Aq Bars Kazan
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Ak Bars

Full name	Ak Bars Kazan 1995-Present Itil Kazan 1990-1995 SK Uritskogo 1958-90 Mashstroy Kazan 1956-1958
Nickname(s)	"Leopards"
Founded	1956
Based In	Kazan, Tatarstan
Arena	Tatneft Arena (Capacity: 10,000)
League	KHL 2008-Present RSL 1996-2008 IHL 1992-1996 Vysshaya Liga 1989-1992 Soviet League 1976-1989 Vysshaya Liga 1971-1976 Soviet League 1969-1971 Vysshaya Liga 1963-1969 Soviet League 1962-1963 Soviet Superior League 1959-1962 Soviet "Class B" 1958-1959
Head Coach	Zinetula Bilyaletdinov
Captain	Aleksey Morozov
Affiliates	Ak Bars-2
Website	http://www.AK-Bars.ru

Ak Bars Kazan (Russian: Ак Барс Казань) is a professional ice hockey team based in Republic of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia. They are currently playing in the Kontinental Hockey League.

The team's name, Ak Bars, is derived from the official symbol of Tatarstan, translated as the White Leopard or Snow Leopard, a traditional symbol which has its origins with the Barsil, one of the Tatar tribes.

History

In the 2004-05 season, Kazan signed 11 NHL players, including Russian superstar Alexei Kovalev, in an attempt to win the Superleague title, hoping to mark the 1000th anniversary of the city's founding with this achievement. They did not succeed, however, finishing that season in fourth place and were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The team, though, has had previous successes, winning the Superleague West in 1997 and the Superleague East in 1998, while being runner-up for three consecutive seasons between 2000 and 2002. In 2006 Kazan won the Russian Championship against Avangard Omsk thanks in large part to its first line, anchored by Playoff MVP Aleksey Morozov, which accounted for over 50 points during the teams championship run. During the 2007 IIHF European Championship Cup, Ak Bars Kazan, led by tournament MVP Aleksey Morozov, represented the Russian Super League and won the championship cup reaffirming Russian dominance at the tournament.

The main rival of Ak Bars is Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Notable players

Alexei Kovalev, Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Michael Nylander, Jiri Hudler, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexei Chupin, Eduard Kudermetov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Aleksey Morozov, Sergei Zinoviev, Danis Zaripov, Nikolai Khabibulin, Vitali Proshkin, Darius Kasparaitis, Fred Brathwaite, Jukka Hentunen, Ray Giroux

Jerseys

Honors

Champions

• Soviet League Championship: 2

1962, 1976

• Vysshaya Liga Championship: 2

1989

• Russian Super League Championship: 2

1998, 2006

• European Champions Cup: 1

2007

• Continental Cup: 1

2008

Titles

• Super League West Championships: 1

1997

• Super League East Championships: 1

1998

Runners Up

• Russian Super League Championship: 2

2000, 2002, 2007

Current roster

As of June 25, 2008

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
-		Wade Dubielewicz	L	2008	Invermere, British Columbia
31		Robert Esche	L	2007	Whitesboro, New York

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
3		Mikhail Tyulyapkin	L		Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
5		Ilya Nikulin	L	2005	Moscow, Russia
7		Evgeni Ryasensky	L	2005	Tver, Russia
9		Andrei Pervyshin	L	2004	Arkhangelsk, Russia
33		Andrei Zubarev			Ufa, Russia
36		Yakov Seleznyev	L	2007	Perm, Russia
59		Vyacheslav Buravchikov			Moscow, Russia
74		Aleksei Emelin		2007	Togliatti, Russia
75		Grigori Panin	L	2007	Togliatti, Russia
82		Evgeni Medvedev		2007	Chelyabinsk, Russia

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
9		Tony Mårtensson	C	L	2008	Märsta, Sweden
14		Oleg Petrov	C	L	2007	Moscow, Russia
15		Grigori Shafigulin	C	L	2007	Chelyabinsk, Russia
16		Petr Cajanek	LW	L	2007	Zline, Czech Republic
21		Mikhail Zhukov	C	L	2005	Saint Petersburg, Russia
25		Danis Zaripov	LW	L	2001	Chelyabinsk, Russia
30		Alexandr Stepanov	RW	L	2005	Moscow, Russia
34		Dmitri Obukhov		L	2005	Kazan, Russia
39		Niko Kapanen	C	L	2008	Hattula, Finland
42		Sergei Zinoviev	C	L	2002	Novokuznetsk, Russia
55		Jukka Hentunen	RW	R	2007	Joroinen, Finland
61		Maxim Mayorov	LW	?	2007	Ufa, Russia
67		Dmitri Kazionov	C	L	2006	Moscow, Russia
73		Igor Musatov	LW	R		Moscow, Russia
81		Nikita Alexeev	LW/RW	L	2007	Murmansk, Russia
90		Kirill Petrov				Kazan, Russia
95		Aleksey Morozov	RW	L	2004	Moscow, Russia

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; P = Playoff

External links

• Ak Bars Kazan official site
• "Ak Bars Reaffirm Russian Dominance of European Champions Cup"

v • d • e Kontinental Hockey League
Bobrov Division	Tarasov Division	Kharlamov Division	Chernyshev Division
Salavat Yulaev Ufa	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	Avangard Omsk	Ak Bars Kazan
HC Dinamo Minsk	Khimik Voskresensk	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	Barys Astana
HC Spartak Moscow	Traktor Chelyabinsk	HC Lada Togliatti	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Metallurg Novokuznetsk	HC MVD	HC Sibir Novosibirsk	Vityaz Chekhov
Severstal Cherepovets	SKA Saint Petersburg	Amur Khabarovsk	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
Atlant Mytishchi	HC CSKA Moscow	Dinamo Riga	HC Dynamo Moscow

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