Traktor Chelyabinsk

Traktor Chelyabinsk
Трактор Челябинск

Full name	Traktor Chelyabinsk 1959-present Avangard Chelyabinsk 1954-58 Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk 1948-1953
Founded	1947
Based In	Chelyabinsk
Arena	Traktor Sport Palace (Capacity: 7500)
League	KHL 2008-present
Division	Kharlamov
Conference	Eastern
GM	Evgeny Tsybuk
Head Coach	Valery Belousov
Captain	Vladimir Antipov
Affiliates	Belye Medvedi (MHL)
Website	www.hctraktor.org

Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russian: Трактор Челябинск, English: Tractor (agrimotor)) is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League.

History

Founded in 1947, Traktor have played for the Soviet and Russian championships since 1948. From 1948-1953 they were called Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk and between 1954 to 1958 they were known as Avangard Chelyabinsk, after which they took their current name.

Between 1965 and 1968, Traktor played in the second division of the Soviet hockey championships. Thanks to coaches Viktor Stolyarov and Viktor Sokolov, the team returned to the first division in 1968.

In 1973, Traktor played in the national cup finals against the CSKA. Although Traktor led 2-0, they lost the game with a score of 2-5.

Traktor's performance greatly improved after Anatoly Kostryukov became the team's head coach. 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.

At this 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. Makarov's older brother Nikolai was also one of the best Soviet defensemen and played several times in various international competitions. Vyacheslav Bykov, a long-time member of the Soviet national team and currently the head coach of Team Russia, also played for Traktor for several years before he was acquired by CSKA. Traktor's goaltender, Sergei Mylnikov, was twice named the best goaltender of the Soviet championship. He was the Soviet team starting goalie at the 1987 Canada Cup and participated in two Olympics and five world championships. His son is currently playing for Traktor, also as a goaltender.

In the early 1990s, Traktor twice finished third in the International Hockey League. A group of Traktor players, including Sergei Gomolyako, Valeri Karpov, Igor Varitsky, Ravil Gusmanov and others, appeared on Team Russia at several world championships.

In the late 1990s, ice hockey in Chelyabinsk entered a period of decline and Traktor was relegated in 1998 to playing in the Vysshaya Liga. In the 2005-06 season, the team won the second division championship and was transferred back to the first division.

After the 2006-07 season, Traktor head coach Gennady Tsygurov resigned. He was replaced by Andrei Nazarov, a native of Chelyabinsk who had spent 13 seasons in the NHL as an enforcer.

Players

Current roster

view · # Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace 57 Russia ! Antipov, VladimirVladimir Antipov (C) 6.0 !LW L 33 2011 Apatity, Russian SFSR 38 Czech Republic ! Bulis, JanJan Bulis 6.0 !LW L 33 2011 Pardubice, Czechoslovakia 71 Russia ! Burdasov, AntonAnton Burdasov 7.0 !RW L 20 2007 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 50 Russia ! Buturlin, AlexanderAlexander Buturlin 7.0 !RW L 30 2010 Moscow, Russian SFSR 23 Russia ! Chistov, StanislavStanislav Chistov 6.0 !LW R 28 2011 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 1 Russia ! Fokin, VladislavVladislav Fokin 1.0 !G L 25 2008 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 34 Canada ! Garnett, MichaelMichael Garnett 1.0 !G L 28 2011 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 22 Canada ! Giroux, RayRay Giroux 2.0 !D L 35 2010 North Bay, Ontario, Canada 15 Russia ! Glinkin, AntonAnton Glinkin 3.0 !F R 23 2005 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 25 Russia ! Katichev, EvgenyEvgeny Katichev 2.0 !D L 25 2010 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 45 Russia ! Konev, AndreiAndrei Konev 2.0 !D L 22 2005 Miass, Russian SFSR 27 Finland ! Kontiola, PetriPetri Kontiola 4.0 !C R 27 2011 Seinäjoki, Finland 92 Russia ! Kuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov 7.0 !RW L 19 2007 Chelyabinsk, Russia 44 Russia ! Panov, KonstantinKonstantin Panov (A) 7.0 !RW L 31 2011 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 59 Russia ! Payor, SergeiSergei Payor 3.0 !F L 27 2011 Omsk, Russian SFSR 9 Russia ! Popov, AndreiAndrei Popov 7.0 !RW L 23 2003 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 73 Russia ! Proskuryakov, IlyaIlya Proskuryakov 1.0 !G L 24 2011 Magnitogorsk, Russian SFSR 2 United States ! Quint, DeronDeron Quint 2.0 !D L 35 2010 Durham, New Hampshire, USA 51 Ukraine ! Razin, GennadyGennady Razin (A) 2.0 !D L 33 2010 Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR 81 Russia ! Riazantsev, AlexAlex Riazantsev 2.0 !D R 31 2011 Moscow, Russian SFSR 17 Russia ! Sayustov, DmitriDmitri Sayustov 4.0 !C L 23 2010 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 36 Russia ! Shinin, AlexanderAlexander Shinin 2.0 !D L 27 2010 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR 29 Kazakhstan ! Vasilchenko, AlexeiAlexei Vasilchenko 2.0 !D L 30 2011 Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakh SSR 28 Russia ! Yakutsenya, MaximMaxim Yakutsenya 3.0 !F L 30 2011 Serov, Russian SFSR

References

1. ^ "Traktor Roster" (in Russian). www.hctraktor.org. http://hctraktor.org/team/set/. Retrieved 2011-09-07. 
2. ^ "Traktor Chelyabinsk team roster". khl.ru. http://en.khl.ru/clubs/traktor. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 

External links

• (Russian) HC Traktor Chelyabinsk official site
• (English) HC Traktor Chelyabinsk official site (translated)
• (Russian) Martin Grenier's Blog at Mediazavod.ru
• (Russian) HC Traktor Chelyabinsk fans website
• (Russian) HC Traktor Chelyabinsk information website