| Ak Bars Kazan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Kazan, Russia |
| League | Kontinental Hockey League |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Kharlamov |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Home arena | TatNeft Arena (capacity: 10,000) |
| Colours | |
| Owner(s) | Tatneft |
| General manager | Rafik Yakubov |
| Head coach | Dmitri Kvartalnov |
| Captain | Danis Zaripov |
| Affiliate(s) | Bars Kazan (VHL) Irbis Kazan (MHL) |
| Website | www.ak-bars.ru |
  | |
| Franchise history | |
| Ak Bars Kazan 1996–present Itil Kazan 1990–1996 SC Uritskogo Kazan 1958–1990 Mashstroy Kazan 1956–1958 | |
 Current season | |
Hockey Club Ak Bars (Tatar: Ак Барс, English: Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan,[1] is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League.
History
Founded as Mashstroy Kazan in 1956, the name was later changed to SC Uritskogo Kazan when it entered the Soviet Class B league in 1958. It was promoted to Soviet Class A2, where it gained promotion to the top tier of Soviet hockey. Kazan's performance was respectable, starting the season by winning 6 out of 19 games against the best of the Soviet teams before falling away in the second half of the season and was demoted.
From this point onward, SC Uritskogo Kazan established a reputation as a consistently strong team in the second-tier leagues of the USSR. Renowned as a high scoring team, Kazan averaged over four goals a game throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Twice they won the USSR League (lower tiers), being named Champion of Russia in 1962 and 1976.
SC Uritskogo Kazan's most successful period occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The team was led by Russia's Sergei Stolbun; scoring ace Gennady Maslov (current coach of Ak Bars-2 Kazan), who enjoyed a short stint with the Soviet Wings and set a club record of 140 points in 76 games in 1982–83; and Ravil Shavaleev, who was regarded as one of the finest defenseman to ever come out of Tatarstan. During this period, Kazan was consistently among the top teams in the league but failed year after year to gain promotion to the top flight of Soviet hockey.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Uritskogo Kazan became Itil Kazan in 1990 and participated in the IHL. Itil was only mildly successful, narrowly avoiding relegation to the Vysshaya Liga in 1991 and 1992.
It was following the establishment of the Russian Superleague (RSL) in 1996 that the golden age of hockey in Tatarstan began. Renamed Ak Bars Kazan after the traditional symbol of the Tatars, the snow leopard. Benefiting from the resources boom in the Urals, Ak Bars began its history in fine form, finishing first in their respective divisions in 1997 and 1998 along with winning the RSL in 1998. During this period, Kazan lacked the high scoring of their predecessors but regardless continued to be a dominant team in Russian hockey, finishing runners-up in 2000 and 2002. During this period, Kazan developed players such as Denis Arkhipov and Danis Zaripov.
In the 2004–05 season, Kazan signed 11 National Hockey League players, including Russian superstars Alexei Kovalev and Ilya Kovalchuk and Canadians Vincent Lecavalier and Dany Heatley, in an attempt to celebrate Kazan's 1000th anniversary with a championship. They did not succeed, however, as a lack of continuity and chemistry saw them finish in fourth place and were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Since then, Ak Bars Kazan dominated the RSL, winning the league in 2006 on the back of a brilliant performance from Aleksey Morozov. In 2007, Kazan paced the league with 35 wins and 214 goals in 54 games before falling at the final hurdle to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
Ak Bars has been led in recent years by the dominant "ZZM" line of Sergei Zinovjev, Danis Zaripov, and Aleksey Morozov, who have established themselves as one of the most dominant lines in recent history. Combined with veterans such as Vitaly Proshkin and Vladimir Vorobiev, and imports, such as Ray Giroux, Petr Čajánek, and Jukka Hentunen, Kazan has remained one of the top teams in the league. However, they have been at times criticized for lacking consistency and relying too heavily on star players such as Morozov.[2]
Ak Bars Kazan are strong rivals with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and the neighboring team of Salavat Yulaev Ufa. However, Ak Bars was the strongest rival with Dynamo Moscow in the 1990s.
