HC Vityaz

{{short description|Professional ice hockey club based in Podolsk, Russia}} {{Infobox hockey team | team = HC Vityaz | bg_colour = background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#DA2412 5px solid; border-bottom:#DA2412 5px solid; | text_colour = Black | logo = Vityaz Chekhov Logo.svg | logo_size = 230px | name2 = '''HC Vityaz Podolsk''' 1996–2004, 2013–2022 '''HC Vityaz Chekhov''' 2004–2013 '''Vityaz Moscow Region''' 2022–2025 | nickname = | founded = {{Start date and age|1996}} | folded = {{End date and age|2025}} | city = [[Balashikha]], [[Moscow Oblast]] | arena = [[Balashikha Arena|Arena Balashikha]] | capacity = 5,500 | league = * '''[[Supreme Hockey League Championship|First League]]''' 1997–1998 * '''[[Vysshaya Liga (1992–2010)|Vysshaya Liga]]''' 1998–2000, 2001–2005 * '''[[Russian Superleague|RSL]]''' 2000–2001, 2005–2008 * '''[[Kontinental Hockey League|KHL]]''' 2008–2025 | division = | conference = | history = | colours = {{color box|#DA2412}} {{color box|white}} | uniform =  | owner = | president = | gm = | coach = | captain = | honors = | affiliates = Russkie Vityazi ([[Junior Hockey League (Russia)|MHL]]) | website = {{url|https://hcvityaz.ru/}} | current = }} '''Hockey Club Vityaz Moscow Region''' ({{lang|ru|ХК Витязь}}) were a professional [[ice hockey]] club based in [[Balashikha]], Russia. They competed as a member of the [[Bobrov Division]] in the [[Kontinental Hockey League]] (KHL). In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely known for playing a tough and physical North American-influenced style of ice hockey.<ref>{{cite web |author=21/04/2013+7°C |url=http://www.themoscownews.com/sports/20110825/188955598.html |title=Violent Vityaz rock Russian hockey | SPORTS |publisher=The Moscow News |date=2011-08-25 |access-date=2013-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928040323/http://www.themoscownews.com/sports/20110825/188955598.html |archive-date=2013-09-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/36616-THNcom-Top-10-KHL-scorers-who-used-to-be-NHLers.html |title=KHL scorers who used to be NHLers |magazine=The Hockey News |date=2010-11-24 |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603231236/http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/36616-THNcom-Top-10-KHL-scorers-who-used-to-be-NHLers.html |archive-date=2012-06-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As an inaugural member of the KHL and after 17 seasons in the league, Vityaz announced their initial withdrawal for the [[2025–26 KHL season|2025–26]] season due to financial constraints, on 24 June 2025.<ref name = "Ceasement">{{citeweb| url = https://hcvityaz.ru/news/vityaz-ne-primet-uchastie-v-sezone-2025-26/ | title = Vityaz will not participate in the 2025-26 season | publisher = [[HC Vityaz]] | date = 26 June 2025 | accessdate = 26 June 2025 | language = Russian }}</ref>

==History== The club was founded in 1996 in [[Podolsk]]. In 2000, the team moved to the neighboring city of [[Chekhov, Moscow Oblast|Chekhov]]; however, the team kept playing under the name ''Vityaz Podolsk'' until 2004, where the renaming was finally done. The team initially played its home games at the [[Vityaz Ice Palace|Ice Palace Vityaz]] in Podolsk, the same arena [[HC MVD]] used until 2006. Such a thing was allowed by virtue of the opening in 2004 of a new arena in Chekhov, the [[Vityaz Ice Hockey Center]], that Vityaz began using. Initially, this arena had a capacity of 1,370; it was expanded in [[2007–08 Russian Superleague season|2007–08]] to 3,300. Vityaz played at the top level of Russian hockey for the [[2000–01 Russian Superleague season|2000–01]] season; it got relegated to [[Vysshaya Liga (1992–2010)|Vysshaya Liga]] at the end of the season. In 2005, Vityaz made to the Vysshaya Liga final losing the championship to HC MVD 4 games to 1 but earned a promotion back to the elite level.{{fact|date=March 2022}}

