Canucks prospect Ilya Safonov will be playing in the KHL's Gagarin Cup Final with Ak Bars Kazan.
Vancouver Canucks prospect Ilya Safonov and Ak Bars Kazan will play for the KHL’s ultimate trophy: the Gagarin Cup.
On May 3, Safonov and his team clinched a spot in the Gagarin Cup Final, taking down opponent Metalburg Magnitogorsk in five games during the semi-finals. Ak Bars managed to win Game 5 by a score of 4–3 in overtime, with Safonov assisting on a goal by Artyom Galimov.
To advance to the Gagarin Cup Final, Ak Bars defeated Traktor Chelyabinsk in five games, took down Dinamo Minsk in four, and surpassed Metalburg in the semi-finals. Now, they’ll wait for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Avangard Omsk to wrap-up their semi-final series to determine who they’ll face in the finals.
The Gagarin Cup is the KHL’s championship trophy. Ak Bars has won the Gagarin Cup three times since the league’s inception in 2008, with the team winning back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. Their most recent Gagarin Cup win came in 2018.
Photo Credit: Kaja Antic-THN Safonov has had himself a solid playoff run in the KHL thus far. As it stands, he currently has two goals and six assists in 14 playoff games, which marks a new career-high in playoff points for the forward. During the regular season, he put up 16 goals and 17 assists in 68 games.
Safonov and Ak Bars will face one of Lokomotiv and Avangard in the Gagarin Cup Final, the date of which has yet to be determined.
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