According to the results of the traditional poll of sports journalists, defenseman Valery Orekhov of the national team and Magnitogorsk Metallurg has been named Kazakhstan's best hockey player of the 2025/26 season. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
A total of 40 journalists took part in the poll, each naming their top three players of the past season. Three points were awarded for first place, two for second and one for third. The winner ultimately scored 45 points.
Throughout the KHL season, Orekhov consistently demonstrated a high level of play. The defenseman finished the regular season with a plus/minus rating of "+30" and the playoffs with "+9".
The 27-year-old native of Satpayev, Karaganda region, was unable to help Kazakhstan's national team reach the elite division, as his club was fighting for the Gagarin Cup at the time. The national team, however, confidently accomplished the task.
Valery Orekhov is the fifth defenseman to be named Kazakhstan's best hockey player. Before him, the best among defensive players were Igor Zemlyanoy (1992), Vitaly Tregubov (2001), Kevin Dallman (2009) and twice Darren Dietz (2019, 2020).
Second place with 38 points went to another defenseman of Kazakhstan's national team, Samat Daniyar. The 27-year-old hockey player went through the entire development vertical, from the junior to the national team. Samat today is one of the pillars of Barys' defense.
Third place with 34 points went to forward of Kazakhstan's national team and Barys, Semyon Simonov. The young man, who turned 21 in the summer, spent a full season with the "Bars" for the first time and made a significant contribution to the national team's victory in the first division of the World Championship. Against the backdrop of Barys' disastrous performance last season, Simonov can safely be called the discovery of the championship.
In total, 20 hockey players were mentioned in the poll of reputable media outlets, which traditionally includes Kursiv.
After the sudden passing of well-known hockey journalist and founder of the first specialized magazine "Hockey of Kazakhstan", Maxim Kartashov, the functions of poll coordinator since 2022 have been performed by Ilyas Omarov. A member of the executive committee of the Asian Sports Press Union (AIPS ASIA) once helped Kartashov publish the magazine "Hockey of Kazakhstan", serving as the publication's editor-in-chief. And now, not allowing an important undertaking to cease, he continues Maxim's work.