Shanghai Dragons Announce Coaching Staff for 2026–27 Season
The Shanghai Dragons have announced their coaching staff for the 2026–27 KHL season, led by head coach Mitch Love.
Mitch Love — Head Coach
Love brings extensive coaching experience from across North American hockey, having served in both head and assistant coaching roles with the Everett Silvertips (WHL, 2011–18), Saskatoon Blades (WHL, 2018–21), Stockton Heat (AHL, 2021–22), Calgary Wranglers (AHL, 2022–23) and Washington Capitals (NHL, 2023–25). He has also served as an assistant coach with Canada’s junior and under-18 national teams.
Love was named the AHL’s Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons in 2022 and 2023. As a member of Canada’s coaching staffs at various age levels, he won gold at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, captured the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and earned silver at the 2021 World Junior Championship.
Vyacheslav Kozlov — Associate Coach
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998, Kozlov also won the Gagarin Cup twice, in 2011 and 2012.
His KHL coaching career has included stops with Spartak Moscow, Avangard Omsk, Kunlun Red Star and Dynamo Moscow. Kozlov has also served as head coach of Khimik in the VHL and Dynamo Moscow in the KHL.
Troy Ward — Defensemen Coach
Ward brings more than 30 years of coaching experience across several levels of professional hockey.
He has served as a head coach in the AHL and as an NHL assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks, while also holding a head coaching position in Austria.
Ryan Marsh — Forwards Coach
Marsh has extensive experience in North American junior hockey, including head coaching roles and assignments with Canadian national junior teams at multiple age levels.
From 2018–21, he worked alongside Mitch Love as an assistant coach with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, focusing on individual player development and working primarily with the team’s forwards.
Vladimir Kulikov — Goaltending Coach
A product of the CSKA hockey system, Kulikov was selected 211th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1999 NHL Draft and spent part of his playing career in the organization’s North American system.
His playing career also included stops with CSKA Moscow, Memphis RiverKings, Kapitan Stupino, Traktor Chelyabinsk, Krylya Sovetov, Lada Togliatti, Sibir Novosibirsk, Vityaz and Rys.
Following his retirement, Kulikov moved into coaching. From 2013–19, he worked with Russia’s national junior team, winning silver medals at the 2015 and 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships and bronze in 2017 and 2019.
He joined Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod as goaltending coach for the 2020–21 season and has served in the same role with Kunlun Red Star since 2023–24.
Leonid Dmitrichenko — Strength and Conditioning Coach
Dmitrichenko has worked extensively in the KHL, serving on the staffs of Vityaz (2012–18), HC Sochi (2018–20), Dinamo Riga (2021–22), Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2022–23), Spartak Moscow (2023–25) and Sibir Novosibirsk (2025–26).
He was part of the Metallurg staff that reached the 2022 Gagarin Cup Final.
Vladislav Rigert — Strength and Conditioning Coach
Rigert holds the Russian Master of Sport title in weightlifting and Candidate for Master of Sport status in rugby, and is a certified highest-category coach.
He previously worked on the coaching staffs of rugby clubs Bulava from 2015–20 and Rostov from 2021–23.
Mikhail Bykov — Video Coach
Bykov began his professional hockey career as a video operator with Admiral Vladivostok from 2014–16 before joining Kunlun Red Star, where he served as video coach from 2016–25.
From 2017–22, he also worked as video coach for the Chinese men’s national team, including Olympic qualification and IIHF World Championship competition. He was part of China’s staff at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Alexei Skabelka — Video Analyst
Skabelka spent the past five seasons with Dynamo Moscow, working as an analyst and video coach from 2021–26.
Pavel Korsakov — Assistant Video Coach
Korsakov also joins the Dragons after five seasons with Dynamo Moscow, where he worked as an analyst and video coach from 2021–26.
The new-look staff will work under Love as the Dragons prepare for the 2026–27 KHL season.
Shanghai Dragons Media Relations
