Traktor Chelyabinsk

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Traktor
Трактор
Full name

Traktor Ice Hockey Club 1959-present[1]

  • Avangard 1954-58
  • Dzerzhinets 1948-1953
Founded 1947
Based in Chelyabinsk
Arena Traktor Ice Arena
(capacity: 7,500)
League

KHL 2008-present

  • RSL
    1996–1999, 2006-2008
  • Vysshaya Liga
    1999-2006
  • IHL
    1992–1996
  • Soviet League Class A
    1948-1965, 1968-1992
  • Soviet League Class A2
    1965-1968
Division Kharlamov
Conference Eastern
Team colors                    
GM Russia Evgeny Tsybuk
Head coach Russia Valery Belousov
Captain Russia Vladimir Antipov
Affiliates Chelmet Chelyabinsk (VHL)
Belye Medvedi (MHL)
Website www.hctraktor.org

The Traktor Ice Hockey Club, also known as HC Traktor (Russian: Трактор) commonly Traktor Chelyabinsk, is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League.

History

Soviet Championship (1948–1992)

Founded in 1947 as a team of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Traktor have played for the Soviet and Russian championships since 1948. From 1948-1953 they were called Dzerzhinets and Avangard between 1954 to 1958. The current name was adopted starting with the 1958–59 season.[2]

Traktor played its first game in the top league on 12 December 1948 against CDKA Moscow. Viktor Shuvalov, a future star of Moscow clubs VVS and CSKA, led the team in scores during its first season in the championship. In 1955 Chelyabinsk reached the fourth place for the first time (back then a medal table still was dominated by the Moscow teams).

Between 1965 and 1968, Traktor played in the second division of the Soviet hockey championships. Thanks to coaches Viktor Stolyarov and Viktor Sokolov, the team returned to the first division in 1968.

In 1973, Traktor played in the USSR Cup finals against the CSKA. Although Traktor led 2-0, they lost the game with a score of 2-5. Valery Belousov and Gennadi Tsygurov, who subsequently went on to become head coaches of the team, were among the players of that roster.

Traktor's performance greatly improved after Anatoly Kostryukov became the team's head coach. In the 1976-77 season Traktor won bronze in the Soviet hockey championships, the team's highest achievement during the Soviet period of its history.

At that time, Traktor produced several players who achieved international prominence. One of the best Soviet forwards of all times, Sergei Makarov, was born in Chelyabinsk and began his career in Traktor. Along his teammate, defenseman Sergei Starikov, he regularly played on the Soviet national team from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Starikov and Makarov each won over 10 international tournaments with Team USSR. Makarov's older brother Nikolai was also one of the best Soviet defensemen and played several times in various international competitions. Vyacheslav Bykov, a long-time member of the Soviet national team and later the head coach of Team Russia, also played for Traktor for several years before he was acquired by CSKA. Traktor's goaltender, Sergei Mylnikov, was twice named the best goaltender of the Soviet championship. He was the Soviet team starting goalie at the 1987 Canada Cup and participated in two Olympics and five world championships. His son played several seasons for Traktor as a goaltender as well.

International League and Russian Superleague years (1992–2008)

In the early 1990s, Traktor twice finished third in the International Hockey League under head coach Valery Belousov. A group of Traktor players, including Sergei Gomolyako, Valeri Karpov, Igor Varitsky, Ravil Gusmanov and others, appeared on Team Russia at several world championships.

During the late 1990s ice hockey in Chelyabinsk entered a period of decline. In 1998 Traktor was relegated to the Vysshaya Liga and was replaced in its role as the major hockey team of Chelyabinsk by Mechel. The team found its way back to the elite only in 2006. Coached by Gennady Tsygurov they won the second division championship earning promotion to the Russian Superleague.

After the 2006-07 season, Tsygurov resigned. He was replaced by Andrei Nazarov, a native of Chelyabinsk who had spent 13 seasons in the NHL as an enforcer. Although he succeeded at securing Traktor's place in the top league, Nazarov's coaching style led Traktor to a new world record in overall penalty minutes in a single game that was set after the mass brawl versus Ak Bars Kazan in January 2008.

First seasons in the KHL (2008–2010)

During 2008–09 KHL season Traktor was reinforced by its alumni Ravil Gusmanov and NHL star Oleg Kvasha. Despite a good start Chelyabinsk finished the regular season with disappointing results and eventually failed to advance in the playoffs further than the first round losing the series to Atlant Moscow Oblast with an overall score 13-2. Kvasha was named the team's MVP of the season. 2009 was also notable for the club's move to the Arena Traktor. The first game in the new arena, played against Metallurg Magnitogorsk, was won by 3-2. The first player to score a goal was defenceman Andre Lakos.

