American-Russian center Igor Larionov Jr., 26, has signed a one-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL club announced on social media on Wednesday.

Larionov spent the past three seasons playing for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. In 127 career KHL regular-season and playoff games, Larionov has recorded 73 points and 50 penalty minutes.

Surely not coincidentally, Larionov’s father, IIHF and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Igor Larionov, is taking over as SKA’s head coach this season after three years at the helm in Nizhny Novgorod.

Larionov Jr. was born in Detroit in 1998 while his father played for the Detroit Red Wings. He spent the better part of his childhood and teenaged years in Michigan, before playing junior hockey for the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic, the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Larionov has played in Europe since 2019 – mostly in Russia, but also five games for Chinese-based KHL team Kunlun Red Star and four games for Mora IK in Sweden’s tier-two HockeyAllsvenskan.

Tony DeAngelo Leaves SKA St. Petersburg, Officially For “Family Reasons” Tony DeAngelo has left SKA St. Petersburg. The 29-year-old American defenseman’s contract has been terminated by mutual agreement, officially for family reasons, the KHL club announced on Tuesday.

A perennial powerhouse in the KHL, last season SKA finished a disappointing seventh in the Western Conference and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs despite a star-studded lineup that included Ivan Demidov, Alexander Nikishin, Mikhail Grigorenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Arseni Gritsyuk, Nikita Zaitsev and Tony DeAngelo.

Heading into 2025-26, only Grigorenko and Zaitsev remain from that group. In addition to Larionov Jr., the team has also added North American defensemen Trevor Murphy and Brennan Menell, who have a bit of NHL experience.

Photo © Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images: Igor Larionov Sr. playing for the Detroit Red Wings in 2001.

Nikita Zaitsev signs 4-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg Veteran Russian defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has signed a four-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL club announced on Thursday.