Team Kazakhstan has called its final roster for the 2025 WJC in Ottawa, Canada, with three goalies and 22 skaters. The Kazakhs had two games in Canada before the tournament, a 0-4 loss to Team Germany, and an 8-1 win against Junior A team Hawkesbury Hawks.
The results are underwhelming, especially the loss to Germany, thus the team will need to work very hard at the tournament.
Team Kazakhstan’s Forwards
Abzal Alibek, Adil Beisembayev, Vitali Bozhko, Artur Gross, Kirill Kankin, Alexander Kim, Vladimir Korchagin, Yegor Levkovets, Alexander Migunov, Asanali Ruslanuly, Asanali Sarkenov, Semyon Simonov, Nikita Sitnikov.
Related: 2025 World Junior Championship Guide
The forwards group isn’t as bad as one could expect, although the Kazakhs surprisingly decided to make it without Utah Outliers’ forward Magzhan Sagadiev. While the current players can certainly make up for his loss, his North American experience would have been a valuable asset for the Kazakhs, who can count on several players lining up for teams from overseas.
Chemistry will likely be key for Team Kazakhstan, whose core group of forwards includes Snezhnye Barsy Astana in the top Russian junior league. A lot of expectations will be on Asanali Sarkenov, who scored 15 points in 21 games for the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League.
Team Kazakhstan’s Defensemen
Danila Belyakov, Roman Bolshedvorsky, Sanzhar Ibragim, Beibarys Orazov, Gleb Reshetko, Danial Shakshakbayev, Mstislav Shipilin, Aslan Zhusupbekov.
On defense, the Kazakhs will bring a similar situation, with a North America-based player missing from the final roster in Rakhat Ospanov. He made the team at the U18s Div. 1 tournament a couple of years ago, so this was quite a surprise. The team will most likely count on experience and chemistry, with most of the players lining up with Snezhnye Barsy and having received call-ups to Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League.
This situation can help the Kazakhs play a tighter defense, giving them a chance in the most important games, fighting to avoid relegation.
Team Kazakhstan’s Goalies
Jokhar Dudarkiyev, Daniil Lytkin, Vladimir Nikitin.
No surprises here. Those goalies are the best choice at the moment, with Vladimir Nikitin getting the number one role. Experience is guaranteed here also by Lytkin, who played at last year’s U18s. The Kazakhs have historically produced excellent goalies (for example, San Jose Sharks’ legend Evgeni Nabokov is from there, even if he represented Team Russia on the international stage), thus this is not expected to be the team’s weakest link.
How to Avoid Relegation
The Kazakhs have no other goal than avoiding relegation to Div. 1 once again. The mix of experience, chemistry, and size can give them a relative advantage, but anything more than avoiding going down will be considered a success.
The WJC kicks off on Dec. 26, but the Kazakhs will have their first game in the tournament the next day against Team Sweden.
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