This set the stage for the final game of the Group Stage, which saw Yunost host the Finnish side, knowing that a win would send them through. However, the Pelicans won in a shootout, meaning that the Belarusian club were forced to watch Lausanne play Třinec one day later to decide their fate.

The Swiss side snagged a 5-3 victory, which in turn, secured Yunost’s qualification to the Playoffs, which ended at the next stage in a 9-2 aggregate defeat to German powerhouse Red Bull Munich.

However, on the domestic front, Yunost became the only European club that was able to win their national championship in the playoffs. The Belarusian Extraleague was able to complete its entire playoff schedule, and Yunost took the title in five games against Shakhtyor Soligorsk.

“My impressions from the previous season are positive because we won everything, and perhaps it wasn’t as easy as it was at first glance. In the CHL, we made it into the Playoffs at the last moment, and also in the regular season the gap to second place at the end of the season was small. There were many difficulties, but thankfully for us, everything went according to plan,” Torbin said.

For Yunost, the latest domestic title victory was their second in a row, and the first time they were able to win back-to-back championships since 2011. For Torbin, it was mission accomplished.

“We played well. We won the championship; we completed the task that was set for us. We upheld our reputation, although winning twice in a row was difficult. We performed as we should have performed and won the title,” the Yunost CEO said.

Halfway through their CHL Group Stage campaign, Yunost made a major change behind the bench. Long-time trainer Mikhail Zakharov departed the club to take up the head coaching role of the Belarusian national team.

In his place came Alexander Makritski, an experienced player who previously spent time working as an assistant coach in the KHL.

“Mikhail Zakharov coached the team until September before moving to the position of main trainer. We made an offer to Alexander Makritski to work for us. Of course, we understood at that moment that he did not have the experience of being a head coach, but he has managed incredibly well and has done all that was asked of him. In principle, we achieved all that we wanted to at all stages, so he has done excellently,” Torbin remarked.

The 2020/21 CHL Draw has thrown up some familiar foes for Yunost in the form of Oceláři Třinec, who will be out for revenge. In last season’s Group Stage, Yunost picked up a 2-0 win on home ice, but fell to a 7-2 defeat in the Czech Republic.

“Třinec are a very experienced and interesting team. They have a lot of resources, and I’m not sure how they will look next season, but in 2019/20 they had a very strong team and are a leader of Czech hockey. Our games with them confirmed that fact. I still remember our heavy defeat in the Czech Republic, but despite that, we still made it into the Playoffs, and we, according to the Group Stage table, did better than them. But that does not mean that we will relax,” Torbin stated.

Read our full preview of Yunost Minsk's Round of 32 matchup

For the Yunost CEO, any one of the teams that were in Pot 1 of the 2020/21 CHL Draw would have made for a formidable opponent.

“If it wasn’t Třinec, it would be another strong team, because we don’t have a choice in the matter,” Torbin remarked.

Find out the full results of the CHL Draw and the schedule for the Round of 32 here!

However, despite being among the CHL’s lower seeds, Yunost have a formidable record, which includes a victory over four-time CHL Champions Frölunda Indians back in 2016.

Yunost have made the Playoffs in two out of their three CHL campaigns, and Torbin took pride in knowing that his team has such an accomplished record for a Challenger League side.

“We take the CHL very seriously, and we take pride in performing well. It will be our fourth campaign in the CHL. Twice we have made the Playoffs, and one time we didn’t manage to. For a team that is in the lower pots [of the draw] it is a major accomplishment, and it is surely better than any other team from our pot,” Torbin remarked.

The Belarusian side has already returned to on-ice pre-season training, as Torbin noted that none of their players or staff have tested positive for COVID-19. He added that strict precautionary measures are in place to prevent the disease from spreading within the team.

Hitting the ice is important for the club, given that there is such a high turnover of players year-on-year, the Yunost CEO said.

“We always have the issue, although sometimes it is a positive, that our team is constantly changing. The skeleton of the team only remains. Roughly 40-50 percent of the players left after the season, and 65 percent of the roster is new. Therefore, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to, as we say, make a good soup from the ingredients,” Torbin remarked, adding that new foreign imports, including Denis Mingaleyev, Roman Tatalin, and new goaltender Sergei Bolshakov have managed to make it into the country to join up with the team.

Despite the changes, key players such as Maxim Parfeyevets and Vsevolod Kashkar have re-signed with the team and will lead the line in the upcoming season.

Yunost have also invested heavily in their junior program, and the results are starting to show. Youngster Alexander Palchik, born in 2002, has already begun to make his mark, scoring six points in 23 games as a 17-year-old. Torbin added that more youngsters from Yunost’s junior program are set to be promoted to the first team.

“In principle, next season’s team will be younger than in the previous season. A lot of junior players will make the jump to the senior team, so it will be a mix of youth and experience. We have Alexander Palchik, born in 2002. He played well alongside the senior players for the bulk of the season, excluding the playoffs. It is serious progress for someone of that age to make. There are a couple of defencemen to keep an eye on as well,” the team’s CEO remarked.

Developing the best Belarusian talent is all the more important this season, with the country set to co-host the 2021 IIHF World Championships along with Latvia.

Belarus last held the World Championships in 2014, and Torbin stated that the event massively helped grow hockey in the country.

“Hosting the World Championships in Belarus has a serious impact on the domestic hockey landscape. After the previous World Championships in 2014, the number of junior hockey players in our country increased … For us, it is a very important event. After the previous tournament, ice rinks and arenas were built in other cities in order for hockey to continue to grow into the future,” Torbin stated, adding that fans also became more engaged and players are more hungry to make the national team in the hope of progressing further in their careers.

Yunost Minsk have firmly established themselves at the head of the Challenger League pack based on three campaigns worth of top-tier performances, particularly on home ice. Once again, they’ll take on Europe’s elite with the aim of making their city, and their country, proud.