Honors
Champions
Russian Championship (5): 1997–98, 2005–06, 2008-09, 2009–10, 2017–18 Gagarin Cup (3): 2008-09, 2009–10, 2017–18 Opening Cup (2): 2009–10, 2020–21 Russian Superleague (2): 1997–98, 2005–06 IIHF European Champions Cup (1): 2007 IIHF Continental Cup (1): 2007–08 Soviet Class A2 (3): 1962, 1985, 1989 (West) Soviet Class B (1): 1976
Runners-up
Russian Championship (5): 1999-00, 2001-02, 2006-07, 2014-15, 2019-20 Gagarin Cup (1): 2014-15 Russian Superleague (3): 1999-00, 2001-02, 2006-07
Russian Championship (1): 2016-17 Gagarin Cup (1): 2016-17 Russian Superleague (1): 2003-04 IIHF Continental Cup (1): 1999-00
Season-by-season KHL record
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; P = Playoff
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Top Scorer | Playoffs |
| 2008–09 | 56 | 36 | 10 | 6 | 122 | 189 | 123 | 1st, Chernyshev | Alexei Morozov (71 points: 32 G, 39 A; 49 GP) | Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–3 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) |
| 2009–10 | 56 | 25 | 18 | 5 | 96 | 159 | 128 | 2nd, Kharlamov | Alexei Morozov (49 points: 26 G, 23 A; 50 GP) | Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–3 (HC MVD) |
| 2010–11 | 54 | 29 | 12 | 8 | 105 | 181 | 133 | 1st, Kharlamov | Alexei Morozov (56 points: 21 G, 35 A; 53 GP) | Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) |
| 2011–12 | 54 | 27 | 19 | 5 | 92 | 167 | 136 | 3rd, Kharlamov | Alexei Morozov (50 points: 21 G, 29 A; 53 GP) | Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2–4 (Traktor Chelyabinsk) |
| 2012–13 | 52 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 104 | 157 | 112 | 1st, Kharlamov | Alexei Morozov (38 points: 15 G, 26 A; 51 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 3–4 (Traktor Chelyabinsk) |
| 2013–14 | 54 | 26 | 14 | 6 | 100 | 139 | 108 | 2nd, Kharlamov | Alexander Burmistrov (38 points: 10 G, 28 A; 54 GP) | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Sibir Novosibirsk) |
| 2014–15 | 60 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 120 | 169 | 115 | 1st, Kharlamov | Justin Azevedo (50 points: 17 G, 33 A; 58 GP) | Lost in Gagarin Cup Finals, 1–4 (SKA Saint Petersburg) |
| 2015–16 | 60 | 31 | 20 | 9 | 96 | 143 | 127 | 2nd, Kharlamov | Justin Azevedo (53 points: 17 G, 36 A; 59 GP) | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) |
| 2016–17 | 60 | 38 | 18 | 4 | 109 | 155 | 127 | 2nd, Kharlamov | Justin Azevedo (34 points: 13 G, 21 A; 54 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 0–4 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk) |
| 2017–18 | 56 | 32 | 18 | 6 | 100 | 158 | 126 | 1st, Kharlamov | Jiri Sekac (42 points: 16 G, 26 A; 50 GP) | Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–1 (CSKA Moscow) |
| 2018–19 | 62 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 82 | 165 | 139 | 3rd, Kharlamov | Jiri Sekac (47 points: 23 G, 24 A; 60 GP) | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Avangard Omsk) |
| 2019–20 | 62 | 44 | 13 | 5 | 93 | 178 | 121 | 1st, Kharlamov | Justin Azevedo (37 points: 13 G, 24 A; 57 GP) | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk) Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020–21 | 60 | 41 | 11 | 8 | 90 | 185 | 131 | 1st, Kharlamov | Stéphane Da Costa (57 points: 27 G, 30 A; 52 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 3–4 (Avangard Omsk) |
Players
Current roster
Updated 28 April 2021.[3][4]
