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SKA Saint Petersburg facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Founded 1946
Arena SKA Arena
(Capacity: 21,500)
League KHL
Division Bobrov
Conference Western
Owner(s) Gazprom Export
President Gennady Timchenko
GM Dmitry Konstantinov
Captain Marat Khairullin
Affiliates SKA-Neva (VHL)
SKA-1946 (MHL)
Akademiya SKA (MHL)

Hockey Club SKA (Russian: Хоккейный клуб СКА), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg. They are members of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club never competed in a league final until the 2014–15 KHL season, where they defeated Ak Bars Kazan winning the Gagarin Cup. They won their second Gagarin Cup in 2017, defeating Metallurg Magnitogorsk. In 2012, with an average of 10,126 spectators, the SKA became the first Russian club ever to average a five-digit attendance.

SKA is owned by Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom. The club used its immense wealth to gather almost all elite Russian KHL players under its umbrella to prepare them for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The success of Russian team in winning gold at the first Olympics since 1994 that did not feature any active NHL players were attributed to players' chemistry developed in SKA.

In 2023, Roman Rotenberg, the General Manager of the Russian team, thanked Russian state-owned Gazprom for their contribution to Russia's victory at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

History

Helsinki Ice Challenge 2017
Helsinki Ice Challenge 2017.

The club was established in 1946 as a top-level club of the Soviet Championship League to participate in its first season. The original name of the club was Kirov LDO (Kirov Leningrad Officers' Club). It was subsequently changed to ODO (District Officers' Club) in 1953, SKVO (Sports Club of the Military District) in 1957 and finally Sportivnyi Klub Armii (Sport Club of the Army) in 1959. During the Soviet era, the SKA (along with CSKA Moscow) belonged to the Ministry of Defense sports club system.

After finishing last in their group during the first season, LDO skipped the next season and was downgraded to the second level of the championship in 1948. The club returned to the Soviet Class A in 1950–51 and remained in the top division of the Soviet league until 1991. The highest achievements of the club during that time were the 1968 and 1971 Soviet Cup Finals (the former was lost to CSKA Moscow 7–1, the latter to Spartak Moscow 5–1) as well as the bronze medals of the 1970–71 and 1986–87 Soviet Championships.

After one season in the second level division of the Soviet League (the first and the only CIS Championship), the SKA joined the International Ice Hockey League established by the top ice hockey teams of the former Soviet Union. During its 1993–94 season, the SKA managed to advance to the IHL Cup semi-finals but lost to that year's champion Lada Togliatti. The club was less successful in the Russian Superleague, which replaced the IHL as the main Russian championship since 1996, failing to get further than the first playoff rounds.

The formation of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008 marked the beginning of a new era for the team. HC SKA got into their first Conference finals during the 2011–12 season and finishing first during the regular season the next year winning the 2012–13 Continental Cup.

In the 2015 Gagarin Cup playoffs, after defeating both Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Dynamo Moscow in five games in the first two rounds, HC SKA were in the Western Conference finals for the third time in four years this time facing CSKA Moscow. HC SKA were already down 0–3 after the first three games, but managed to rebound and win the next four straight clinching the series 4–3. This made them the first team in KHL history to win a playoff series after being down three games to none. The team would go on to defeat Ak Bars Kazan 4–1 to win the Gagarin Cup and become the KHL champions, the first nationwide championship in club history. But they could not manage to retain the Gagarin Cup in the following season, as they were swept by 2015–16 Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow in the conference finals and finished in 3rd place.

In the 2016–17 KHL season, SKA drew an average home attendance of 11,735.

