Hockey Club Ak Bars (Russian and ), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Kazan, Tatarstan. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club was founded in 1956 as Mashstroy Kazan and adopted its current name in 1996. It won the Russian Superleague in 1998 and 2006.
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. 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 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 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. 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 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.IHF Forums http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7374
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 (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 (3): 2014-15, 2022-23, 2025-26 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) 2024–25 68 42 23 3 87 211 162 4th, Kharlamov Artyom Galimov (59 points: 35 G, 24 A; 68 GP) Lost in Round 2, 2–4 (Dynamo Moscow) 2025–26 68 43 17 8 94 212 169 2nd, Kharlamov Kirill Semyonov (56 points: 18 G, 38 A; 68 GP) Lost in Gagarin Cup Finals, 2–4 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
Players
Current roster
Franchise KHL scoring leaders
These are 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
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 Kirill Semyonov C 272 60 126 186 0.68 Artyom Galimov C 387 84 93 177 0.45 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
Goals Player Pos G Danis Zaripov RW/LW 148 Alexei Morozov RW 112 Kirill Petrov LW 102 Justin Azevedo C 93 Artyom Galimov C 84 Stanislav Galiev RW 78 Artyom Lukoyanov LW 75 Vladimir Tkachyov C 71 Dmitrij Jaškin RW 71 Janne Pesonen LW 68
Assists Player Pos A Danis Zaripov RW/LW 182 Justin Azevedo C 169 Ilya Nikulin D 159 Alexei Morozov RW 152 Kirill Semyonov C 126 Nikita Lyamkin D 113 Evgeny Medvedev D 110 Niko Kapanen C 109 Kirill Petrov LW 103 Artyom Galimov C 93
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
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 Andrei Markov
References
External links