KHL - Chernyshev Division - Барыс Astana

Barys were founded on 26 November 1999 as the result of resolution accepted by the City Council of Astana. The team was gathered in a semi-professional level by an enthusiast players who were annually playing an amateur tournament for the prize of Mayor of Astana and professional players who came from other teams of the Championship. The team's name, Barys, is derived from the national symbol of Kazakhstan, translated as snow leopard. Nikolai Myshagin became the first head coach in the club's history. Under Myshagin rule, Barys earned silver medals in its first three season of play in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship. Barys would stay there until 2009. During the 2003–04 season, Barys squaded by junior players to serve as a base club for the Kazakhstan national junior ice hockey team. In 2004, Barys was admitted into the Russian ice hockey system. They made their debut in the Pervaya Liga; in parallel, Barys kept a second team in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship. Barys' debut in Russia was interesting, with the team doing fairly well. They played three seasons in the Pervaya Liga, where they finished respectively 3rd, 2nd and 1st of the Ural-Western Siberia Zone where they played. With this first place in 2007, Barys was allowed into the Vysshaya Liga.
Barys played a single season in the Vysshaya Liga, a good one, where they finished second out of 14 in the Eastern Сonference. They reached the playoffs, where they began by sweeping HC Belgorod in three straight games in the first round, before falling to Khimik Voskresensk in four games. Barys however won the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship that year. Barys' main team did not participate in the regular season of the league (however, its affiliate, Barys-2, did), but the league's format was so that the three best team of the league after the regular season would play the three best Kazakh teams (Barys' main team, Kazzinc-Torpedo and Kazakhmys Satpaev, all three were playing in the Vysshaya Liga) in the final round. Barys won the tournament, dethroning defending champions Kazzinc-Torpedo, en route to their first Kazakhstan Hockey Championship title.

In 2008, Barys applied to join the newly formed KHL. The league's authorities allowed Barys in, making it the first Kazakh team to join the new league. The team won its first game in the KHL on 3 September 2008, abroad, defeating Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2–1 in the shootouts. They registered their first home game eleven days later by beating defending Russian champions Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3–2, this time again in shootout. The team finished its first season with a 15th place overall in the league. Barys secured a spot in the playoffs on 26 February 2009, defeating 6-4 Vityaz Chekhov in the last day of the regular season. In the first round of Gagarin Cup playoffs, Barys faced Ak Bars Kazan. Kazan swept Astana three games to nothing to advance to the second round. Kevin Dallman finished the season as the league's fifth best scorer with 28 goals and 30 assists (58 points) record; he also finished as the league's leader for shots on goal with 217. Konstantin Glazachev finished 9th overall in the league in scoring with 52 points. Meanwhile, the team secured a second straight Kazakhstan Hockey Championship title.

The 2009–10 season saw Barys have a very similar season than the previous. Veteran Jozef Stümpel finished top scorer of the team, with 52 points, two better than Maxim Spiridonov, who was the best goal scorer of the team with 24. Fan favourite Kevin Dallman also was a major contributor, with 14 goals and 27 assists. Newcomer Jeff Glass did a fine job between the pipes, with 19 wins and a 2.87 goals against average, helping the team finish fourteenth overall of the KHL, a one place improvement from 2008–09. Barys was however once again swept in three games by Ak Bars Kazan in the first round of the playoffs. Barys opened 2010–11 season with Andrei Khomutov as the new head coach. However, the team's previous manager Andrei Shayanov remained in the team as an assistant coach. The team compiled a 20–21–4–9 regular season record with 77 points. As the 7th seed of the Eastern Conference, Barys faced Ak Bars Kazan in the first round of playoffs, again. Ak Bars won series without losing a game 4-0.

