The hottest coach in Russia’s KHL is a former member of the Detroit Red Wings’ Russian Five. And no, it isn’t Igor Larionov.

While Larionov’s SKA St. Petersburg continues to struggle, Vyacheslav Kozlov has Moscow Dynamo humming along.

The club won its sixth game in a row under Kozlov on the weekend. He replaced another former NHLer, Alexey Kudashov, as coach of the team last month. He’d been serving as an assistant coach under Kudashov.

#DYN assistant coach Vyacheslav Kozlov will become acting head coach.

He’s not seen as a long term fix.

Maybe Rotenberg will head Dynamo? Time will tell.

— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) November 16, 2025

“It was a surprising decision,” Kozlov told Russia’s Sport-Express of the promotion to his first head-coaching role. “My first reaction was bewilderment, because the team was in fourth place in the Western Conference, midway through the season.

“There were no signs of trouble, but time was short. I needed to prepare for the game. It all happened very quickly.”

As puzzled as he was by the move, the nature of the profession meant that there was no time for second-guessing. Kozlov had to get to work.

“I switched gears and decided that in such a situation, I needed to quickly delve into the nuances and details and move on,” Kozlov said. ” Because for the guys, a specialist who had been working with them for four and a half years was better than any other coach.”

Former Red Wings Player Was To Coach Sochi

In the summer, Kozlov left his role as an assistant with Moscow Dynamo. He took the job as head coach of HC Sochi in the KHL.

HC Sochi will be Vyacheslav Kozlov’s head coaching debut in the KHL. pic.twitter.com/XefvtXwwHe

— KHL (@khl_eng) June 3, 2025

However, the Sochi club hired former Red Wings prospect Igor Grigorenko as GM later in the summer. Among his first decisions was the firing of Kozlov before he’d coached a game.

He made his return to  Moscow Dynamo. His current title is interim head coach.

“That’s not how I wanted to become a head coach,”  Kozlov said. “I didn’t want to be an acting coach. I couldn’t refuse.

“The situation with Sochi happened in the summer, but there was time. I was preparing. We were putting together a team.

“Here, everything happened spontaneously, in one day. I was appointed that morning, and I had to get ready. Now this will be my second attempt to become a full-time head coach of a KHL team.”