenceman Yegor Yakovlev from VHL’s Neftyanik Almetyevsk. He already had his debut in the KHL last season, playing a match for Ak Bars Kazan. This season he took part in 15 games for Neftyanik and scored 5 (2 +3) points.

The second signing is the 20-year old forward Oleg Yashin from KHL’s Atlant Mytishchi. He hadn’t played any games for his former club this season, but featured for VHL’s Titan Klin, scoring scored 10 (5 +5) points in 14 matches.

Moreover, according to RIA Novosti, Lokomotiv are interested in signing yet another 20-year old forward, Best Rookie Prize winner of the 2010-11 season, Pavel Zdunov from Metallurg Magnitogorsk. In 2010, Zdunov also won the Kharlamov Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the MHL, the KHL youth teams’ league, with Metallurg’s junior team, the Steel Foxes.

Zdunov is expected to arrive in Yaroslavl one of these days. His transfer to Lokomotiv, should it materialize, will be completed within a week.

This season, he only played one match for Metallurg’s seniors, featuring mostly for the youth team – 14 games, 11 (6 +5) points.