Amur Khabarovsk
Encyclopedia
Amur Khabarovsk is a professional hockey team based in Khabarovsk
, Russia
playing in the Kontinental Hockey League
. The team is nicknamed the Tigers (although it shouldn't be confused with the Amur Tigers
) and plays its home games at the Platinum Arena
.
, is located some 3,000 km away. Still, the team is very popular among Khabarovsk citizens, and despite its usual poor results, the team keeps being highly successful at the gates.
For a long time a lower division dweller, Khabarovsk won the championship of the Soviet League Division 3 in 1989, earning promotion to the upper level. In 1996, Khabarovsk promoted to the Russian Superleague
. A relegation to the Vysshaya Liga occurred in 2004 when the mining company that funds the club had financial difficulties. The Tigers could promote back to the top level in 2006. That same financial crisis forced the team's reserve squad, the Golden Amur Khabarovsk, to withdraw from the Asia League where it played for the 2004-05 season. The team could finish the season and take part in the playoffs, however; they finished third in regular season standings and failed to reach the playoffs finals.
In 2008, Khabarovsk was one of the 24 founding members of the Kontinental Hockey League. The team played the league's inaugural game on September 2 against Dinamo Riga
at home in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,100 people. Unfortunately for the fans, their team lost 4-2 to the Latvian side. Riga and the Tigers were playing back-to-back games in Khabarovsk, however, and on the second match, Amur won 7-6 in a tied game that went to shootouts. But the 2008-09 didn't prove to be very successful for the Tigers. The team was plagued with injuries - in October only, 11 players were side-lined, including imports Kyle Wanvig
and Bryce Lampman
. The Tigers needed to strengthen their squad, and therefore offered a contract to Carolina Hurricanes
's Matt Murley
, which resulted in a controversy sometimes compared to Alexander Radulov
's, even though there are many differences. Murley's signing didn't prove beneficial for Amur though, as he only contributed 8 points to a fairly impotent offence that scored only 111 goals. Veterans Oleg Belkin and Peter Nylander were Amur's top goal scorers with 11 goals each; Belkin was top scorer with a meager 24 points in 50 games. Amur's defence was better, with regular defencemen Vasily Turkovsky and Viktor Kostyuchenok
even managing to finish the season with a +3 and +2 record, respectively. But overall, the season was disappointing for the Tigers, with a 20th place, 15 wins and 60 points.
Things barely improved in 2009-10. Amur finished 21st, out of playoffs again, this time again with 60 points and only 12 wins in regular time (plus three in overtime and six in the shootouts). Former Montreal Canadiens
' and Columbus Blue Jackets
' David Ling
did the best in offense with 32 points, while Alexei Kopeikin
and Ruslan Khasanshin
were the best goal scorers with respectively 16 and 14 goals. All in all, it's only 129 goals that the team scored, 18 better than the previous season, but still fourth worst in the league. Oleg Belkin had to miss the whole season, while Peter Nylander
left the team after ten game to go back in Sweden
, joining Timrå IK
of the Elitserien
. The defence was not as solid as the previous season, with Turkovsky retired and Kostyuchenok traded to HC Spartak Moscow
after 14 games. The result was 187 goals against, 29 more than the previous season. Former NHL veteran and Stanley Cup
winner Nolan Pratt
ended up being the fourth defenceman on the team in icetime and finished the season with 11 points and a -14 +/- rating. Fortunately, despite playing a disappointing season, Khabarovsk could still count on the 4th highest average attendance in the league, with an average of 7,100 fans per game.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; bold = current Dinamo player
Points
Goals
Assists
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
playing in the Kontinental Hockey League
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
. The team is nicknamed the Tigers (although it shouldn't be confused with the Amur Tigers
Amur Tigers
Amur Tigers are an American Bandy club that play in the Premier Division.-History:In the 2003-2004 season they played in the Bandy World Cup but finished bottom of Group B1 after defeats against Kuzbass, Edsbyns IF and Mjondalens IF. The Tigers finished 3rd in the league in the 2005-2006...
) and plays its home games at the Platinum Arena
Platinum Arena
Platinum Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Khabarovsk, Russia. The capacity of the arena is 7,100 and was built in 2003. It is the home arena of the Amur Khabarovsk ice hockey team of the Kontinental Hockey League, and former home of the Golden Amur hockey team of Asia League Ice Hockey....
.
History
Amur Khabarovsk was founded in 1966 as SKA Khabarovsk; it only adopted its current name in 1996, a name that comes from the nearby river Amur. By its location in the Russian Far East, the team is pretty isolated from every other team in the KHL, making rivalries difficult; the nearest KHL team, Metallurg NovokuznetskMetallurg Novokuznetsk
Metallurg Novokuznetsk is a professional ice hockey team from Siberia based in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League.-History:-Champions:...