| # | Nat | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | Timur Bilyalov | G | L | 26 | 2019 | Kazan, Russia | |
| 69 | Alexander Burmistrov | C | L | 29 | 2020 | Kazan, Russian SFSR | |
| 28 | Patrice Cormier | C | L | 31 | 2019 | Cap-Pele, New Brunswick, Canada | |
| 77 | Stephane Da Costa | C | R | 32 | 2020 | Paris, France | |
| 9 | Nigel Dawes | LW | L | 36 | 2020 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| 86 | Nikita Dynyak | LW | R | 23 | 2019 | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| 85 | Kamil Fazylzyanov | D | L | 23 | 2019 | Kazan, Russia | |
| 11 | Mikhail Fisenko | C | L | 31 | 2019 | Magnitogorsk, Russian SFSR | |
| 22 | Stanislav Galiev | RW | R | 29 | 2017 | Moscow, Russia | |
| 95 | Artyom Galimov | F | L | 21 | 2018 | Samara, Russia | |
| 12 | Mikhail Glukhov | LW/C | L | 33 | 2014 | Orsk, Russian SFSR | |
| 18 | Kristian Khenkel | D | L | 25 | 2019 | Minsk, Belarus | |
| 7 | Alexander Khovanov | C | L | 21 | 2020 | Saratov, Russia | |
| 65 | Konstantin Luchevnikov | D | L | 26 | 2020 | Chelyabinsk, Russia | |
| 89 | Artem Lukoyanov (A) | LW | L | 32 | 2011 | Almetyevsk, Russian SFSR | |
| 96 | Nikita Lyamkin | D | L | 25 | 2017 | Barnaul, Russia | |
| 13 | Roman Lyubimov | C | R | 29 | 2020 | Tver, Russian SFSR | |
| 1 | Amir Miftakhov | G | L | 21 | 2019 | Kazan, Russia | |
| 88 | Trevor Murphy | D | L | 26 | 2020 | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | |
| 3 | Andrey Pedan | D | L | 28 | 2018 | Kaunas, Lithuania | |
| 81 | Harri Pesonen | C | L | 32 | 2020 | Muurame, Finland | |
| 27 | Kirill Petrov | LW | L | 31 | 2019 | Kazan , Russia | |
| 5 | Roman Rukavishnikov | D | L | 29 | 2019 | Moscow, Russia | |
| 24 | Ilya Safonov | C | L | 20 | 2019 | Murmansk, Russia | |
| 14 | Viktor Tikhonov | RW | R | 33 | 2019 | Riga, Soviet Union | |
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | LW | L | 20 | 2018 | Angarsk, Russia | |
| 6 | Mikael Wikstrand | D | L | 27 | 2019 | Karlstad, Sweden | |
| 33 | Albert Yarullin (A) | D | R | 28 | 2015 | Kazan, Russia | |
| 44 | Dmitri Yudin | D | L | 26 | 2018 | Nizhny Tagil, Russia | |
| 25 | Danis Zaripov (C) | RW | L | 40 | 2017 | Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR | |
| 2 | Danila Zhuravlyov | D | L | 21 | 2019 | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia |
Franchise KHL scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed KHL regular season.[5]
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; = current Ak Bars player
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Champions rosters
- 2018: Alexander Sharychenkov, Emil Garipov, Roman Abrosimov, Vasili Tokranov, Roman Manukhov, Mikhail Sidorov, Rafael Batyrshin, Albert Yarullin, Atte Ohtamaa, Damir Musin, Andrei Markov, Nikita Lyamkin, Anton Glinkin, Nikita Yazkov, Mikhail Glukhov, Yaroslav Kosov, Rob Klinkhammer, Artyom Lukoyanov, Dmitry Arkhipov, Jiří Sekáč, Alexander Svitov, Vladislav Kara, Justin Azevedo, Vladimir Tkachyov, Anton Lander, Alexander Burmistrov, Alexei Potapov, Fedor Malykhin, Andrei Popov, Stanislav Galiev, Danis Zaripov, Dmitri Obukhov
- 2010: Petri Vehanen, Stanislav Galimov, Sergei Nikolayev, Nikita Alexeev, Alexei Badyukov, Yevgeni Bodrov, Vyacheslav Buravchikov, Alexei Emelin, Danis Zaripov, Stepan Zakharchuk, Jarkko Immonen, Dmitri Kazionov, Niko Kapanen, Roman Kukumberg, Nikolai Lemtyugov, Evgeny Medvedev, Alexei Morozov, Andrei Mukhachyov, Ilya Nikulin, Dmitri Obukhov, Grigori Panin, Andrei Pervyshin, Janne Pesonen, Kirill Petrov, Alexander Stepanov, Alexei Tereshchenko, Vasili Tokranov, Hannes Hyvönen, Igor Shadilov, Mikhail Yunkov