Rumors of a move back to Podolsk arose in the wake of the inaugural [[Kontinental Hockey League|KHL]] season as even with the expansion of 2007–08, due to Chekhov's capacity being below the KHL league standards. The team restarted playing their home games in Podolsk, but remained attached to Chekhov. For the 2013–14 KHL season, the team moved back to Podolsk.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hcvityaz.ru/hc-vityaz/item/928-vozvraschenie-v-podolsk |title=Возвращение в Подольск |access-date=2013-08-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130701001404/http://www.hcvityaz.ru/hc-vityaz/item/928-vozvraschenie-v-podolsk |archive-date=2013-07-01 }}</ref>

===Kontinental Hockey League=== Chekhov's debuts in the KHL were pretty bad. Vityaz registered a mere 6 wins in regulation, plus 5 in overtime; in counterpart for those 11 wins, the team lost 45 times (of which, 12 games were in overtime). The meager 40 points collected meant that the team finished at a dismal 23rd place out of 24, a single point ahead of the equally bad [[Khimik Voskresensk (2005)|Khimik Voskresensk]]. Head coach Sergei Gomolyako made the mistake in October to dress one more foreign player than allowed by the rules, resulting in a match lost by forfeit. Gomolyako claimed he ignored there was such a rule, and the following week, he was fired, to be replaced by former [[National Hockey League|NHL]] player and Vityaz head coach [[Mike Krushelnyski]]. Vityaz' fans enjoyed the return of Krushelnyski, who had brought the team to the playoffs in [[2006–07 Russian Superleague season|2006–07]]. But Chekhov's goon-full roster, which general manager [[Alexei Zhamnov]] wishes to shape after the 1990s [[Chicago Blackhawks]] for whom he played, just couldn't bring good enough performances to repeat the feat. They however led the league in penalty minutes, some 500 minutes ahead of the second most penalized club, with players such as [[Nathan Perrott]] (137 minutes in 9 matches and not a single point), [[Darcy Verot]] (more disciplined and productive than in his first season with Vityaz, even though it still only meant 5 points and 168 minutes) and [[Chris Simon]] (league leader at 263 minutes, and club's second best scorer behind [[Gleb Klimenko]] at 27 points).{{fact|date=March 2022}}

====Death of Alexei Cherepanov==== {{main article|Alexei Cherepanov#Death}} Chekhov's season was darkened by the death of [[Alexei Cherepanov]] in October 2008, a death occurred on its home ice and that might have been avoided had Chekhov's arena been equipped with a working defibrillator and the ambulance that is required to remain available until the end of the match not departed well before the end, resulting in much longer delays between the accident and the moment where Cherepanov arrived at the nearest hospital.<ref name="tsn4">{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=261215|title=Russian investigators say Cherepanov was 'doping'|publisher=[[The Sports Network]]|date=2008-12-29|access-date=5 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231160631/http://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=261215|archive-date=31 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> <ref name="khldoping">{{cite web|url=http://www.khl.ru/news/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10149|title=Заявление Континентальной хоккейной лиги по итогам расследования обстоятельств смерти хоккеиста Алексея Черепанова|publisher=KHL.ru|date=2008-12-30|access-date=5 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113155549/http://www.khl.ru/news/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10149|archive-date=13 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Mass brawl in Chekhov==== [[2009–10 KHL season|2009–10]] felt like déja-vu for Chekhov. After almost being thrown out of the league due to its finances in August (it needed to find 300 million rubles, which it did), the Knights started the season with two wins and temporarily led the league. Things didn't last however as the team finished 23rd out of 24 teams with only 13 regular-season wins (plus 3 in overtime and 2 in the shootouts—an improvement from the previous year), 54 points and, once again, a colossal amount of penalty minutes: 1522, ahead and by far every other team in the league. [[Vadim Berdnikov]], Gleb Klimenko (who came back from Kazan) and Chris Simon led the offence with respectively 33, 27 and 25 points.{{fact|date=March 2022}}

