Andrei Nikolishin prolongs deal with Traktor

Andrei Nikolishin was put in charge of Traktor on October 23 of last year. Before that, the black-and-white had had a terrible cold streak of 8 games. With Nikolishin, Traktor climbed higher up the rankings and put together two decent strings of wins in late 2014 and early 2015. In the end, the black-and-white secured a spot in the playoffs, something few thought would be possible back in the fall of last year. Unfortunately, Traktor would not advance further as the hopes and aspirations of Chelyabinsk team were crushed by Sibir, the future Eastern Conference finalist. Nonetheless, Nikolishin is responsible for breathing new life into the team.

Boris Dubrovski, Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast, President of HC Traktor:
Upon concluding the deal with Andrei Nikolishin, there were several objectives put forth, among them to bring back the positive atmosphere in the locker room, to move the team up the leaderboards, to secure a spot in the playoffs, and to involve as many young players from Belye Medvedi and Chelmet as possible. I believe that Nikolishin was able to accomplish all of that, and eventually, we agreed upon continuing our business relationship. Mr. Nikolishin is still in the beginning of his promising coaching career, and being the head of coach of any hockey team in Chelyabinsk, especially Traktor, requires a great deal of patience and tremendous responsibility. We pin great hopes on Andrei Vasilyevich. He cannot repose on his laurels and should do everything in his power to overcome the result of this past season, beginning from the upcoming offseason. This is the kind of progress that our fans have been waiting for and which will allow to say, without a shadow of the doubt, that Andrei Nikolishin has warranted every ounce of faith Chelyabinsk fans had in him.

Andrei Nikolishin, Traktor head coach:
Back in October 2014, I realized how heavy the burden of becoming Traktor’s head coach would be, and this past season fully proved it. I do believe we accomplished the main objective of the season, that is, Chelyabinsk returned to KHL playoffs, and we brought back this excitement that comes with fighting for the Gagarin Cup. Yes, we did not make it through the first round, but I promise you – in the upcoming season, Traktor will be even stronger. We will do our best to ensure that the result we had this past season would be overcome in 2016. We need to keep working hard to bring back this joyful feeling of their favorite team winning. We have new objectives ahead of us, and we are ready to pursue them.