Koulikov split last season with EIHL rivals Basingstoke Bison and the Stingrays after not being re-signed by the Stingrays last summer. After plenty of critisism from fans about his work ethic, or lack of, he signed with Basingstoke to reinvent himself as a player.
Stuck on the 3rd line for much of the time with the Bison, the 29 year old forward scored a credible 2 goals and 7 assists in 20 games before financial troubles hit the Bison. With their owner quitting the club and many players not being paid for a number of weeks, the Bison were forced to find a new owner. Koulikov made the decision to leave the club and return to Hull ahead of big money offers from Belfast, Koulikov told the Hull Daily Mail last November:
Clearly those circumstances remain the same and Koulikovs talent, for a British player anyway, will remain with the Stingrays for the 2008-09 EIHL season.
"Belfast were one of the clubs I was talking to! I've joined Stingrays because some circumstances in my life have changed - my girlfriend is pregnant - and there were lots of money problems in Basingstoke and things didn't work out. I weighed everything up, and overall Hull is my best option. It definitely wasn't financial, I can say that, it's more my family and my life"
Koulikov has scored 58 goals, 95 assists for in 180 games for the Stingrays, he is one of the most sucessful Stingrays on the ice, Brit or import.
Because of his scoring sucess it is unlikely that the Stingrays will match him with an all British line, his vision is very good and he would be a good set up man for a lethal finisher like Kozak, Reynolds or Glowa. That said, pairing Koulikov with Mitchell, a fast developing Brit, and either an import, or a Brit, like James Knight or Lee Esders (who is apparently signed to the Stingrays already) will give the Stingrays three very solid lines. It remains to be seen which line Koulikov will fit onto but it is worth thinking about how effective Koulikov and Riddle were together at the end of last season, and that if Riddle does make his rumoured return, they are two players that will be paired together.
Strachan had a few words to the official Hull Stingrays website on Koulikov returning to the Stingrays, saying:
"Slava came back last season and did a great job. Unfortunately he got hurt but he is now 100% and is in great shape. Slava is a skilled British guy who is valuable on the powerplay, he is patient, he handles the puck really well and is effective. He has good vision and has great offensive power."
Meanwhile the Hull Daily Mail again confirmed that the Stingrays may have missed out on their number one target for netminder. An announcement was due last week but did not arrive. It was also confirmed that the Rays do have two contract offers out to unknown players, names in the rumour mill are former Stingray James Cooke, Rod Hinks and Trevor Baker.