- 2009: Sergei Nikolayev, Stanislav Galimov, Fredrik Norrena, Ilya Nikulin, Andrei Mukhachyov, Andrei Pervyshin, Dmitri Kosmachev, Vyacheslav Buravchikov, Alexei Emelin, Grigori Panin, Evgeny Medvedev, Vasili Tokranov, Oleg Petrov, Mikhail Zhukov, Danis Zaripov, Alexander Stepanov, Dmitri Obukhov, Niko Kapanen, Jukka Hentunen, Alexei Badyukov, Andrei Kuzmin, Dmitri Kazionov, Nikita Alexeev, Gleb Klimenko, Tony Mårtensson, Kirill Petrov, Alexei Morozov
- 2006: Alexander Yeryomenko, Fred Brathwaite, Raymond Giroux, Serhiy Klymentiev, Ilya Nikulin, Denis Denisov, Evgeny Ryasensky, Andrei Pervyshin, Igor Shadilov, Yakov Seleznev, Konstantin Korneyev, Andrei Zubarev, Vitali Proshkin, Gennady Razin, Alexander Rybakov, Vladimir Vorobiev, Denis Loginov, Alexei Chupin, Mikhail Yunkov, Mikhail Zhukov, Dmitri Dudarev, Danis Zaripov, Alexei Tereshchenko, Alexander Stepanov, Enver Lisin, Dmitri Obukhov, Sergei Zinovjev, Alexei Badyukov, Alexei Kosourov, Alexei Morozov
- 1998: Sergei Abramov, Dmitri Yachanov, Oleg Grachev, Yuri Gunko, Dmitry Balmin, Khalim Nigmatullin, Oleksandr Savytskyi, Leonid Labzov, Vladimir Tolokonnikov, Artem Anisimov, Rafik Yakubov, Alexander Zavyalov, Kirill Golubev, Eduard Kudermetov, Igor Stepanov, Airat Kadeikin, Alexei Chupin, Oleg Antonenko, Andrei Tsaryov, Roman Baranov, Denis Arkhipov, Dmitri Vanyasov, Sergei Zolotov, Ilnur Gizatullin, Mikhail Sarmatin, Sergei Solomatov, Almaz Garifullin, Pavel Lazarev
NHL alumni
- Denis Arkhipov (1995–2000)
- Dmitri Bykov (1999–2002)
- Pavel Datsyuk (2000–2001)
- Fedor Tyutin (2003–2004)
- Aleksey Morozov (2005–2013)
- Alexander Burmistrov (2008–2009, 2013–2015, 2017–2018, 2020–)
Head coaches
- Anatoly Muravyov (1956–1965, 1966–1968)
- Ismail Milushev (1965–66, 1968–1971)
- Evgeny Yegorov (1971–1975)
- Vladimir Andreyev (1975–1978)
- Vladimir Vasiliev (1978–1982)
- Oleg Golyamin (1982–1984)
- Gennady Tsygurov (1984–1987)
- Vitaly Stain (1987–88)
- Vsevolod Yelfimov (1988–1991, 1994–95)
- Yuri Ochnev (1991–92)
- Vladimir Gusev (1992)
- Viktor Kuznetsov (1992–94)
- Yuri Moiseev (1995–1999, 2001–02)
- Vladimir Krikunov (1999–01)
- Vladimir Plyushev (2002–03)
- Vladimír Vůjtek (2003–04)
- Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (2004–2011)
- Vladimir Krikunov (2011–2012)
- Valery Belov (2012–2014)
- Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (2014–2019)
- Dmitri Kvartalnov (2019–)
Notable Alumni
- Vincent Lecavalier
- Dany Heatley
- Brad Richards
- Robert Esche
- Ilya Kovalchuk
- Alexei Kovalev
- Vyacheslav Kozlov
- Darius Kasparaitis
- Nikolai Khabibulin
- Aleksey Morozov
- Pavel Datsyuk
- Niko Kapanen
- Nik Antropov
- Ruslan Salei
- Michael Nylander
- Jiří Hudler
- Marcel Hossa
References
- ^ http://www.iihf.com/channels-club-events/iihf-club-continental-cup/statistics.html
- ^ IHF Forums http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7374 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Team Roster «Ak Bars»". www.ak-bars.ru. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- ^ "Ak Bars Kazan team roster". www.khl.ru. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- ^ "Ak Bars Kazan All-Time KHL Leaders". quanthockey.com. 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
External links
- (in Russian) Ak Bars Kazan official site
- Ak Bars Kazan on http://www.eliteprospects.com/
- (in Russian) Ak Bars Kazan on http://www.khl.ru/
