Vityaz to keep on fighting with Yablonsky and Gillies in squad

Get short URL

Published time: June 20, 2012 17:08
Edited time: June 20, 2012 21:08

The style of Vityaz’s hockey won’t change next season as the KHL’s worst team prolonged their deal with Jeremy Yablonski and hired another Canadian tough-guy, Trevor Gillies.

­According to the new contract, the man described as league’s dirtiest player, Yablonski, will stay with the Chekhov side for another year.

Last season he played only 16 games for Vityaz, grabbing an impressive 174 penalty minutes.

The massive brawl he started in the game against Traktor Chelyabinsk in November 2011 saw the 32-year-old disqualified till the end of the season.

But the ban was lifted after Yablonski missed fifteen of his team’s meetings.

Vityaz’s rookie, Trevor Gillies, has played 57 matches for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the New York Islanders during his NHL career.    

In those matches the 33-year-old managed to earn just 3 points (2 goals and an assist), but was awarded 261 penalty minutes.

At the same time, Vityaz failed to return high-scoring forward, Mikhail Anisin, from Dynamo Moscow as the sides couldn’t agree on the personal contract.

The Chekhov side were mainly fighting last season, completely forgetting about hockey. Vityaz conceded 193 goals to claim the last spot in the KHL 2011/12 standings.