, is located some 3,000 km away. Still, the team is very popular among Khabarovsk citizens, and despite its usual poor results, the team keeps being highly successful at the gates.
For a long time a lower division dweller, Khabarovsk won the championship of the Soviet League Division 3 in 1989, earning promotion to the upper level. In 1996, Khabarovsk promoted to the Russian Superleague
Russian Superleague
The Russian Superleague , commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second best league in the world, after the National Hockey League of North America...
. A relegation to the Vysshaya Liga occurred in 2004 when the mining company that funds the club had financial difficulties. The Tigers could promote back to the top level in 2006. That same financial crisis forced the team's reserve squad, the Golden Amur Khabarovsk, to withdraw from the Asia League where it played for the 2004-05 season. The team could finish the season and take part in the playoffs, however; they finished third in regular season standings and failed to reach the playoffs finals.
In 2008, Khabarovsk was one of the 24 founding members of the Kontinental Hockey League. The team played the league's inaugural game on September 2 against Dinamo Riga
Dinamo Riga
Dinamo Riga was an ice hockey club, based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 1946 and disestablished in 1995 as Pārdaugava Rīga.-History of Dinamo Riga:...
at home in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,100 people. Unfortunately for the fans, their team lost 4-2 to the Latvian side. Riga and the Tigers were playing back-to-back games in Khabarovsk, however, and on the second match, Amur won 7-6 in a tied game that went to shootouts. But the 2008-09 didn't prove to be very successful for the Tigers. The team was plagued with injuries - in October only, 11 players were side-lined, including imports Kyle Wanvig
Kyle Wanvig
Kyle Wanvig is a Canadian ice hockey right winger who plays for Augsburger Panther.- Career :Wanvig was originally drafted 89th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, but he re-entered the draft and was selected 36th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft...
and Bryce Lampman
Bryce Lampman
Bryce James Lampman is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently under contract with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga .-Playing career:...
. The Tigers needed to strengthen their squad, and therefore offered a contract to Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
's Matt Murley
Matt Murley
Matt Murley is an American professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Timrå IK of the Swedish Elite League.-Playing career:...
, which resulted in a controversy sometimes compared to Alexander Radulov
Alexander Radulov
Alexander Valerievich Radulov is a Russian professional ice hockey player currently playing for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League . Radulov is the KHL's all-time assist leader with 125 career assists...
's, even though there are many differences. Murley's signing didn't prove beneficial for Amur though, as he only contributed 8 points to a fairly impotent offence that scored only 111 goals. Veterans Oleg Belkin and Peter Nylander were Amur's top goal scorers with 11 goals each; Belkin was top scorer with a meager 24 points in 50 games. Amur's defence was better, with regular defencemen Vasily Turkovsky and Viktor Kostyuchenok
Viktor Kostyuchenok
Viktor Pavlovich Kostyuchenok is a Belarusian professional ice hockey defenceman. He currently plays for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he serves as an alternate captain.-Playing career:He began playing professionally for Yunost Minsk in the Eastern European...
even managing to finish the season with a +3 and +2 record, respectively. But overall, the season was disappointing for the Tigers, with a 20th place, 15 wins and 60 points.
Things barely improved in 2009-10. Amur finished 21st, out of playoffs again, this time again with 60 points and only 12 wins in regular time (plus three in overtime and six in the shootouts). Former Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
' and Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
' David Ling
David Ling
David Ling is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently under contract with the Providence Bruins of the AHL...
did the best in offense with 32 points, while Alexei Kopeikin
Alexei Kopeikin
Alexei Kopeikin is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League .-External links:...
and Ruslan Khasanshin
Ruslan Khasanshin
Ruslan Khasanshin is a professional ice hockey player who currently plays the 2010–11 season in the Kontinental Hockey League with Metallurg Novokuznetsk.-External links:...
were the best goal scorers with respectively 16 and 14 goals. All in all, it's only 129 goals that the team scored, 18 better than the previous season, but still fourth worst in the league. Oleg Belkin had to miss the whole season, while Peter Nylander
Peter Nylander
Peter Nylander is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward. He is the younger brother of Michael Nylander.Nylander has played in his native Elitserien, the Finnish SM-liiga, the Russian league RSL and the KHL...
left the team after ten game to go back in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, joining Timrå IK
Timrå IK
Timrå IK is a Swedish ice hockey team from Timrå, who currently plays in the top division, Elitserien. Seasons in the top division include 1956–57 to 1975–76, 1977–78, 1981–82, and 2000–01 until present.-History:...
of the Elitserien
Elitserien
Elitserien, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden...