Before the 2009–10 season the team had to face budget cuts and lose its biggest stars including Oleg Kvasha and Evgenii Dadonov. After an unstable performance in the regular season the team advanced to the playoffs with the lowest seed ultimately losing to its natural rival Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the first round.

Return of Belousov (2010–present)

During the 2010 off-season Nazarov left to coach infamous Vityaz Chekhov and was repalaced by Andrei Sidorenko who was fired off his job right after the disastrous start of the season. In October 2010 Valery Belousov returned as Traktor's head coach, but, nonetheless, during the 2010–11 the team failed to make the playoffs.

After the lackluster season the team finally fixing its financial issues seriously rearranged the roster with future stars such as Vladimir Antipov, Stanislav Chistov, Jan Bulis, Petri Kontiola and goaltender Michael Garnett. The results were immediate, Traktor became the best team of the 2011–12 regular season winning Continental Cup and taking bronze medals after losing to Avangard Omsk in Eastern Conference Finals. The biggest breakthrough of the season was a young winger Evgeny Kuznetsov who led the team in points. Another homegrown Chelyabinsk player, Konstantin Panov, who returned to Traktor after five seasons of absence, became the team's goal scoring leader.

Traktor kept all of its leaders for the 2012–13 season. Unlike many other clubs in the league Chelyabinsk did not sign any NHL players who were returning to Europe during the NHL lockout. Facing much stronger competition this time Traktor finished the regular season in the third place of the Eastern Conference. Kuznetsov continued his successful career leading the team in points, goals and assists. 17 years old forward Valeri Nichushkin became that season's major breaktrhough for Chelyabinsk, later in 2013 he won the Cherepanov Trophy as the KHL's Rookie of the Year and was picked in the top 10 of the NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars.

On its way to the Gagarin Cup Finals Traktor had to endure three seven game series against Barys Astana, Avangard Omsk and Ak Bars Kazan, all three of those rounds were won back by the team from the position of 3-1 down in the series. One of the main components the of success was goaltender Michael Garnett who had 5 shutouts during the post-season and GAA of 1.86. However, the team was less fortunate in the final games played versus the defending champions Dynamo Moscow. Failing to take the lead in the series Traktor ultimately lost it 4-2.

Honors

Champions

1 KHL Continental Cup (1): 2012
1 Vysshaya Liga Championship (1): 2006

Runners-up

2 Gagarin Cup (1): 2013
2 USSR Cup (1): 1973
3 Soviet League Championship: 1977
3 IHL Championship (2): 1993, 1994
2 Spengler Cup (1): 1973

Season-by-season KHL record

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

2009–10 || 56 || 18 || 3 || 31 || 5 || 64 || 137 || 192 || 4th, Kharlamov || Evgeny Skachkov(36 points: 22 G, 11 A; 51 GP) || Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1-3 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Season GP W OTW L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Top Scorer Playoffs
2008–09 56 24 2 22 8 84 142 166 4th, Tarasov Andrei Nikolishin (39 points: 10 G, 29 A; 48 GP) Lost in Preliminary Round, 0-3 (Atlant Moscow Oblast)
2010–11 54 14 8 26 6 64 142 166 5th, Kharlamov Deron Quint (32 points: 21 G, 11 A; 53 GP) Did not qualify
2011–12 54 32 7 11 4 114 163 116 1st, Kharlamov Evgeny Kuznetsov (41 points: 19 G, 22 A; 49 GP) Lost in Conference Finals, 1-4 (Avangard Omsk)
2012–13 52 28 3 13 8 98 152 120 2nd, Kharlamov Evgeny Kuznetsov (44 points: 19 G, 25 A; 51 GP) Lost in Finals, 2-4 (Dynamo Moscow)

