Traktor Chelyabinsk

Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor (Russian: Трактор), is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). From 1967 to 2009 the team played their home games at the Yunost Sport Palace. In 2009 the team moved to the arena now called Traktor Ice Arena named after Valery Belousov, their present home arena in Chelyabinsk.

Traktor Chelyabinsk
CityChelyabinsk
LeagueKHL
2008–present
  • Russian Superleague
    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
ConferenceEastern
DivisionKharlamov
Founded1947
Home arenaTraktor Ice Arena
(capacity: 7,500)
Colours         
PresidentAlexei Teksler
General managerBoris Vidgof
Head coachPēteris Skudra
Affiliate(s)Chelmet Chelyabinsk (VHL)
Belye Medvedi (MHL)
Websitehctraktor.org
Franchise history
1948–1953Dzerzhinets
1954–58Avangard
1958–presentTraktor Chelyabinsk
Current season

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. In 1948-1953 the team was called Dzerzhinets and Avangard in 1954 - 1958. The current name was adopted starting with the 1958–59 season.[1]

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).

In 1965 - 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 replaced 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 breakthrough 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.

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

SeasonGPWOTWLOTLPtsGFGAFinishTop ScorerPlayoffs
2008–0956242228841421664th, TarasovAndrei Nikolishin (39 points: 10 G, 29 A; 48 GP)Lost in Preliminary Round, 0–3 (Atlant Moscow Oblast)
2009–1056183315641371924th, KharlamovEvgeny Skachkov (36 points: 22 G, 11 A; 51 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1–3 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
2010–1154148266641421665th, KharlamovDeron Quint (32 points: 21 G, 11 A; 53 GP)Did not qualify
2011–12543271141141631161st, KharlamovEvgeny Kuznetsov (41 points: 19 G, 22 A; 49 GP)Lost in Conference Finals, 1–4 (Avangard Omsk)
2012–1352283138981521202nd, KharlamovEvgeny Kuznetsov (44 points: 19 G, 25 A; 51 GP)Lost in Gagarin Cup Finals, 2–4 (Dynamo Moscow)
2013–1454187227751261485th, KharlamovPetri Kontiola (37 points: 15 G, 22 A; 53 GP)Did not qualify
2014–1560218247861441543rd, KharlamovAnton Glinkin (38 points: 13 G, 25 A; 54 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Sibir Novosibirsk)
2015–16601712238831321515th, KharlamovAlexander Rybakov (27 points: 9 G, 18 A; 55 GP)Did not qualify
2016–17602732010971301203rd, KharlamovPaul Szczechura (41 points: 14 G, 27 A; 60 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Barys Astana)
2017–1856267194961291212nd, KharlamovPaul Szczechura (42 points: 20 G, 22 A; 55 GP)Lost in Conference Finals, 0–4 (Ak Bars Kazan)
2018–1962189314581021515th, KharlamovRyan Stoa (27 points: 11 G, 16 A; 59 GP)Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)
2019–2062205316561321616th, KharlamovLukas Sedlak (40 points: 23 G, 17 A; 57 GP)Did not qualify