. The defence was not as solid as the previous season, with Turkovsky retired and Kostyuchenok traded to HC Spartak Moscow
HC Spartak Moscow
HC Spartak is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. They are members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League .-History:One of the sections of the Spartak Moscow sports club, HC Spartak Moscow was established in 1946...
after 14 games. The result was 187 goals against, 29 more than the previous season. Former NHL veteran and Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
winner Nolan Pratt
Nolan Pratt
Nolan Pratt is a former Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an assistant coach for the Springfield Falcons.-Playing career:...
ended up being the fourth defenceman on the team in icetime and finished the season with 11 points and a -14 +/- rating. Fortunately, despite playing a disappointing season, Khabarovsk could still count on the 4th highest average attendance in the league, with an average of 7,100 fans per game.
Franchise 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; bold = current Dinamo player
Points
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | P/G |
 Vadim Pokotilo |
C | 231 | 45 | 67 | 112 | 0.48 |
| Dmitri Tarasov Dmitri Tarasov Dmitri Tarasov may refer to:* Dmitri Tarasov , Russian footballer* Dmitri Tarasov , Russia ice hockey player* Dmitri Tarasov , Soviet screenwriter... |
LW | 290 | 47 | 64 | 111 | 0.38 |
| Alexei Kopeikin Alexei Kopeikin Alexei Kopeikin is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League .-External links:... |
LW | 239 | 45 | 55 | 100 | 0.59 |
| Anatoly Ustyugov |
RW | 205 | 43 | 43 | 86 | 0.53 |
 Igor Andryuschenko |
C | 172 | 35 | 42 | 77 | 0.44 |
| Vitali Shulakov |
D | 237 | 26 | 49 | 75 | 0.31 |
| Dmitri Uchaykin |
LW | 230 | 41 | 32 | 73 | 0.31 |
| Sergei Krivokrasov Sergei Krivokrasov Sergei Vladimirovich Krivokrasov is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League for ten seasons between 1992 and 2002... |
D | 90 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 0.68 |
| Igor Ignatushkin Igor Ignatushkin Igor Ignatushkin is a Russian professional ice hockey center who currently plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.He was selected by Washington Capitals in the 8th round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.... |
RW | 191 | 32 | 27 | 59 | 0.30 |
| Sergei Arekaev |
D | 110 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 0.51 |
Goals
| Player | Pos | G |
| Dmitri Tarasov Dmitri Tarasov Dmitri Tarasov may refer to:* Dmitri Tarasov , Russian footballer* Dmitri Tarasov , Russia ice hockey player* Dmitri Tarasov , Soviet screenwriter... |
LW | 47 |
| Vadim Pokotilo |
C | 45 |
| Alexei Kopeikin Alexei Kopeikin Alexei Kopeikin is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League .-External links:... |
F | 45 |
| Anatoly Ustyugov |
LW | 43 |
| Dmitri Uchaykin |
F | 41 |
| Igor Andryuschenko |
RW | 35 |
| Igor Ignatushkin Igor Ignatushkin Igor Ignatushkin is a Russian professional ice hockey center who currently plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.He was selected by Washington Capitals in the 8th round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.... |
F | 32 |
| Maxim Spiridonov Maxim Spiridonov Maxim Spiridonov is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League.He played junior hockey for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League before being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1998.-External links:... |
RW | 32 |
| Sergei Krivokrasov Sergei Krivokrasov Sergei Vladimirovich Krivokrasov is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League for ten seasons between 1992 and 2002... |
RW | 30 |
| Sergei Arekaev |
RW | 30 |
Assists
| Player | Pos | A |
| Vadim Pokotilo |
C | 67 |
| Dmitri Tarasov Dmitri Tarasov Dmitri Tarasov may refer to:* Dmitri Tarasov , Russian footballer* Dmitri Tarasov , Russia ice hockey player* Dmitri Tarasov , Soviet screenwriter... |
LW | 64 |
| Alexei Kopeikin Alexei Kopeikin Alexei Kopeikin is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League .-External links:... |
F | 55 |
| Vitali Shulakov |
D | 49 |
| Anatoly Ustyugov |
LW | 43 |
| Igor Andryuschenko |
RW | 42 |
| Alexander Krysanov Alexander Krysanov Alexander Krysanov is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for and is captain of Amur Khabarovsk in the Kontinental Hockey League.-External links:... |
LW | 38 |
| Vadim Averkin |
C | 34 |
| Sergei Kuznetsov Sergei Kuznetsov Serhiy Vasylyovych Kuznetsov is a retired Ukrainian and Soviet football player. He is the brother of Viktor Kuznetsov.-Honours:* Soviet Top League winner: 1972, 1975, 1977.* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1975.-International career:... |
LW | 33 |
| Dmitri Uchaykin |
F | 32 |