Awards and trophies

Team

Gagarin Cup

  • Winners (2): 2014–15, 2016–17

Continental Cup

  • Winners (3): 2012–13, 2017–18,2022–23

Opening Cup

  • Winners (2): 2017–18, 2018–19

Soviet Championship League

  • 3rd place (2): 1970–71, 1986–87

Pre-season

Spengler Cup

  • Winners (4): 1970, 1971, 1977, 2010

Motorola Cup

  • Winners (1): 1983

Puchkov Cup

  • Winners (6): 2008,2015,2017,2018,2019,2021,2022

Basel Summer Ice Hockey

  • Winners (1): 2009

Donbass Open Cup

  • Winners (1): 2011

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan's Cup

  • Winners (1): 2012

Tournament Hameenlinna

  • Winners (1): 2013

Sochi Winter Cup

  • Winners (1): 2022

Season-by-season 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 26 9 17 4 100 143 105 3rd, Tarasov Maxim Sushinsky (45 points: 18 G, 27 A; 48 GP) Lost in preliminary round, 0–3 (Spartak Moscow)
2009–10 56 36 4 10 6 122 192 118 1st, Bobrov Maxim Sushinsky (65 points: 27 G, 38 A; 56 GP) Lost in Conference quarterfinals, 1–3 (Dinamo Riga)
2010–11 54 23 9 13 9 96 171 144 2nd, Bobrov Mattias Weinhandl (49 points: 21 G, 28 A; 54 GP) Lost in Conference semifinals, 3–4 (Atlant Moscow Oblast)
2011–12 54 32 6 11 5 113 205 130 1st, Bobrov Tony Mårtensson (61 points: 23 G, 38 A; 54 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 0–4 (Dynamo Moscow)
2012–13 52 36 2 11 3 115 182 116 1st, Bobrov Patrick Thoresen (51 points: 21 G, 30 A; 52 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 2–4 (Dynamo Moscow)
2013–14 53 33 1 13 4 105 174 113 2nd, Bobrov Artemi Panarin (40 points: 20 G, 20 A; 51 GP) Lost in Conference semifinals, 2–4 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
2014–15 60 36 2 14 2 123 210 136 2nd, Bobrov Artemi Panarin (62 points: 26 G, 36 A; 54 GP) Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–1 (Ak Bars Kazan)
2015–16 60 29 2 21 2 100 163 197 2nd, Bobrov Vadim Shipachyov (60 points: 17 G, 43 A; 54 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 0–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2016–17 60 39 7 8 8 137 249 114 1st, Bobrov Ilya Kovalchuk (78 points: 32 G, 46 A; 60 GP) Gagarin Cup Champions, 4–1 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
2017–18 56 40 3 9 2 138 227 97 1st, Bobrov Ilya Kovalchuk (64 points: 17 G, 43 A; 54 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 2–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2018–19 62 45 4 5 8 103 209 80 1st, Bobrov Nikita Gusev (82 points: 17 G, 65 A; 62 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 3–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2019–20 62 30 14 13 5 93 179 118 1st, Bobrov Vladimir Tkachev (42 points: 14 G, 28 A; 55 GP) Won in Conference quarterfinals, 4–0 (HC Vityaz)
Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19
2020–21 60 33 4 8 15 82 178 126 1st, Bobrov Vladimir Tkachev (38 points: 11 G, 27 A; 45 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 2–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2021–22 48 25 6 11 6 68 146 98 1st, Bobrov Andrei Kuzmenko (53 points: 20 G, 33 A; 45 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 3–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2022–23 68 40 10 5 13 105 243 150 1st, Bobrov Dmitrij Jaškin (62 points: 40 G, 22 A; 67 GP) Lost in Conference finals, 2–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2023–24 68 40 6 19 3 95 220 139 1st, Bobrov Alexander Nikishin (56 points: 17 G, 39 A; 67 GP) Lost in Quarterfinals, 1–4 (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)

Players

Current roster

Updated 27 December 2022.

