Ak Bars Kazan

Ak Bars Kazan
Ak Bars Kazan
City	Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia
League	Kontinental Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Kharlamov
Founded	1956
Home arena	TatNeft Arena; (capacity: 8,900)
Colours
Owner(s)	Tatneft
General manager	Marat Valiullin
Head coach	Anvar Gatiyatulin
Captain	Dmitrij Jaskin
Affiliates	Bars Kazan (VHL); Neftyanik Almetievsk (VHL); Irbis Kazan (MHL)
Website	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 (Russian: Ак Барс, 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.^{[citation needed]} Twice they won the USSR League (lower tiers), being named Champion of Russia in 1962 and 1976.^{[citation needed]}

SC Uritskogo Kazan's most successful period occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 10th 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.^{[citation needed]} Since then, Ak Bars Kazan dominated the RSL, winning the league in 2006. In 2007, Kazan paced the league with 35 wins and 214 goals in 54 games before falling at the final hurdle to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 (3): 2009–10, 2020–21,2023–24
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 (2): 2014-15, 2022-23
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)
2021–22	48	30	12	6	66	129	109	3rd, Kharlamov	Dmitri Kagarlitsky (34 points: 12 G, 22 A; 46 GP)	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Avangard Omsk)
2022–23	68	41	18	9	91	187	158	1st, Kharlamov	Alexander Radulov (57 points: 25 G, 32 A; 62 GP)	Lost in Gagarin Cup Finals, 3–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2023–24	68	41	25	2	84	175	140	2nd, Kharlamov	Vadim Shipachyov (44 points: 13 G, 31 A; 62 GP)	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1–4 (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)

Players

Current roster

Updated 13 August 2024.^[3]^[4]


No.	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
97	Yegor Babenko	RW	L	27	2024	Tyumen, Russia
17	Alexander Barabanov	LW	L	30	2024	St. Petersburg, Russia
82	Timur Bilyalov	G	L	29	2019	Kazan, Russia
37	Maxim Bykov	LW	R	22	2022	Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia
86	Nikita Dynyak	LW	R	27	2019	St. Petersburg, Russia
95	Artyom Galimov	F	L	25	2018	Samara, Russia
23	Dmitrij Jaskin	LW	L	31	2023	Omsk, Russia
92	Dmitri Katelevsky	F	L	21	2020	Orenburg, Russia
8	Artemi Kniazev	D	L	23	2023	Kazan, Russia
93	Yegor Korshkov	RW	L	28	2024	Novosibirsk, Russia
21	Semyon Koshelyov	LW	L	28	2023	Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
65	Konstantin Luchevnikov	D	L	29	2020	Chelyabinsk, Russia
96	Nikita Lyamkin	D	L	28	2017	Barnaul, Russia
53	Alexei Marchenko	D	R	32	2023	Moscow, Russia
35	Amir Miftakhov	G	L	24	2022	Kazan, Russia
58	Mitchell Miller	D	R	22	2023	Sylvania, Ohio, United States
7	Nic Petan	C	L	29	2024	Delta, British Columbia, Canada
24	Ilya Safonov (A)	C	L	23	2019	Murmansk, Russia
94	Kirill Semyonov	C	L	30	2022	Omsk, Russia
59	Semyon Terekhov	F	L	22	2022	Chelyabinsk, Russia
98	Mark Yanchevsky	D	L	26	2024	Magnitogorsk, Russia
33	Albert Yarullin	D	R	31	2024	Kazan, Russia
49	Nikita Yevseyev	D	L	20	2022	Almetievsk, Russia
44	Dmitri Yudin	D	L	29	2018	Nizhny Tagil, Russia
2	Danila Zhuravlyov	D	L	24	2022	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

Points
Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Danis Zaripov	RW/LW	438	148	182	330	0.75
Alexei Morozov	RW	256	112	152	264	1.03
Justin Azevedo	C	351	93	169	262	0.75
Ilya Nikulin	D	363	58	159	217	0.60
Kirill Petrov	LW	468	102	103	205	0.44
Artyom Lukoyanov	LW	634	75	92	167	0.26
Stanislav Galiev	RW	336	78	87	165	0.49
Niko Kapanen	C	264	53	109	162	0.61
Dmitri Obukhov	RW	446	56	93	149	0.33
Evgeny Medvedev	D	332	31	110	141	0.43

Goals
Player	Pos	G
Danis Zaripov	RW/LW	148
Alexei Morozov	RW	112
Kirill Petrov	LW	102
Justin Azevedo	C	93
Stanislav Galiev	RW	78
Artyom Lukoyanov	LW	75
Vladimir Tkachyov	C	71
Janne Pesonen	LW	68
Mikhail Varnakov	RW	60
Jarkko Immonen	C	59

Assists
Player	Pos	A
Danis Zaripov	RW/LW	182
Justin Azevedo	C	169
Ilya Nikulin	D	159
Alexei Morozov	RW	152
Evgeny Medvedev	D	110
Niko Kapanen	C	109
Kirill Petrov	LW	103
Dmitri Obukhov	RW	93
Artyom Lukoyanov	LW	92
Stanislav Galiev	RW	87

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, 2020–2022)

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 (2019–2022)
Oleg Znarok (2022)
Yuri Babenko* (2022)
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (2022–2024)
Anvar Gatiyatulin (2024–present)

Notable alumni

References

^ "STATISTICS". Archived from the original on 2008-01-07.
^ 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 2024-08-13.
^ "Ak Bars Kazan team roster". www.khl.ru. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
^ "Ak Bars Kazan All-Time KHL Leaders". quanthockey.com. 2024-03-30. Retrieved 2024-03-30.

External links

Official website

[1] "STATISTICS". Archived from the original on 2008-01-07.

[2] IHF Forums http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7374 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "Team Roster «Ak Bars»". www.ak-bars.ru. Retrieved 2024-08-13.

[4] "Ak Bars Kazan team roster". www.khl.ru. Retrieved 2024-08-13.

[5] "Ak Bars Kazan All-Time KHL Leaders". quanthockey.com. 2024-03-30. Retrieved 2024-03-30.

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