Knight and Boucher are back with Avangard!

Avangard Hockey Club has signed Canadian forward Corban Knight to a two-year contract and American forward Reid Boucher to a one-year contract.

Last season, Knight played 60 games for Avangard and scored 55 (21+34) points. Boucher played 46 games for Lokomotiv and scored 27 (12+15) points.

Alexey Volkov, Avangard General Manager:

- Corban Knight is one of the best Avangard players of the last two seasons. He knows our head coach Dmitry Ryabykin well, he never tried to hide that Avangard was the only team he wanted to play for in Russia. We started negotiating a contract extension last season, but for obvious reasons, the final decision was postponed for an indefinite period. We are glad that Corban finally agreed to come to Omsk. He will be with Avangard for at least another two years, which means we are guaranteed a quality first line center. We know that fans have been waiting for some top transfers. We have been working hard, and we can already see the fruits of the work done.

The decision on Reid Boucher was not an easy one. We understand the pressure that was put upon him at the end of last season, both here in Russia and in his home country. After lots of discussions and consultations, Boucher expressed his desire to play for Avangard. Like Knight, he knows Dmitry Ryabykin and our system very well. He likes Avangard and wants to play at the new arena in Omsk.

As for the situation that made him leave Russia last season, we understand that Reid made a mistake. Plus, he was underage at that time. It is very important to draw conclusions from mistakes, and to change for the better. Reid pled guilty. It has been a while since that time, and our club decided to give Reid a second chance. Everyone deserves it. Moreover, Boucher’s reputation was absolutely clean before that. We remember how Reid proved himself in the team during the championship-winning season: he had great relations with both coaches and teammates, and there is no need to remind you of his performance on the ice. It has to be said that Corban Knight agreed to sign a contract with Avangard thanks largely to Reid Boucher joining the team. I think Avangard fans need to support Reid, and with his commitment and his performance, he will repay the trust.

We are glad that these two players will play in front of Omsk fans and we hope that they will be of great help to Avangard.