Ak Bars Kazan

Hockey Club Ak Bars (Russian: 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.

Ak Bars Kazan
CityKazan, Russia
LeagueKontinental Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionKharlamov
Founded1956
Home arenaTatNeft Arena
(capacity: 10,000)
Colours     
Owner(s)Tatneft
General managerRafik Yakubov
Head coachDmitri Kvartalnov
CaptainDanis Zaripov
Affiliate(s)Bars Kazan (VHL)
Irbis Kazan (MHL)
Websitewww.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

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

SeasonGPWLOTLPtsGFGAFinishTop ScorerPlayoffs
2008–0956361061221891231st, ChernyshevAlexei Morozov (71 points: 32 G, 39 A; 49 GP)Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–3 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
2009–105625185961591282nd, KharlamovAlexei Morozov (49 points: 26 G, 23 A; 50 GP)Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–3 (HC MVD)
2010–1154291281051811331st, KharlamovAlexei Morozov (56 points: 21 G, 35 A; 53 GP)Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
2011–125427195921671363rd, KharlamovAlexei Morozov (50 points: 21 G, 29 A; 53 GP)Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2–4 (Traktor Chelyabinsk)
2012–1352281081041571121st, KharlamovAlexei Morozov (38 points: 15 G, 26 A; 51 GP)Lost in Conference Finals, 3–4 (Traktor Chelyabinsk)
2013–1454261461001391082nd, KharlamovAlexander Burmistrov (38 points: 10 G, 28 A; 54 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Sibir Novosibirsk)
2014–1560341461201691151st, KharlamovJustin Azevedo (50 points: 17 G, 33 A; 58 GP)Lost in Gagarin Cup Finals, 1–4 (SKA Saint Petersburg)
2015–166031209961431272nd, KharlamovJustin Azevedo (53 points: 17 G, 36 A; 59 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
2016–1760381841091551272nd, KharlamovJustin Azevedo (34 points: 13 G, 21 A; 54 GP)Lost in Conference Finals, 0–4 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
2017–1856321861001581261st, KharlamovJiri Sekac (42 points: 16 G, 26 A; 50 GP)Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–1 (CSKA Moscow)
2018–196238186821651393rd, KharlamovJiri Sekac (47 points: 23 G, 24 A; 60 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Avangard Omsk)
2019–206244135931781211st, KharlamovJustin Azevedo (37 points: 13 G, 24 A; 57 GP)Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk)
Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Players

Current roster

Updated 2 September 2020.[3][4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
51 Justin Azevedo (C) C R 32 2014 West Lorne, Ontario, Canada
82 Timur Bilyalov G L 25 2019 Kazan, Russia
69 Alexander Burmistrov C L 29 2020 Kazan, Russian SFSR
28 Patrice Cormier C L 30 2019 Cap-Pele, New Brunswick, Canada
77 Stephane Da Costa C R 31 2020 Paris, France
9 Nigel Dawes LW L 35 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 30 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 32 2014 Orsk, Russian SFSR
18 Kristian Khenkel D L 25 2019 Minsk, Belarus
7 Alexander Khovanov C L 20 2020 Saratov, Russia
89 Artem Lukoyanov (A) LW L 32 2011 Almetyevsk, Russian SFSR
96 Nikita Lyamkin D L 25 2017 Barnaul, Russia
1 Amir Miftakhov G L 20 2019 Kazan, Russia
3 Andrey Pedan D L 27 2018 Kaunas, Lithuania
27 Kirill Petrov LW L 30 2019 Kazan , Russia
36 Adam Reideborn G L 29 2019 Stockholm, Sweden
5 Roman Rukavishnikov D L 28 2019 Moscow, Russia
14 Viktor Tikhonov RW R 32 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 27 2015 Kazan, Russia
44 Dmitri Yudin D L 25 2018 Nizhny Tagil, Russia
25 Danis Zaripov RW L 39 2017 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
2 Daniil Zhuravlyov  D L 20 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

Champions rosters

NHL alumni

Head coaches

Notable Alumni

References

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