Hockey Club Ak Bars ( Russian : Ак Барс , Tatar : Ак Барс , English: Snow Leopard ), also known as Ak Bars Kazan , is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan . They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League .
17-507: 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
34-607: Is a second-level ice hockey tournament for European clubs (behind Champions Hockey League ), begun in 1997 after the discontinuing of the European Cup . It was intended for teams from countries without representatives in the European Hockey League , with participating teams chosen by the countries' respective ice hockey associations. Hans Dobida served as chairman of the Continental Cup until 2018. The Federation Cup
51-1060: The Soviet Union , running from 1946 to 1992. Before the 1940s the game of ice hockey was not cultivated in Russia , instead the more popular form of hockey was bandy . Following the dissolution of the USSR , the league was temporarily renamed the CIS Championship in 1992. This organization was the direct predecessor of the International Hockey League ( Russian : Межнациональная хоккейная Лига ), and subsequent Russian Superleague (RSL) and current Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The Soviet Championship League began in 1946, with 12 teams playing 7 games each. Teams were based in Arkhangelsk , Kaunas , Leningrad , Moscow , Riga , Sverdlovsk , Tallinn and Uzhhorod , and eight of them were from
68-402: 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
85-547: The amateur rules of the International Olympic Committee to retain their amateur status and compete in the Olympics . The league was dominated by Moscow-based teams, who won every title in the league's existence. Far and away the most dominant club in league history was HC CSKA Moscow , the famous "Red Army Team," which won 32 titles, including all but six from 1955 to 1989 and 13 in a row from 1976 to 1989. CSKA
102-458: The military or police. The teams were populated with amateur players who were actually full-time athletes hired as regular workers of a company ( aircraft industry , food workers , tractor industry ) or organization ( KGB , Red Army , Soviet Air Force ) that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours social sports society hockey team for their workers. In other words, all Soviet hockey players were de facto professionals who circumvented
119-432: 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. Ak Bars Kazan are strong rivals with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and
136-1419: The neighboring team of Salavat Yulaev Ufa . However, Ak Bars was the strongest rival with Dynamo Moscow in the 1990s. [REDACTED] Russian Championship (5) : 1997–98 , 2005–06 , 2008-09 , 2009–10 , 2017–18 [REDACTED] Gagarin Cup (3) : 2008-09 , 2009–10 , 2017–18 [REDACTED] Opening Cup (3) : 2009–10 , 2020–21 , 2023–24 [REDACTED] Russian Superleague (2) : 1997–98 , 2005–06 [REDACTED] IIHF European Champions Cup (1) : 2007 [REDACTED] IIHF Continental Cup (1) : 2007–08 [REDACTED] Soviet Class A2 (3) : 1962, 1985, 1989 (West) [REDACTED] Soviet Class B (1) : 1976 [REDACTED] Russian Championship (5) : 1999-00 , 2001-02 , 2006-07 , 2014-15 , 2019-20 [REDACTED] Gagarin Cup (2) : 2014-15 , 2022-23 [REDACTED] Russian Superleague (3) : 1999-00 , 2001-02 , 2006-07 [REDACTED] Russian Championship (1) : 2016-17 [REDACTED] Gagarin Cup (1) : 2016-17 [REDACTED] Russian Superleague (1) : 2003-04 [REDACTED] IIHF Continental Cup (1) : 1999-00 Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/shootout losses; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; P = Playoff Updated 13 August 2024. These are
153-610: The next two years. The tournament was played in seeded rounds of qualifying groups. There were three rounds of qualifying groups, with winners of qualifying groups progressing to the next round. The three winners of the third round groups entered the semifinals, along with the host club. The first round was held in September, the second in October, the third in November and the finals in December. In
170-462: The playoffs by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl . 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 . 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
187-648: The season and was demoted. 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. 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
SECTION 10
#1732855681703204-419: The top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed KHL regular season. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game ; = current Ak Bars player Soviet Championship League The Soviet Hockey Championship ( Russian : Чемпионат СССР по хоккею ) was the highest level ice hockey league in
221-417: The tournament. In a KO-system with three qualifying groups, which qualifies the four participants in the finals. The following year was played in the same mode. Due to the increased number of participants (some Western European clubs had registered for the competition), an additional qualifying round was introduced. The competition began in 1997–98 with 42 clubs from 26 countries, which expanded to 48 teams for
238-514: Was a substantial overlap between the rosters of the Red Army Team and the Soviet national team, which was one factor behind the Soviets' near-absolute dominance of international hockey from the 1950s through the early 1990s. By the late 1980s, however, the long run of Red Army dominance caused a significant dropoff in attendance throughout the league. IIHF Continental Cup The Continental Cup
255-585: Was able to pull off such a long run of dominance because during the Soviet era, the entire CSKA organization was a functioning division of the Soviet Armed Forces via the Ministry of Defence. As all able-bodied Soviet males had to serve in the military, the team was thus able to draft the best young hockey players in the Soviet Union onto the team. All players were commissioned officers in the Soviet Army . There
272-510: Was an official European ice hockey club competition created in 1995. It was the second European competition for club teams, intended for those teams who could not qualify for the European Cup , especially for those from Eastern European countries. It was the direct predecessor of the IIHF Continental Cup, which was played two seasons later. In the first year of competition, 13 Eastern European teams from twelve countries participated in
289-614: 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. In
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