Once again, an incident between Vityaz and [[Avangard Omsk|Avangard]] marked the season. On January 9, 2010, the game between Vityaz and Avangard was stopped after 3 minutes and 39 seconds when a bench-clearing and penalty-box-clearing brawl broke out. Darcy Verot had instigated the brawl after three minutes of play when he shot the [[Hockey puck|puck]] at an Avangard player. A mass brawl quickly followed, which the referees could deal with. However, as soon as the game was resumed, fighting resumed as well and both benches cleared to join the fight.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://en.khl.ru/news/2010/1/9/23770.html| title= This is hockey?| publisher= KHL.ru| date= 9 January 2010| access-date= 1 February 2010 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100114161713/http://en.khl.ru/news/2010/1/9/23770.html| archive-date= 14 January 2010| url-status= live}}</ref> The game was quickly getting out of hand and the officials decided it was better to cancel the whole game. Little else could be done, as a whopping total of 707 penalty minutes had been incurred – a new world record – and a total of 33 players on both teams have been ejected from the game, as well as both head coaches. Only four players avoided being ejected. The KHL imposed a total of 5.7 million rubles (about US $191,000) fines, including 150,000 rubles fines to Vityaz's Darcy Verot and Brandon Sugden and Avangard's [[Alexander Svitov]] and Dmitry Vlasenkov.<ref name="bothteamslose">{{cite web|url=http://en.khl.ru/news/2010/1/10/23771.html|title=Both teams lose|publisher=KHL.ru|date=10 January 2010|access-date=1 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114161656/http://en.khl.ru/news/2010/1/10/23771.html|archive-date=14 January 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, Verot, Sugden, Vlasenkov and four other Vityaz players received one-game suspensions.{{fact|date=March 2022}}

====Withdrawal from KHL==== As an inaugural member of the KHL and having completed the [[2024-25 KHL season|2024–25]] season, Vityaz announced their initial withdrawal from the KHL after 17 seasons for the upcoming [[2025–26 KHL season|2025–26]] season due to financial constraints, on 24 June 2025.<ref name = "Ceasement"/><ref>{{citeweb| url = https://en.khl.ru/news/2025/06/24/548267.html | title = HC Vityaz Will Not Participate in the 2025-2026 Season | publisher = [[Kontinental Hockey League]] | date = 24 June 2025 | accessdate = 24 June 2025 | language = Russian }}</ref> After an emergency league meeting with the board of directors, it was announced that Vityaz would not be eligible for a return to the competition until 2030.<ref>{{citeweb| url = https://en.khl.ru/news/2025/06/30/548351.html | title = Vityaz drops out | publisher = [[Kontinental Hockey League]] | date = 30 June 2025 | accessdate = 30 June 2025 | language = Russian }}</ref> All contracted players were to be released as free agents from 15 July and junior club Russkie Vityazi was confirmed to have withdrawn from the [[Junior Hockey League|MHL]] for the season.<ref>{{citeweb| url = https://en.khl.ru/news/2025/06/30/548571.html | title = Vityaz is out and coaching carousel turns | publisher = [[Kontinental Hockey League]] | date = 30 June 2025 | accessdate = 30 June 2025 | language = Russian }}</ref>

