A Walk Through the KHL: February 3rd, 2020

Rest in peace, Vilen Prokofyev. (Image Source)

As the playoffs near, it is high time for another stroll through the recent in the KHL. Unfortunately, however, we must being this post with some very sad tidings indeed. Read on…

Women’s Hockey Update: Sept. 19th, 2018

A tough day at the office for Dynamo St. Petersburg goalie Valeriya Merkusheva against SKIF Nizhny Novgorod last week. (Image Source)

With a week and a half of 2018-19 Women’s Hockey League games now in the books, time for an update on that league and its early goings-on this season.  There have been some very interesting results already, as well as some bravura performances from some of the league’s big players.  Read on, for some recaps, but a few other tidbits of news!

 

A Walk Through the KHL: September 24th, 2017

Amur Khabarovsk’s rink undergoes the transformation from IIHF to North American dimensions.  (Image Source)

Herewith we start up again with the weekly KHL news notes!  As with last season, each team gets a short mention of something newsworthy or interesting each week.  And as before, I have arranged the teams in order of the current Conference standings.  It is my intention to have this be an “every Sunday” feature, so read on… although on this occasion we start with a particularly horrible news story involving a name from the era of hockey in the Soviet Union.

Youth is Served: Russia’s Junior Leagues in 2017-18 (and some sad words)

 

Well, my intention with this post was to introduce in a mild way the MHL, Russia’s top-level junior men’s hockey league, and indeed that will occur.  However, before that happens, a sad digression for those of us who follow the KHL is in order.

(photo by @blade1bb, used with kind permission)

One of the great pleasures, in this internet age, of following the KHL and Russian hockey in general is the large number of people, from a wide and interesting variety of places, with whom one comes in contact and whom one gets to know at least a little bit.  However, this week there were some sad tidings; it is with great sorrow that I share the news of the passing of Željko Bosak, who died on Wednesday, just a few months after having been diagnosed with cancer, at the age of 50 (far too young).  My sincere condolences go out to his family and friends, and indeed to all who knew him.

Those of you who frequent KHL circles on social media may well have encountered Željko (@zeljkobosak1 on Twitter), as he followed the fortunes of his beloved Medveščak Zagreb.  Željko was an always-cheerful, friendly, and funny person with whom to talk over the day’s hockey, and he was an avid sportsman in his own right, having played tennis and hockey, and even been involved in auto racing.  He still enjoyed skating, of both the ice- and roller- varieties, and followed a large number of sports with great interest.  And he had a deep fondness for black licorice ice cream!

Rest in peace, my friend — we will miss you very much.

(Read on, for Russian junior hockey)

A Few News Notes

SKA St. Petersburg players salute the crowd after eliminating Dynamo Moscow. (Image Source)

After a slow blogging week due to general business, this will be a “getting caught up on the KHL story” sort of post.  Read on, for the last four teams standing in the hunt for the Gagarin Cup, the passing of a legend among Russian hockey journalists, and some early news about what the KHL will look like in 2017-18.

Vladimir Petrov, 1947-2017

Vladimir Petrov. (Image Source)

Russian hockey, and indeed the world of hockey in general, was in mourning today after hearing of the death in a Moscow hospital of Vladimir Petrov.  Petrov, 69 years old, was an all-time hockey great, a member of one of the sport’s most famous forward lines through the 1970s.  Read on, as we take a look back at his life and career.

Gennady Tsygurov, 1942-2016

Gennady Tsygurov is honoured in Tolyatti in late 2015, appropriately enough at a KHL game between Lada and Traktor Chelyabinsk.  (Image Source)

Gennady Tsygurov, who passed away today of cancer at the age of 74, was not as well-known as some of his Soviet and Russian hockey coaching colleagues, at least not to fans outside his home country.  Nonetheless, his was a career that deserves some recognition, especially as his coaching resume includes one major feat not accomplished by anyone before him.  Read on…

Women’s Hockey Update: Nov. 30th, 2016

SKIF Nizhny Novgorod’s Mariya Belova looks on during a game on Tuesday against Arktik-Universitet Ukhta.  How that went, and the sad significance of the black armband, are explained below.  (Image Source)

This was an eventful week in Russian women’s hockey, and unfortunately we will begin with some very tragic news.  However, there are also happier matters to look at, including some remarkable results both in the Women’s Hockey League and on the amateur side of things, so do read on…

(a quick technical note: the “translate link” function of Google Translate seems to have quit on me this evening, so most of the links in the article are to pieces in their original Russian.  You will have to take my word for it that they so in fact say what I say that they say.)

Catching up on News Notes: League Intrigue

KHL President Dmitry Chernyshenko. (Image Source)

We head into an important week in terms of Russian hockey at this point, and of course we are also just 20 days or so from the start of KHL training camps for 2016-17.  So it would probably be a good idea at this point to take a quick look at what some of the big stories involving the KHL, VHL, and MHL have been this spring.  Read on…

Weekly Russian Hockey News Notes: April 26th, 2016

Metallurg Head Coach Ilya Vorobyov (right) looks on as Vasily Koshechkin (centre) and Danis Zaripov show off the Gagarin Cup upon the champions’ return to Magnitogorsk. (Image Source)

As we discussed here and here, the Gagarin Cup, Bratina Cup, and Kharlamov Cup have all now been awarded for 2015-16, so we are rapidly approaching the off-season portion of the year.  Of course, the IIHF Men’s World Championship is yet to be played, and there are Russian players still going in the NHL playoffs as well.  Read on, as we discuss those stories and some other matters as well!

(Note: due to technical issues, some of the linked articles have note been translated.)