Hockey Club SKA, 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.
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs.
The Gagarin Cup is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was supposedly named after Gagarin because the last possible game of the inaugural KHL season took place on April 12, the anniversary date of Gagarin's flight.
The 2009–10 KHL season was the second season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It was held from 10 September 2009 to 27 April 2010, with a break for the Olympic winter games from 8 February to 3 March. Ak Bars Kazan defended their title by defeating Western conference winners HC MVD in a seven-game play-off final.
The Junior Hockey League (JHL) (Russian: Молодежная Хоккейная Лига (МХЛ), romanized: Molodezhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga), sometimes translated as the Minor or Youth Hockey League, is a major junior ice hockey league in Eurasia, founded in 2009. It currently consists of 33 teams from 3 countries. Currently, all teams but one are subsidiaries (feeder teams) for their respective KHL or VHL professional counterparts. A player's age cannot be older than 20. The Kharlamov Cup, named after star ice hockey player Valeri Kharlamov, is awarded annually as the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia's official Junior Championship, following a 16-team playoff at the end of the regular season.
The Continental Cup, also known as the Kontinental Cup, is the trophy presented to the winner of the regular season of the Kontinental Hockey League, i.e. the team with the most points at the end of the regular season.
The Kharlamov Cup is the trophy presented to the winner of the Russian Junior Hockey League (MHL) playoffs, and is named after ice hockey player Valeri Kharlamov, considered to be one of the greatest ice hockey players of the World.
The 2010–11 KHL season was the third season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It was held from 8 September 2010 and ended on 16 April 2011.
The Opening Cup, is the trophy awarded to the winner of the first game of every regular season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This match is played between the previous season's playoff champion and the previous season's Continental Cup winner. The game is played on the home ice of the previous season's playoff champion.
Hockey Club Lev Praha was a professional ice hockey team located in Prague, Czech Republic, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons.
The Petrov Cup, previously Bratina Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the play-off of the Major League until 2010 and the trophy awarded to the winner of the play-off of the Major Hockey League (VHL) since the 2010–11 season. The names of winning clubs inscribed on the trophy are from the 1999–00 season onward. The trophy weights almost 19 kg (41.89 lbs).
The 2012–13 KHL season was the fifth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The regular season began on 4 September with the Lokomotiv Cup between last year's finalists Dynamo Moscow and Avangard Omsk. The league consisted of 26 teams from 7 countries for the first time. Dynamo Moscow successfully defended their title after beating Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Gagarin Cup finals.
The 2018–19 KHL season was the 11th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 1 September 2018 and ended on 19 April 2019. Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow became the first team to win the Gagarin Cup finals in a series sweep, defeating Avangard Omsk in four games to win their first Gagarin Cup, after two previous Finals defeats.
The 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) began on 25 February 2019, with the top eight teams from each of the conferences, following the conclusion of the 2018–19 KHL regular season. The playoffs ended on 19 April 2019, when Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow became the first team to win the Gagarin Cup finals in a series sweep, defeating Avangard Omsk in four games to win their first Gagarin Cup, after two previous Finals defeats.
The 2019–20 KHL season was the 12th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 24 teams that competed in 62 regular season games. The season began with the Opening Cup on 1 September 2019, and the regular championship ran until 27 February 2020. The playoffs were scheduled to take place from 1 March through until 30 April. The All-Star Weekend took place over 18–19 January 2020.
The 2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) began on 1 March 2020, with the top eight teams from each of the conferences, following the conclusion of the 2019–20 KHL regular season. The playoffs were scheduled to finish no later than 25 April 2020.
The 2020–21 KHL season was the 13th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 23 teams that competed in 60 regular season games, beginning on 2 September 2020 and finishing on 27 February 2021. The playoffs were held from 2 March, culminating in Game 6 of the Gagarin Cup Finals on 28 April. Avangard Omsk won their first Gagarin Cup title, avenging their sweep in the finals of the 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs, defeating CSKA Moscow by 4 games to 2.
The 2022–23 KHL season was the 15th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 22 teams that competed in the record-breaking 68 regular season games, beginning on 1 September 2022 and ending on 26 February 2023.
The 2023–24 KHL season was the 16th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 23 teams that competed in 68 regular season games, with a record-breaking 165 playing days, having begun on 1 September 2023 and ended on 26 February 2024.
Ak Bars Kazan 