==Season-by-season KHL record== '''''Note:''' GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Season || GP || W || OTW || L || OTL || Pts || GF || GA || Finish || Top Scorer || Playoffs |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2008–09 KHL season|2008–09]] || 56 || 7 || 5 || 32 || 12 || 43 || 137 || 226 || 6th, Chernyshev || [[Gleb Klimenko]] {{small|(30 points: 19 G, 11 A; 39 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- | [[2009–10 KHL season|2009–10]] || 56 || 13 || 5 || 33 || 5 || 54 || 142 || 216 || 6th, Tarasov || [[Vadim Berdnikov]] {{small|(33 points: 9 G, 24 A; 47 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2010–11 KHL season|2010–11]] || 54 || 13 || 4 || 32 || 5 || 52 || 119 || 178 || 6th, Tarasov || [[Vadim Berdnikov]] {{small|(29 points: 12 G, 17 A; 53 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- | [[2011-12 KHL season|2011–12]] || 54 || 10 || 6 || 36 || 2 || 44 || 108 || 193 || 6th, Tarasov || [[Mikhail Anisin]] {{small|(29 points: 16 G, 13 A; 38 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2012-13 KHL season|2012–13]] || 52 || 11 || 7 || 26 || 8 || 55 || 119 || 151 || 6th, Bobrov || [[Alexander Korolyuk]] {{small|(29 points: 15 G, 14 A; 41 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- | [[2013-14 KHL season|2013–14]] || 54 || 12 || 6 || 26 || 10 || 58 || 110 || 147 || 7th, Tarasov || [[Maxim Afinogenov]] {{small|(26 points: 12 G, 14 A; 53 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2014-15 KHL season|2014–15]] || 60 || 20 || 6 || 28 || 6 || 78 || 152 || 186 || 7th, Tarasov || [[Mario Kempe]] {{small|(30 points: 13 G, 19 A; 54 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- | [[2015-16 KHL season|2015–16]] || 60 || 17 || 6 || 32 || 3 || 70 || 129 || 166 || 6th, Tarasov || [[Maxim Afinogenov]] {{small|(28 points: 15 G, 13 A; 56 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2016-17 KHL season|2016–17]] || 60 || 26 || 7 || 22 || 5 || 97 || 162 || 158 || 5th, Tarasov || [[Alexei Kopeikin]] {{small|(51 points: 21 G, 30 A; 60 GP)}} || Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 ([[SKA Saint Petersburg]]) |- | [[2017-18 KHL season|2017–18]] || 56 || 17 || 4 || 27 || 8 || 67 || 131 || 160 || 7th, Tarasov || [[Alexei Makeyev]] {{small|(38 points: 18 G, 20 A; 55 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2018-19 KHL season|2018–19]] || 62 || 23 || 5 || 27 || 7 || 63 || 134 || 169 || 4th, Tarasov || [[Miro Aaltonen]] {{small|(42 points: 19 G, 23 A; 61 GP)}} || Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 ([[CSKA Moscow]]) |- | [[2019-20 KHL season|2019–20]] || 62 || 19 || 8 || 24 || 11 || 65 || 137 || 166 || 3rd, Tarasov || [[Alexander Semin]] {{small|(38 points: 18 G, 20 A; 50 GP)}} || Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 ([[SKA Saint Petersburg]]) |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2020-21 KHL season|2020–21]] || 60 || 21 || 6 || 28 || 5 || 59 || 155 || 175 || 5th, Bobrov || [[Justin Danforth]] {{small|(55 points: 23 G, 32 A; 58 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- | [[2021-22 KHL season|2021–22]] || 48 || 9 || 6 || 20 || 13 || 43 || 121 || 149 || 5th, Bobrov || [[Niko Ojamäki]] {{small|(43 points: 29 G, 14 A; 48 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2022-23 KHL season|2022–23]] || 68 || 24 || 10 || 26 || 8 || 76 || 169 || 170 || 3rd, Bobrov || [[Scott Wilson (ice hockey)|Scott Wilson]] {{small|(39 points: 20 G, 19 A; 66 GP)}} || Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1–4 ([[Lokomotiv Yaroslavl]]) |- | [[2023-24 KHL season|2023–24]] || 68 || 14 || 6 || 40 || 8 || 48 || 133 || 224 || 5th, Bobrov || [[Derek Barach]] {{small|(35 points: 10 G, 25 A; 68 GP)}} || Did not qualify |- style="background:#eee;" | [[2024-25 KHL season|2024–25]] || 68 || 19 || 5 || 33 || 11 || 59 || 163 || 188 || 4th, Bobrov || [[Dmitri Buchelnikov]] {{small|(54 points: 15 G, 39 A; 65 GP)}} || Did not qualify |}

==Players== === KHL All-Star Game === '''Players''' * [[Mikhail Anisin]], RW, 2011–12, [[4th Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2012]] * [[Alexander Korolyuk]], RW, 2004–05, 2005–08, 2012–2014, [[5th Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2013]] * [[Chris Simon]], LW, 2008–11, [[2nd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2010]], [[3rd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2011]] * [[Ivan Lisutin]], G, 2012–15, [[6th Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2014]] * [[Maxim Afinogenov]], RW, 2013–18, [[6th Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2014]]

