Admiral Vladivostok

At the request of the governor of Primorsky Krai, Vladimir Miklushevsky, the creation of the club was honored upon a member of the Federation Council of the Territory, Vyacheslav Fetisov. On 21 April 2013, it was decided that Admirals would join the Kontinental Hockey League in the 2013–14 season. [3] At a meeting with the editors of the coastal media in December 2013, Vladimir Miklushevsky said that the idea of a club was born on the birthday of Vyacheslav Fetisov, 20 April 2013.

Admiral's name and logo were determined by the public. The names of Admiral, Orca and "Outpost" were offered for vote, where Admiral won with 72.2% of the vote.[2] Located in the Maritime Province, its logo features a blue anchor supported by Cyrillic white letter 'Admiral'.

On 17 June 2013, the KHL held its first ever league expansion draft to form the Admiral roster. The Admirals had the right to choose one of five skaters submitted by each KHL club, except foreign clubs and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, who were rebuilding from the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash. Under the terms of the draft, Admiral were allowed to select up to 7 foreign players, including no more than one goaltender. Admiral would initially select 19 players, including a goaltender.[3]

On 27 July 2013, Rubin Tyumen and Admiral signed a co-operation affiliation agreement, between the KHL and the secondary tier VHL. On 1 August 2013, a vote on uniforms of the team was completed: the number 1 option won out with the public, a dark blue uniform decorated with the image of an anchor.[4]

On 6 September 2013, Admiral Vladivostok played their first match in the KHL championship against provincial rivals Amur Khabarovsk. The first goal scored in the club's history was scored by Swedish forward Nicklas Bergfors, and the match ended in Admiral's first shootout victory with a score of 4–3. On 2 December 2013 Vladivostok fired its inaugural coach Hannu Jortikka due to a conflict with club management. Three days later Admiral announced that Sergei Svetlov, Olympic champion in 1988 in the composition of the USSR national hockey team, would assume the head coaching responsibilities.

On 7 January 2014, in a match with Severstal Cherepovets, Justin Hodgman scored the 100th goal in the club's history. In a fourth-place finish in the Chernyshev division, Admiral made the playoffs in their first season, losing in the first round for the Gagarin Cup 2–4 to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

In the off-season, on 21 May 2014, it was announced that Dusan Gregor would become the third coach in club history.[5]

On 1 April 2020, it was reported that Admiral Vladivostok was to withdraw from the 2020–21 KHL season due to financial problems stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The club's main sponsor, Vladivostok sea port was adversely affected by the worldwide pandemic and could not finance the team as planned. It is believed Vladivostok will return to the KHL, but it is currently unknown when.[6]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime/Shootout Wins, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, L = Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

• Admiral Vladivostok Official Website