Best Russian Ice Hockey Teams: Top 5 KHL Teams

Posted: January 26, 2022

Updated: January 26, 2022

Russian hockey has a glorious tradition that dates back to the Soviet era. After the collapse of the USSR, the country's hockey championship was transformed into the CIS championship. Further, the tournament became a championship of the interethnic hockey league. The Russian hockey league, founded in 1996, functioned in this form until 2008. In 2008, the tournament became known as the Kontinental Hockey League, in which teams from foreign countries began to take part. In this article, we will tell you about the best Russian ice hockey teams that took part in the hockey championships of Russia.

Russian hockey has a glorious tradition that dates back to the Soviet era. After the collapse of the USSR, the country’s hockey championship was transformed into the CIS championship. Further, the tournament became a championship of the interethnic hockey league. The Russian hockey league, founded in 1996, functioned in this form until 2008. In 2008, the tournament became known as the Kontinental Hockey League, in which teams from foreign countries began to take part. So in this article, we will tell you about the best Russian ice hockey teams that took part in the hockey championships of Russia.

Best Russian Ice Hockey Teams: Dynamo (Moscow)

Dynamo is one of the most famous Russian and Soviet clubs, founded in 1946. An interesting fact is that this hockey club won its first champion title, having won the USSR championship, in the year of its foundation. Despite this, the greatest success for the team came during the period of modern Russian history. Dynamo won its titles in the seasons 1992-1993, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2011-2012, 2012-2013. In total, Dynamo players have 6 championship titles in the championships of Russia.

In 2010, Oleg Znarok became the team’s coach. With this coach, the team won two league titles in the KHL. Dynamo’s style at that time was a sharp game on the counterattacks, with a very reliable game on the defensive. Indeed, this is one of the best hockey teams to bet on in online sportsbooks in Russia. Dynamo plays its home matches at the VTB Arena, an ice arena. The Moscow Dynamo school brought up many Russian hockey stars, including the most popular Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin.

Metallurg (Magnitogorsk)

Metallurg, founded in 1955, has a long history. However, fame and titles came to the team during the period of performance in the championships of Russia. During this period, the team from Magnitogorsk won titles, including in the seasons 1998-1999, 2000-2001, 2006-2007, 2013-2014, 2015-2016. The team plays its home games in the ice sports palace, called the Metallurg Arena. The emblem of the team is a red fox.

The club from Magnitogorsk has brought up some famous Russian hockey players, such as Evgeni Malkin, Nikolai Kulemin, Evgeny Grigorenko, and Alexei Kaygorodov. At various times, Danis Zaripov, Sergei Gonchar, Sergei Mozyakin, and Evgeny Nabokov played for Metallurg. By the way, Melbet Sportsbook offers 1.64 odds for Metallurg to win in the upcoming match with Motorist.

Best Russian Ice Hockey Teams: Ak Bars (Kazan)

Ak Bars is a club from the capital of the river. Tatarstan has been the flagship of Russian hockey since the mid-90s. It plays home matches in the ice sports palace, called the Tatneft Arena. The name of the team, translated from the Tatar language means a white leopard, placed on the emblem of the team and the coat of arms of the river Tatarstan.

The team from Kazan won its first title in the 1997-1998 season. Then there were victories in the seasons 2005-2006, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2017-2018. In total, Ak Bars has 5 victories in the championships of Russia. Since 1997, the team from Kazan has been considered the invariable favorite of the Russian Championship. Kazan had the strongest squad in 2008-2010, when Ak Bars won the KHL championship for two years in a row. Forwards Alexei Morozov and Danis Zaripov, as well as defender Ilya Nikulin, were the constant leaders of that team. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov was their coach. Ak Bars’ style of play was distinguished by reliable defensive play, which was backed up by the excellent implementation of their majority. Finally, bet on Ak Bars on Melbet with odds of 2.24 against Lokomotiv on February 22th.

Locomotive (Yaroslavl)

Lokomotiv is a professional hockey club founded in 1959. Before that, the team competed at regional competitions. In 1992-1993 and 1999-2000, the hockey club from Yaroslavl was called “Torpedo”. Lokomotiv won its first league title in the 1996-1997 season. Then there were titles in the seasons 2001-2002, 2002-2003. The team plays its home matches at the Arena 2000 Ice Palace.

The black date in the history of Lokomotiv is September 7, 2011. Immediately after takeoff, the Yak-42D plane crashed, on which the team was heading to an away match against Dynamo Minsk. As a result of the crash, all members of the team and the coaching staff died, only the onboard engineer of the aircraft, Alexander Sizov, survived. In the 2012-2013 season, the updated Lokomotiv squad again took part in the KHL championship. However, since that time, Lokomotiv has not yet managed to win the country’s main hockey trophy. Also, learn more about the Best Hockey Teams to Bet on in 2022 before visiting the Melbet Sportsbook.

Best Russian Ice Hockey Teams: CSKA (Moscow)

The legendary Soviet and Russian team, known throughout the world as the most titled club in the history of world hockey. However, the main victories of CSKA came in the Soviet era. After the collapse of the USSR, the club went through difficult times. However, it returned to a leading position. The team performs in the ice sports palace called “CSKA Arena”. CSKA won its first title in the Russian championships in the 2014-2015 season. Then there were victories in the 2018-2019 seasons. Striker Alexander Radulov made a significant contribution to the success of the CSKA hockey club in the modern times.

HC CSKA carefully honors the history of its club and the players who at different times won victories for the team. At the home arena of CSKA, personalized banners of the most prominent players are hung. Also, several numbers have been retired, as a tribute to the club’s legendary hockey players:

No. 2 – Vyacheslav Fetisov,

No. 17 – Valery Kharlamov,

No. 20 – Vladislav Tretiak,

No. 24 – Sergey Makarov.

The game of HC “CSKA” has a distinguished style by an attacking combination game, which is the hallmark of the army club. For CSKA, Melbet has 2.06 odds in the match with Jokerite. So read our article about How to Bet on Ice Hockey and make your winning bet in Melbet Sportsbook. For that, you can use the list of online sportsbook sites in Russia.