===Head coaches=== {{div col|colwidth=27em}} * [[Vyacheslav Anisin]], July 1, 1997 – 31 May 1999 * Alexander Zachesov, 1 June 1999 – 11 October 2000 * Alexander Barinev, 11 October 2000 – 30 April 2001 * Valery Belov, 30 April 2001 – 15 June 2003 * Yury Rumyancev, 15 June 2003 – 5 April 2004 * Miskat Fakrutdinov, 5 April 2004 – 16 January 2005 * [[Alexander Bodunov]], January 16, 2005 – 30 June 2005 * Anatoly Bogdanov, 30 June 2005 – 27 October 2005 * Alexander Bodunov, 27 October 2005 – 4 April 2006 * [[Mike Krushelnyski]], 4 April 2006 – 31 March 2007 * Miskat Fakrutdinov, 18 June 2007 – 28 October 2007 * Sergey Gomolyako, 29 October 2007 – 5 November 2008 * Mike Krushelnyski, 6 November 2008 – 3 December 2009 * Alexei Yarushkin, 6 December 2009 – 14 October 2010 * [[Andrei Nazarov]], 14 October 2010 – 18 May 2012 * Yuri Leonov, 20 June 2012 – 11 January 2014 * Oleg Orekhovskiy, 11 January 2014 – 2016 *Valeri Belov, 2016 – 2019 *[[Mikhail Kravets]], 2019 – 2021 *[[Yuri Babenko]], 2021 – 2022 *[[Vyacheslav Butsayev]], 2022 – 2023 *[[Dmitri Ryabykin]], 2023 – 2024 *Pavel Desyatkov, 2024 – 2025 {{div col end}}

==Franchise records and leaders==

===KHL scoring leaders===  These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history in the KHL. '''''Note:''' Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;'' <ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.quanthockey.com/khl/teams/vityaz-chekhov-players-career-khl-stats.html | title = HC Vityaz All-Time leaders | website = quanthockey.com | date = 2025-03-23 | access-date = 2025-03-23}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! style="align:left; width: 15em;" | Player ! style="width: 3.5em;" | GP ! style="width: 3.5em;" | G ! style="width: 3.5em;" | A ! style="width: 3.5em;" | Pts ! style="width: 3.5em;" | PIM ! style="width: 3.5em;" | +/- ! style="width: 3.5em;" | PPG ! style="width: 3.5em;" | SHG ! style="width: 3.5em;" | GWG |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Alexei Makeyev]] || 419 || 96 || 112 || '''208''' || 136 || −7 || 21 || 5 || 18 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Maxim Afinogenov]] || 268 || 80 || 84 || '''164''' || 325 || −24 || 19 || 3 || 9 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Miro Aaltonen]] || 198 || 57 || 95 || '''152''' || 76 || 4 || 22 || 2 || 11 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|CZE}} [[Roman Horák (ice hockey, born 1991)|Roman Horak]] || 224 || 59 || 56 || '''115''' || 106 || −22 ||21||5||4 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Alexander Semin]] || 144 || 45 || 53 || '''98''' || 150 || −12 || 17 || 0 || 11 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Vadim Berdnikov]] || 163 || 31 || 61 || '''92''' || 177 || −22 || 7 || 3 || 3 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Jeremy Roy (ice hockey)|Jeremy Roy]] || 195 || 15 || 72 || '''87''' || 79 || −19 || 7 || 2 || 1 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Mario Kempe]] || 166 || 39 || 44 || '''83''' || 144 || −28 || 13 || 2 || 7 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Chris Simon]] || 113 || 37 || 43 || '''80''' || 503 || −17 || 19 || 0 || 9 |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Derek Barach]] || 136 || 31 || 47 || '''78''' || 103 || −22 || 8 || 0 || 8 |}

==Honors== ===Runners-up=== {{silver2}} '''[[Vysshaya Liga (1992–2010)|Vysshaya Liga]]''' ''(1)'': 2005 ===Champions=== {{gold1}} '''[[Wingas Cup]]''' ''(1)'': 2017

{{gold1}} '''[[Lehner Cup]]''' ''(1)'': 2018

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website|https://hcvityaz.ru/}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vityaz Chekhov}} [[Category:HC Vityaz| ]] [[Category:Ice hockey in Moscow Oblast]] [[Category:Ice hockey teams in Russia]] [[Category:Kontinental Hockey League teams]] [[Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1996]] [[Category:1996 establishments in Russia]] [[Category:Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2025]] [[Category:2025 disestablishments in Russia]]