Players

Current roster

Updated December 22, 2013.[3]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
88 Russia Abdullin, DenisDenis Abdullin F L 29 2013 Magnitogorsk, Russia
28 Russia Artamonov, YegorYegor Artamonov D R 24 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
58 Russia Bondarev, AlexeiAlexei Bondarev D L 31 2013 Oskemen, Kazakhstan
5 Russia Borodkin, ArtyomArtyom Borodkin D L 22 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
38 Czech Republic Bulis, JanJan Bulis F L 35 2011 Pardubice, Czech Republic
23 Russia Chistov, StanislavStanislav Chistov (A) F R 30 2011 Chelyabinsk, Russia
1 Russia Fokin, VladislavVladislav Fokin G L 27 2008 Chelyabinsk, Russia
34 Canada Garnett, MichaelMichael Garnett G L 31 2011 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
15 Russia Glinkin, AntonAnton Glinkin F R 25 2008 Chelyabinsk, Russia
25 Russia Katichev, EvgenyEvgeny Katichev D L 27 2009 Chelyabinsk, Russia
26 Russia Klimontov, KonstantinKonstantin Klimontov D L 23 2008 Chelyabinsk, Russia
63 Russia Kondratyev, MaximMaxim Kondratyev D L 31 2013 Togliatti, Russia
27 Finland Kontiola, PetriPetri Kontiola C R 29 2011 Seinäjoki, Finland
46 Belarus Kostitsyn, AndreiAndrei Kostitsyn F L 29 2012 Navapolatsk, Belarus
84 Russia Kuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov (A) F L 21 2007 Chelyabinsk, Russia
71 Russia Osnovin, VyacheslavVyacheslav Osnovin F L 19 2011 Chelyabinsk, Russia
9 Russia Popov, AndreiAndrei Popov F L 25 2003 Chelyabinsk, Russia
11 Russia Riabykin, DimitriDimitri Riabykin (C) D R 37 2012 Moscow, Russia
81 Russia Sayustov, DmitriDmitri Sayustov F L 25 2010 Chelyabinsk, Russia
29 Russia Vasilchenko, AlexeiAlexei Vasilchenko D L 32 2011 Oskemen, Kazakhstan
98 Russia Valeyev, IgorIgor Valeyev F L 33 2013 Snezhinsk, Russia
45 Russia Kokuyov, SemyonSemyon Kokuyov F L 27 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
91 Russia Mokin, MikhailMikhail Mokin F L 22 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
52 Russia Petrov, OlegOleg Petrov G L 20 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
43 Russia Khlystov, NikitaNikita Khlystov D L 20 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia

Honored members

Traktor Chelyabinsk hangs on the rafters of the Traktor Arena jerseys of all the Traktor players who have ever won the World Championship title, including the players who are currently active.

Traktor Chelyabinsk honored members
No Player Position Career
1 Sergei Mylnikov G 1976–89
4 Sergei Babinov D 1972–75
7 Dmitri Kalinin D 1995–98
8 Viktor Shuvalov LW 1947–49
9 Igor Varitsky F 1988–95, 2004-05
11 Evgeny Davydov RW 1984–86
12 Sergei Starikov D 1976–79
24 Sergei Makarov RW 1976–78
24 Valeri Karpov RW 1988–95, 2005–06
25 Konstantin Astrakhantsev RW 1988–94
25 Andrei Sapozhnikov D 1990–95, 1997–98
27 Vyacheslav Bykov C 1980–82
28 Alexander Semin RW 2001–02
30 Andrei Zuyev G 1991–99, 2002–04
92 Evgeny Kuznetsov RW 2009–

Head coaches

  • Soviet Union Viktor Vasiliev, 1948–52
  • Soviet Union Vasily Karelin, 1952–54
  • Soviet Union Sergei Zakhvatov, 1954–62
  • Soviet Union Nikolai Sidorenko, 1962–64
  • Soviet Union Aleksandr Novokreshchenov, 1964
  • Soviet Union Viktor Stolyarov, 1964–65
  • Soviet Union Vladislav Smirnov, 1965
  • Soviet Union Albert Danilov, 1965–66
  • Soviet Union Viktor Stolyarov, 1968–73
  • Soviet Union Albert Danilov, 1973–74
  • Soviet Union Anatoly Kostryukov, 1974–78
  • Soviet Union Gennadi Tsygurov, 1978–84
  • Soviet Union Anatoly Shustov, 1984–87
  • Soviet Union Gennadi Tsygurov, 1987–90
  • Russia Valery Belousov, 1990–95
  • Russia Anatoly Kartaev, 1995
  • Russia Sergei Grigorkin, 1995–99
  • Russia Anatoly Timofeev, 2000–01
  • Russia Sergei Paramonov, 2001
  • Russia Aleksandr Glazkov, 2001–02
  • Russia Nikolai Makarov, 2002–03
  • Russia Anatoly Timofeev, 2003–05
  • Ukraine Anatoly Bogdanov, 2005
  • Russia Gennadi Tsygurov, 2005–07
  • Russia Andrei Nazarov, 2007–10
  • Belarus Andrei Sidorenko, 2010
  • Russia Valery Belousov, 2010–

References

  1. ↑ http://eng.hctraktor.org/main/
  2. ↑ http://eng.hctraktor.org/history/
  3. ↑ "Traktor Chelyabinsk team roster". http://en.khl.ru/. Retrieved 2013-12-22. 

External links

Topics
Seasons
Playoffs
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
Junior drafts
All-Star Games
Games and Cups
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