Traktor Chelyabinsk

Ice hockey team in Chelyabinsk, Russia

Traktor Chelyabinsk

City| Chelyabinsk, Russia
League| KHL
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

Conference| Eastern
Division| Kharlamov
Founded| 1947
Home arena| Traktor Ice Arena
(capacity: 7,500)
Colours|
General manager| Ivan Savin
Head coach| Benoit Groulx
Captain| Vladimir Tkachyov
Affiliates| Chelmet Chelyabinsk (VHL)
Belye Medvedi (MHL)
Website| hctraktor.org
Franchise history
1948–1953| Dzerzhinets
1954–1958| Avangard
1958–present| Traktor Chelyabinsk
Current season

Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor, or HC Traktor Chelyabinsk, (Russian: ХК Трактор Челябинск; Трактор) is a professional ice hockey club based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). From 1967 to 2009, the team played its home games at the Yunost Sport Palace. Since 2009, the club has played in Traktor Ice Arena named after Valery Belousov.

## History

[edit]

### Soviet Championship (1948–1992)

[edit]

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).[citation needed]

In 1965 - 1968, Traktor played in the second division of the Soviet hockey championships. The team returned to the first division in 1968.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

### International League and Russian Superleague years (1992–2008)

[edit]

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)

[edit]

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)

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

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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 Gagarin Cup 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)
2017–18 | 56 | 26 | 7 | 19 | 4 | 96 | 129 | 121 | 2nd, Kharlamov | Paul Szczechura (42 points: 20 G, 22 A; 55 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 0–4 (Ak Bars Kazan)
2018–19 | 62 | 18 | 9 | 31 | 4 | 58 | 102 | 151 | 5th, Kharlamov | Ryan Stoa (27 points: 11 G, 16 A; 59 GP) | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)
2019–20 | 62 | 20 | 5 | 31 | 6 | 56 | 132 | 161 | 6th, Kharlamov | Lukáš Sedlák (40 points: 23 G, 17 A; 57 GP) | Did not qualify
2020–21 | 60 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 6 | 74 | 157 | 143 | 3rd, Kharlamov | Tomáš Hyka (49 points: 14 G, 35 A; 59 GP) | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1–4 (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
2021–22 | 49 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 71 | 152 | 119 | 2nd, Kharlamov | Lukáš Sedlák (43 points: 18 G, 25 A; 49 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 1–4 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
2022–23 | 68 | 23 | 8 | 27 | 10 | 72 | 169 | 190 | 5th, Kharlamov | Anton Burdasov (46 points: 19 G, 27 A; 48 GP) | Did not qualify
2023–24 | 68 | 27 | 10 | 25 | 6 | 80 | 163 | 157 | 4th, Kharlamov | Maxim Shabanov (50 points: 25 G, 25 A; 64 GP) | Lost in Semifinals, 0–4 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)

## Players

[edit]

### Current roster

[edit]

* view
* talk
* edit

Updated 24 August 2024.[2]

No. | Nat | Player  | Pos | S/G | Age  | Acquired  | Birthplace

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81 |  | Artyom Blazhiyevsky | D | L  | 31  | 2021 | Moscow, Russia
85 |  | Semyon Der-Arguchintsev | C | R  | 24  | 2023 | Moscow, Russia
98 |  | Grigori Dronov | D | L  | 27  | 2023 | Magnitogorsk, Russia
30 |  | Zach Fucale | G | L  | 29  | 2023 | Laval, Quebec, Canada
97 |  | Vasili Glotov | C | L  | 27  | 2024 | Barnaul, Russia
11 |  | Gleb Ivanov | D | L  | 22  | 2024 | Moscow, Russia
78 |  | Alexander Kadeikin | C | L  | 31  | 2024 | Elektrostal, Russia
51 |  | Steven Kampfer | D | R  | 36  | 2024 | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
35 |  | Nikita Korostelev | RW | R  | 28  | 2024 | Moscow, Russia
74 |  | Vitali Kravtsov | RW | L  | 25  | 2023 | Vladivostok, Russia
20 |  | Sergei Mylnikov | G | L  | 25  | 2020 | Chelyabinsk, Russia
44 |  | Ilya Nikolayev | D | L  | 23  | 2023 | Chelyabinsk, Russia
95 |  | Denis Pochivalov | F | L  | 24  | 2024 | Pervomaysk, Russia
11 |  | Egor Popov | C | L  | 28  | 2023 | Tyumen, Russia
10 |  | Buddy Robinson | RW | R  | 33  | 2023 | Bellmawr, New Jersey, United States
12 |  | Alexander Rykov | RW | L  | 19  | 2022 | Magnitogorsk, Russia
71 |  | Ostap Safin | RW | L  | 26  | 2024 | Prague, Czech Republic
49 |  | Maxim Shabanov | F | L  | 24  | 2021 | Chelyabinsk, Russia
24 |  | Alexander Sharov | C | L  | 29  | 2023 | Chelyabinsk, Russia
77 |  | Artyom Shvaryov | F | L  | 23  | 2020 | Chelyabinsk, Russia
19 |  | Dylan Sikura | LW | L  | 29  | 2024 | Aurora, Ontario, Canada
87 |  | Andrei Svetlakov | C | L  | 29  | 2024 | Moscow, Russia
72 |  | Sergei Telegin | D | L  | 24  | 2020 | Chelyabinsk, Russia
55 |  | Vladimir Tkachyov (A) | F | R  | 32  | 2021 | Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
25 |  | Vladimir Zharkov (A) | RW | L  | 37  | 2023 | Pavlovskiy Posad, Russian SFSR

