SKA Saint Petersburg

The Hockey Club SKA (Russian: Спортивный 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.^[2]

SKA Saint Petersburg
City	Saint Petersburg, Russia
League	KHL
Conference	Western
Division	Bobrov
Founded	1946
Home arena	Ice Palace (capacity: 12,300)
Colours	Red, blue
Owner(s)	Gazprom Export
President	Gennady Timchenko
General manager	Roman Rotenberg^[1]
Head coach	Roman Rotenberg
Captain	Dmitrij Jaškin
Affiliates	SKA-Neva (VHL) SKA-1946 (MHL) SKA-Varyagi (MHL)
Website	www.ska.ru
Home colours Away colours
Franchise history
Kirov LDO 1946–1953 ODO Leningrad 1953–1957 SKVO Leningrad 1957–1959 SKA Leningrad 1959–1991 SKA Saint Petersburg 1991–present
Current season

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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Separately, it should be noted the contribution of Gazprom and Alexei Borisovich Miller to our victory at the Olympics in 2018. We were able to bring back many players from the NHL and create a strong team. All this was done at the expense of the Gazprom budget. The national team had a coaching staff, staff, managers - all from SKA. 15 SKA players in the national team is a world record. Never before has there been 15 players from one club in a team that has won Olympic gold. Without Gazprom's investments, that victory would have been impossible. We have to thank the company for this. We will always do our best to respond with victories to such trust.

History

 

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2016–17 KHL season, SKA drew an average home attendance of 11,735.^[5]

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)

Players

Current roster

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Updated 22 April 2023.^[6][7]

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
98		Andrei Altybarmakyan	RW	L	24	2022	St. Petersburg, Russia
10		Zakhar Bardakov	F	L	22	2021	Seversk, Russia
77		Stepan Falkovsky	D	L	26	2021	Minsk, Belarus
72		Emil Galimov	RW	L	30	2020	Nizhnekamsk, Russia
7		Vasili Glotov	C	L	25	2022	Barnaul, Russia
80		Grigori Gryaznov	D	L	22	2020	St. Petersburg, Russia
97		Nikita Gusev (A)	RW	R	30	2021	Moscow, Russia
23		Dmitrij Jaskin (C)	LW	L	30	2022	Omsk, Russia
12		Nikita Kamalov	D	L	27	2021	Novokuznetsk, Russia
40		Evgeny Ketov	RW	L	37	2013	Gubakha, Soviet Union
61		Marat Khairrulin	RW/C	L	26	2022	Volzhsk, Russia
22		Marat Khusnutdinov	C	L	20	2020	Moscow, Russia
19		Nikita Komarov	F	L	34	2022	Novopolotsk, Belarusian SSR
48		Arseni Koromyslov	D	L	19	2020	Moscow, Russia
93		Danila Moiseyev	LW	L	24	2021	Moscow, Russia
21		Alexander Nikishin	D	L	21	2022	Oryol, Russia
70		Dmitri Nikolayev	G	L	23	2021	St. Petersburg, Russia
27		Igor Ozhiganov (A)	D	R	30	2019	Krasnogorsk, Russian SFSR
33		Mikhail Pashnin	D	L	33	2022	Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
3		Andrey Pedan	D	L	29	2022	Kaunas, Lithuania
59		Vladislav Podyapolski	G	L	27	2022	Novokuznetsk, Russia
14		Nikolai Polyakov	F	L	22	2020	St. Petersburg, Russia
81		Nikita Popugayev	RW	R	24	2022	Moscow, Russia
74		Nikolai Prokhorkin	LW	L	29	2022	Chelyabinsk, Russia
5		Roman Rukavishnikov	D	L	30	2022	Moscow, Russia
49		Danil Savunov	LW	L	22	2022	Sarov, Russia
57		Artyom Shvets-Rogovoy	C	L	28	2019	Saratov, Russia
34		Maxim Sidorov	G	L	27	2021	Yaroslavl, Russia
63		Georgi Solyannikov	D	L	27	2021	St. Petersburg, Russia
87		Vladislav Tsitsyura	F	L	23	2020	Rybinsk, Russia
92		Alexander Volkov	LW	L	25	2021	Moscow, Russia
42		Mikhail Vorobyev	C	L	26	2021	Salavat, Russia
88		Damir Zhafyarov	LW	L	29	2022	Moscow, Russia
90		Valentin Zykov	RW	R	27	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.^[8]

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

Points Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G   Nikita Gusev LW 274 109 225 334 1.22   Ilya Kovalchuk LW 298 138 189 327 1.10   Vadim Shipachyov C 227 76 171 247 1.09   Tony Mårtensson C 260 71 117 188 0.72   Patrick Thoresen C 197 68 103 171 0.87   Anton Burdasov RW 272 83 76 159 0.58   Evgenii Dadonov RW 165 72 86 158 0.96   Viktor Tikhonov C 310 75 79 154 0.50   Andrei Kuzmenko RW 209 64 90 154 0.73   Maxim Sushinsky RW 154 61 88 149 0.97

Goals Player Pos G   Ilya Kovalchuk LW 138   Nikita Gusev LW 109   Anton Burdasov RW 83   Vadim Shipachyov C 76   Viktor Tikhonov C 75   Evgenii Dadonov RW 72   Tony Mårtensson C 71   Patrick Thoresen C 68   Andrei Kuzmenko RW 64   Alexander Barabanov RW 62

Assists Player Pos A   Nikita Gusev LW 225   Ilya Kovalchuk LW 189   Vadim Shipachyov C 171   Tony Mårtensson C 117   Patrick Thoresen C 103   Andrei Kuzmenko RW 90   Maxim Sushinsky RW 88   Evgenii Dadonov RW 86   Sergei Plotnikov LW 82   Pavel Datsyuk C 79

Head coaches

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

References

1. "Ротенберг стал гендиректором СКА: «Изменения в структуре руководства направлены на достижение максимальных результатов»" (in Russian). sports.ru. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
2. . INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
3. . Sovetsky Sport. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
4. Ротенберг о победе на Олимпиаде-2018: «Без «Газпрома» она была бы невозможной. Мы вернули многих игроков из НХЛ – за счет бюджета компании»
5. Attendance IIHF^{[dead link]}
6. "СКА Team Roster". www.hc-ska.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
7. "SKA Saint Petersburg team roster". www.khl.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
8. "SKA Saint Petersburg ‑ All-Time KHL Leaders". QuantHockey.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SKA Saint Petersburg.

• Official website (in Russian)