Players

Current roster

Updated 18 July 2020.[2]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
67 Pontus Aberg LW R 26 2020 Stockholm, Sweden
18 Dmitri Alexeyev D L 22 2017 Chelyabinsk, Russia
Yaroslav Alexeyev LW L 21 2020 Tyumen, Russia
71 Alexander Avtsin RW R 29 2019 Moscow, Russian SFSR
Gleb Babintsev D L 20 2020 Megion, Russia
55 Nick Bailen D R 30 2017 Fredonia, New York, United States
12 Jacob Berglund C L 28 2020 Malmö, Sweden
22 Alexei Byvaltsev C L 26 2020 Magnitogorsk, Russia
10 Pavel Dorofeyev LW L 19 2020 Nizhny Tagil, Russia
8 Yegor Fateyev C L 22 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia
28 Ivan Fedotov G L 23 2019 Saint Petersburg, Russia
94 Stanislav Gareyev D R 26 2020 Ivanovo, Russia
38 Tomas Hyka RW L 27 2019 Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
79 Igor Isayev D L 25 2017 Chelyabinsk, Russia
40 Sergey Kalinin C L 29 2020 Omsk, Soviet Union
24 Ruslan Karlin C L 28 2019 Moscow, Russia
89 Ilya Karpukhin D L 22 2018 Chelyabinsk, Russia
97 Yaroslav Kosov RW L 27 2019 Magnitogorsk, Russian SFSR
9 Anton Lazarev LW L 30 2020 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
27 Vyacheslav Leshchenko RW L 25 2020 Elektrostal, Russia
93 Konstantin Lukin F L 19 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia
26 Roman Manukhov D L 26 2020 Yekaterinburg, Russia
13 Artem Mikheyev C L 25 2019 Kazan, Russia
82 Dmitri Ogurtsov D L 26 2020 Moscow, Russia
17 Vyacheslav Osnovin C L 26 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia
20 Lawrence Pilut D L 24 2020 Tingsryd, Sweden
Alexander Podkorytov F R 22 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia
16 Igor Polygalov C L 33 2020 Perm, Russia
Mark Rubinchik D L 21 2020 Moscow, Russia
11 Lukas Sedlak C L 27 2019 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
23 Yuri Sergiyenko D L 25 2019 Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
42 Alexander Sharov C L 25 2015 Chelyabinsk, Russia
Dmitri Sheshin LW R 19 2020 Chelyabinsk, Russia
39 Alexander Sudnitsin G L 32 2020 Krasnoyarsk, Russian SFSR
72 Sergei Telegin D L 19 2020 Chelyabinsk, Russia
83 Nikita Tertyshny F R 22 2018 Chelyabinsk, Russia
34 Alexander Tridchikov LW R 25 2016 Chelyabinsk, Russia
35 Roman Will G L 28 2020 Plzeň, Czech Republic
65 Pyotr Yasinsky D L 20 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia
41 Andrei Yerofeyev LW L 25 2014 Nizhny Tagil, Russia
21 Oleg Yevenko D L 29 2020 Minsk, Belarusian SSR
2 Bogdan Zhilyakov D L 20 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia

Head coaches

  • Viktor Vasiliev, 1948–52
  • Vasily Karelin, 1952–54
  • Sergei Zakhvatov, 1954–62
  • Nikolai Sidorenko, 1962–64
  • Aleksandr Novokreshchenov, 1964
  • Viktor Stolyarov, 1964–65
  • Vladislav Smirnov, 1965
  • Albert Danilov, 1965–66
  • Viktor Stolyarov, 1968–73
  • Albert Danilov, 1973–74
  • Anatoly Kostryukov, 1974–78
  • Gennadi Tsygurov, 1978–84
  • Anatoly Shustov, 1984–87
  • Gennadi Tsygurov, 1987–90
  • Valery Belousov, 1990–95
  • Anatoly Kartaev, 1995
  • Sergei Grigorkin, 1995–99
  • Anatoly Timofeev, 2000–01
  • Sergei Paramonov, 2001
  • Aleksandr Glazkov, 2001–02
  • Nikolai Makarov, 2002–03
  • Anatoly Timofeev, 2003–05
  • Anatoly Bogdanov, 2005
  • Gennadi Tsygurov, 2005–07
  • Andrei Nazarov, 2007–10
  • Andrei Sidorenko, April 2010 - October 2010
  • Valery Belousov, 2010–2014
  • Karri Kivi, May 2014 - October 2014
  • Andrei Nikolishin, October 2014 – November 2015
  • Anvar Gatiyatulin, November 2015 – April 2018
  • German Titov, June 2018 – October 2018
  • Alexei Tertyshny, October 2018 – April 2019
  • Pēteris Skudra, April 2019 –

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
1Sergei MylnikovG1976–89
4Sergei BabinovD1972–75
7Dmitri KalininD1995–98
8Viktor ShuvalovLW1947–49
9Igor VaritskyF1988–95, 2004–05
11Evgeny DavydovRW1984–86
12Sergei StarikovD1976–79
24Sergei MakarovRW1976–78
24Valeri KarpovRW1988–95, 2005–06
25Konstantin AstrakhantsevRW1988–94
25Andrei SapozhnikovD1990–95, 1997–98
27Vyacheslav BykovC1980–82
28Alexander SeminRW2001–02
30Andrei ZuyevG1991–99, 2002–04
92Evgeny KuznetsovRW2009–

Franchise records and leaders

All-time KHL scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed KHL regular season.[3]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game      = current Traktor player

Honors

Champions

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

Runners-up

Gagarin Cup (1): 2013
Gagarin Cup (1): 2012
USSR Cup (1): 1973
Soviet League Championship: 1977
IHL Championship (2): 1993, 1994
Spengler Cup (1): 1973

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References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2014-07-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Traktor Chelyabinsk team roster". eng.hctraktor.org. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  3. "Traktor Chelyabinsk All-Time KHL leaders". quanthockey.com. 2019-01-12. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
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