### Head coaches

[edit]

* 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 – November 2019
* Vladimir Yurzinov, November 2019 – April 2020
* Anvar Gatiyatulin , April 2020 – October 2023
* Alexey Zavarukhin , October 2023 – May 2024
* Benoit Groulx ,May 2024 –

### Honored members

[edit]

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–

## Franchise records and leaders

[edit]

### All-time KHL scoring leaders

[edit]

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

Points  | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | P/G

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Anton Glinkin | LW | 503 | 72 | 141 | 213 | 0.42
Andrei Popov | RW | 458 | 89 | 80 | 169 | 0.37
Nick Bailen | D | 254 | 48 | 108 | 156 | 0.61
Evgeny Kuznetsov | C | 210 | 65 | 81 | 146 | 0.70
Maxim Yakutsenya | RW | 276 | 56 | 82 | 138 | 0.50
Lukáš Sedlák | C | 164 | 57 | 64 | 121 | 0.74
Tomáš Hyka | RW | 145 | 42 | 76 | 118 | 0.81
Deron Quint | D | 264 | 50 | 63 | 113 | 0.43
Vladimir Tkachyov | C | 175 | 37 | 74 | 111 | 0.63
Stanislav Chistov | LW | 255 | 45 | 62 | 107 | 0.42
Goals  | Player | Pos | G

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Andrei Popov | RW | 89
Anton Glinkin | LW | 72
Evgeny Kuznetsov | C | 65
Lukáš Sedlák | C | 57
Maxim Yakutsenya | RW | 56
Vitali Kravtsov | RW | 54
Deron Quint | D | 50
Nick Bailen | D | 48
Vyacheslav Osnovin | C | 48
Anton Burdasov | RW | 47
Assists  | Player | Pos | A

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Anton Glinkin | LW | 141
Nick Bailen | D | 108
Maxim Yakutsenya | RW | 82
Evgeny Kuznetsov | C | 81
Andrei Popov | RW | 80
Tomáš Hyka | RW | 76
Vladimir Tkachyov | C | 74
Lukáš Sedlák | C | 64
Petri Kontiola | C | 63
Deron Quint | D | 63

## Honors

[edit]

### Champions

[edit]

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

### Runners-up

[edit]

Gagarin Cup (1): 2013
Gagarin Cup (4): 2012, 2018, 2022, 2024
USSR Cup (1): 1973
Soviet League Championship: 1977
IHL Championship (2): 1993, 1994
Spengler Cup (1): 1973

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "History - HC Traktor official website". Archived from the original on 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
2. ^ "Traktor Chelyabinsk team roster". eng.hctraktor.org. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
3. ^ "Traktor Chelyabinsk All-Time KHL leaders". quanthockey.com. 2024-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-07.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Kontinental Hockey League

| Western Conference| Eastern Conference

|

Bobrov Division

SKA Saint Petersburg

Sochi

Spartak Moscow

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Vityaz Moscow Region

Tarasov Division

CSKA Moscow

Dinamo Minsk

Dynamo Moscow

Kunlun Red Star

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Severstal Cherepovets

Kharlamov Division

Ak Bars Kazan

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg

Lada Togliatti

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk

Traktor Chelyabinsk

Chernyshev Division

Admiral Vladivostok

Amur Khabarovsk

Avangard Omsk

Barys Astana

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Sibir Novosibirsk

Topics

Seasons|

* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

Playoffs|

* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Junior Drafts|

* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* expansion
* 2014
* expansion
* 2015
* 2016

All-Star Games|

* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2022
* 2023
* 2025

Games and Cups|

* Gagarin Cup
* KHL Conference Finals
* Continental Cup
* Nadezhda Cup
* Opening Cup
* KHL vs NHL games

Former teams|

* Atlant Moscow Oblast
* Dinamo Riga
* Donbass
* Jokerit
* Khimik Voskresensk
* Lev Poprad
* Lev Praha
* Medveščak Zagreb
* Metallurg Novokuznetsk
* HC MVD
* Slovan Bratislava
* Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk

Related topics|

* Team changes
* Potential expansion
* List of champions
* List of goal scoring champions
* List of scoring champions
* KHL territorial pick
* KHL Players' Trade Union
* Rivalries in the KHL
* KHL arenas

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