Traktor Chelyabinsk

Traktor
Трактор
Nickname "Tractor drivers"
City Chelyabinsk
League

KHL 2008-present

Conference Eastern
Division Kharlamov
Founded 1947
Home arena Traktor Ice Arena
(capacity: 7,500)
Colours                    
General manager Russia Evgeny Gubarev
Head coach Russia Anvar Gatiyatulin (acting)
Captain Belarus Vladimir Denisov
Affiliate(s) Chelmet Chelyabinsk (VHL)
Belye Medvedi (MHL)
Website eng.hctraktor.org/main
Franchise history

Traktor Ice Hockey Club 1959-present[1]

  • Avangard 1954-58
  • Dzerzhinets 1948-1953

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 and 1958. The current name was adopted starting with the 1958–59 season.[2]

Traktor played its first game in the top league on December 12, 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. 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 of the 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

1st, gold medalist(s) KHL Continental Cup (1): 2012
1st, gold medalist(s) Vysshaya Liga Championship (1): 2006

Runners-up

2nd, silver medalist(s) Gagarin Cup (1): 2013
3rd, bronze medalist(s) Gagarin Cup (1): 2012
2nd, silver medalist(s) USSR Cup (1): 1973
3rd, bronze medalist(s) Soviet League Championship: 1977
3rd, bronze medalist(s) IHL Championship (2): 1993, 1994
2nd, silver medalist(s) 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

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)
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)
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)
2013–14 54 18 7 22 7 75 126 148 5th, Kharlamov Petri Kontiola (37 points: 15 G, 22 A; 53 GP) Did not qualify
2014–15 60 21 8 24 7 86 144 154 3rd, Kharlamov Anton Glinkin (38 points: 13 G, 25 A; 54 GP) Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Sibir Novosibirsk)
2015–16 60 17 12 23 8 83 132 151 5th, Kharlamov Alexander Rybakov (27 points: 9 G, 18 A; 55 GP) Did not qualify
2016–17 60 27 3 20 10 97 130 120 3rd, Kharlamov Paul Szczechura (41 points: 14 G, 27 A; 60 GP) Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Barys Astana)

Players

Current roster

Updated August 9, 2016.[3]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
85 Russia Afonasyevsky, SemyonSemyon Afonasyevsky LW L 20 2015 Chelyabinsk, Russia
5 Russia Borodkin, ArtyomArtyom Borodkin D L 25 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
22 Russia Chernikov, AlexanderAlexander Chernikov F L 32 2016 Togliatti, Russian SFSR
94 Russia Demchenko, VasiliVasili Demchenko G L 23 2011 Chelyabinsk, Russia
7 Belarus Denisov, VladimirVladimir Denisov (C) D L 33 2015 Novopolotsk, Belorussian SSR
33 Czech Republic Francouz, PavelPavel Francouz G R 27 2015 Plzen, Czechoslovakia
8 Russia Gubarev, DaniilDaniil Gubarev LW R 25 2014 Magnitogorsk, Russia
90 Russia Klimontov, KonstantinKonstantin Klimontov D L 26 2015 Chelyabinsk, Russia
78 Russia Kruchinin, AlexeiAlexei Kruchinin F R 26 2015 Penza, Russia
18 Russia Mamayev, DanilDanil Mamayev D R 23 2015 Magnitogorsk, Russia
10 Russia Mirnov, IgorIgor Mirnov C L 32 2016 Moscow, Russian SFSR
91 Russia Mokin, MikhailMikhail Mokin F L 25 2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
60 Russia Penkovsky, ArtyomArtyom Penkovsky LW L 22 2014 Chelyabinsk, Russia
12 Russia Pestunov, DmitriDmitri Pestunov (A) C L 32 2014 Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
47 Russia Petrov, AlekseyAleksey Petrov (A) D L 34 2015 Vorkuta, Russian SFSR
18 Russia Petrov, YuriYuri Petrov C R 33 2016 Togliatti, Russian SFSR
16 Russia Shinin, AlexanderAlexander Shinin D L 33 2015 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
28 Russia Yakutsenya, MaximMaxim Yakutsenya F L 36 2015 Serov, Russia
77 Russia Zhuldikov, NikitaNikita Zhuldikov D L 21 2015 Nizhny Tagil, Russia
44 Russia Koltsov, KirillKirill Koltsov D L 34 2016 Chelyabinsk, Russia
26 Czech Republic Řepík, MichalMichal Řepík F R 28 2016 Vlašim, Czechoslovakia
38 Czech Republic Szczechura, PaulPaul Szczechura F R 31 2016 Brantford, Ontario, Canada
42 Russia Sharov, AlexanderAlexander Sharov F L 22 2015 Chelyabinsk, Russia
96 Russia Zinovyev, IlyaIlya Zinovyev F L 21 2015 Chelyabinsk, Russia
88 Czech Republic Novotný, JiříJiří Novotný F R 34 2016 Pelhřimov, Czechoslovakia

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–

All-time KHL scoring leaders

'Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals'

Player[4] GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Russia Anton Glinkin 434 64 124 188 96 1 15 2 13
Russia Andrei Popov 419 84 77 161 192 -1 18 2 16
Russia Evgeny Kuznetsov 210 65 81 146 124 -5 19 6 15
United States Deron Quint 264 50 63 113 121 -14 30 0 9
Russia Stanislav Chistov 255 45 62 107 112 -37 18 0 4
Finland Petri Kontiola 150 42 63 105 119 28 15 1 11
Russia Konstantin Panov 188 43 50 93 118 41 6 5 6
Czech Republic Jan Bulis 184 37 41 78 196 -15 19 1 7
Russia Andrei Nikolishin 124 22 52 74 207 -12 7 0 3
Russia Maxim Yakutsenya 160 34 38 72 84 33 8 2 10

Head coaches

References

  1. ↑ http://eng.hctraktor.org/main/
  2. ↑ http://eng.hctraktor.org/history/
  3. ↑ "Traktor Chelyabinsk team roster". eng.hctraktor.org. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  4. ↑ Avangard Omsk KHL Scoring Leaders | QuantHockey.com Retrieved March 26, 2011.
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