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
98 Russia Altybarmakyan, AndreiAndrei Altybarmakyan RW L 25 2022 St. Petersburg, Russia
10 Russia Bardakov, ZakharZakhar Bardakov F L 23 2021 Seversk, Russia
77 Belarus Falkovsky, StepanStepan Falkovsky D L 27 2021 Minsk, Belarus
72 Russia Galimov, EmilEmil Galimov RW L 31 2020 Nizhnekamsk, Russia
7 Russia Glotov, VasiliVasili Glotov C L 26 2022 Barnaul, Russia
97 Russia Gusev, NikitaNikita Gusev RW R 31 2021 Moscow, Russia
23 Czech Republic Jaskin, DmitrijDmitrij Jaskin LW L 31 2022 Omsk, Russia
12 Russia Kamalov, NikitaNikita Kamalov D L 28 2021 Novokuznetsk, Russia
40 Russia Ketov, EvgenyEvgeny Ketov (C) RW L 38 2013 Gubakha, Soviet Union
61 Russia Khairrulin, MaratMarat Khairrulin RW/C L 27 2022 Volzhsk, Russia
22 Russia Khusnutdinov, MaratMarat Khusnutdinov C L 21 2020 Moscow, Russia
19 Belarus Komarov, NikitaNikita Komarov F L 35 2022 Novopolotsk, Belarusian SSR
48 Russia Koromyslov, ArseniArseni Koromyslov D L 20 2020 Moscow, Russia
93 Russia Moiseyev, DanilaDanila Moiseyev LW L 25 2021 Moscow, Russia
21 Russia Nikishin, AlexanderAlexander Nikishin D L 22 2022 Oryol, Russia
70 Russia Nikolayev, DmitriDmitri Nikolayev G L 24 2021 St. Petersburg, Russia
27 Russia Ozhiganov, IgorIgor Ozhiganov D R 31 2019 Krasnogorsk, Russian SFSR
33 Russia Pashnin, MikhailMikhail Pashnin D L 34 2022 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
3 Russia Pedan, AndreyAndrey Pedan D L 30 2022 Kaunas, Lithuania
59 Russia Podyapolski, VladislavVladislav Podyapolski G L 28 2022 Novokuznetsk, Russia
14 Russia Polyakov, NikolaiNikolai Polyakov F L 23 2020 St. Petersburg, Russia
81 Russia Popugayev, NikitaNikita Popugayev RW R 25 2022 Moscow, Russia
74 Russia Prokhorkin, NikolaiNikolai Prokhorkin LW L 30 2022 Chelyabinsk, Russia
5 Russia Rukavishnikov, RomanRoman Rukavishnikov D L 31 2022 Moscow, Russia
49 Russia Savunov, DanilDanil Savunov LW L 23 2022 Sarov, Russia
57 Russia Shvets-Rogovoy, ArtyomArtyom Shvets-Rogovoy C L 29 2019 Saratov, Russia
63 Russia Solyannikov, GeorgiGeorgi Solyannikov D L 28 2021 St. Petersburg, Russia
87 Russia Tsitsyura, VladislavVladislav Tsitsyura F L 24 2020 Rybinsk, Russia
92 Russia Volkov, AlexanderAlexander Volkov LW L 26 2021 Moscow, Russia
42 Russia Vorobyev, MikhailMikhail Vorobyev C L 27 2021 Salavat, Russia
88 Russia Zhafyarov, DamirDamir Zhafyarov LW L 30 2022 Moscow, Russia
90 Russia Zykov, ValentinValentin Zykov RW R 28 2021 St. Petersburg, Russia


All-time 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 SKA player

Head coaches

  • Soviet Union Gennady Dmitriev (1946–47)
  • Soviet Union A. Semenov (1950—1951)
  • Soviet Union Belyay Bekyashev (1951—1952)
  • Soviet Union Georgy Lasin (1952—1953)
  • Soviet Union Anatoly Viktorov (1953—1956–57)
  • Soviet Union Evgeny Voronin (1957—1958)
  • Soviet Union Aleksander Komarov (1958—1962)
  • Soviet Union Yevgeni Babich (1962–1963)
  • Soviet Union Nikolai Puchkov (1963—1973)
  • Soviet Union Veniamin Alexandrov (1973—1974)
  • Soviet Union Nikolai Puchkov (1974—1977)
  • Soviet Union Oleg Sivkov (1977–78)
  • Soviet Union Nikolai Puchkov (1978)
  • Soviet Union Valeri Shilov (1978—1979)
  • Soviet Union Igor Romishevsky (1979—1981)
  • Soviet Union Boris Mikhailov (1981—1984)
  • Soviet Union Valeri Shilov (1984—1989)
  • Soviet Union Gennadiy Tsygankov (1989–90—1990–91)
  • Soviet Union/Russia Igor Shurkov (1990–91—1991–92)
  • Russia Boris Mikhailov (1992–93—1998)
  • Russia Nikolai Maslov (1998–99)
  • Russia Alexander Zhukov (1999)
  • Russia Rafael Ishmatov (1999—2001–02)
  • Russia Nikolai Puchkov (2002)
  • Russia Boris Mikhailov (2002—2005)
  • Russia Nikolai Solovyev (2005–06)
  • Russia Sergei Cherkas (2006)
  • Russia Boris Mikhailov (2006)
  • Russia Yuri Leonov (2006—2007)
  • United States Barry Smith (2007—2010)
  • Canada Ivan Zanatta (2010)
  • Czech Republic Václav Sýkora (2010—11)
  • Czech Republic Miloš Říha (2011—2012)
  • Russia Mikhail Kravets (2012)
  • Finland Jukka Jalonen (2012—2014)
  • Russia Vyacheslav Bykov (2014—2015)
  • Russia Andrei Nazarov (2015)
  • Russia Sergei Zubov (2015–16)
  • Latvia/Germany Oļegs Znaroks (2016—2018)
  • Russia Ilya Vorobiev (2018—2019)
  • Russia Alexei Kudashov (2019—2020)
  • Russia Valeri Bragin (2020—2022)
  • Russia Roman Rotenberg (2022—)

Logos

See also

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