Seven hockey players and defense coach Andrey Sapozhnikov are departing HC Sibir, the club announced. The players’ contracts expired May 31.

The departing players include goalkeeper Denis Kostin, defender Egor Martynov, and forwards Nikita Korotkov, Georgy Belousov, Taylor Beck, Brendan Leipsic, and Maxim Sushko.

The team expressed gratitude to each of the players and Sapozhnikov for their contributions and wished them success in their future endeavors.

Sapozhnikov’s departure comes after he was appointed defense coach in May 2024. His career includes playing for teams such as Mechel, Providence Bruins (AHL), Fassa (Italy), and Wedemark (Germany), as well as Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Severstal, Khimik, Avangard, and Vityaz. He also held coaching positions at Tractor Youth Sports School, Spartak MHL, Dynamo (Balashikha), and Belye Medvedi, and was part of the coaching staff of Vityaz from 2014 to 2020.

HC Sibir was eliminated from the Gagarin Cup playoffs in April after losing to Salavat Yulaev in the seventh game of the series.