In the 2011 off-season, Barys announced the signing of Dustin Boyd and Nigel Dawes, who later formed BBD (Bochenski–Boyd–Dawes) line along with Brandon Bochenski. In the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Barys fired Andrei Khomutov after seven losses in eight games. Andrei Shayanov replaced him and led the team to 6th place in the Eastern Conference. Barys fell in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to the 3rd seeded Metallurg Magnitogorsk in seven games.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Barys strengthened by signing Ryan McDonagh, Victor Hedman and Nik Antropov. Vladimir Krikunov appointed as a new head coach. Barys finished the season with a 23–18–5–6 record for 85 points. In the first round of the 2013 Gagarin Cup playoffs, Barys defeated by Traktor Chelyabinsk 3-4 in series. After the season, Krikunov decided to leave the team, because he refused to coach the Kazakhstan national ice hockey team in parallel with Barys.
In the 2013 off-season, Barys appointed Ari-Pekka Selin as a new head coach. On 4 July 2013, Barys officially joined to newly created Astana Presidential Sports Club, the organization supported by Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna to combine the main sports teams in Astana. Having resigned most of their free agents, the club wouldn't much change in the 2013 off-season, with the exception of losing UFAs Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev, Vitali Novopashin and Mikhail Grigoriev. On 19 June 2013, the team signed goalie Ari Ahonen for one year. Barys strengthened defense, signing Mike Lundin, Maxim Semyonov and Evgeni Blokhin. On 8 August 2013, unrestricted free agent Nik Antropov signed with the Barys a two-year deal. In its season opening game on 8 September 2013, Barys defeated Severstal Cherepovets 10-1. During the season, Barys signed a season long contracts with Cam Barker and Zach Hamill. Barys's Brandon Bochenski and Talgat Zhailauov selected to play in the 2014 KHL All-Star Game, as the result of fans and journalists voting. Barys finished as the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. Recording 26 wins, 18 losses, 6 overtime/shootout wins and 4 overtime/shootout losses, they finished with 94 points for the regular season. In the first round of the 2014 Gagarin Cup playoffs, Barys defeated Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4–0 in series to overcome the first round for the first time in its KHL history. Barys lost to Salavat Yulaev Ufa in Eastern Conference semifinals 2–4 in series.
On May 5, 2014, it was announced that former long-time Barys's captain Kevin Dallman signed a three-year contract. On 18 June 2014, the KHL reported that Andrei Nazarov would move from Donbass Donetsk to become the new head coach at Barys, replacing Ari-Pekka Selin who had been sacked as coach of the Kazakhstan national ice hockey team on 11 June.
Barys's biggest rival in the Kontinental Hockey League is Ak Bars Kazan. The rivalry between the teams is often referred to as Cat Derby among fans and media. Both teams have the same name meaning snow leopard. Barys is a Kazakh mountain snow leopard, the Ak Bars is the same leopard but the Tatar team emphasised “white” by adding “ak” in front, secondly the team logos resemble each other. The teams played in the first playoff round of the first three KHL seasons, and Ak Bars defeated Barys every year without losing a game. The head coach is Yerlan Sagymbayev and the president is Alexander Koreshkov.

Record
KHL:
2008-09 - 16th
2009-10 - 14th
2010-11 - 14th
2011-12 - 10th
2012-13 - 11th
2013-14 - 7th
2014-15 - 11th


Roster

27	forward	Bochenski Brandon	04.04.1982	USA	30.04.2017
41	forward	Boyd Dustin	16.07.1986	Canada	30.04.2017
38	defense	Dallman Kevin	26.02.1981	Canada	30.04.2017
-	forward	Dawes Nigel	09.02.1985	Canada
-	defense	Ellerby Keaton	05.11.1988	Canada
-	defense	Ibraibekov Madiyar	04.09.1995	Kazakhstan
28	goaltender	Ivanov Alexei	04.05.1988	Russia	30.04.2016
-	forward	Krasnoslobodtsev Vadim	16.08.1983	Russia
-	goaltender	Laco Jan	01.12.1981	Slovakia
-	defense	Lakiza Artemy	02.07.1987	Kazakhstan
-	goaltender	Leontyev Artyom	06.02.1996	Russia
-	defense	Litvinenko Alexei	07.03.1980	Russia
39	defense	Lundin Mike	24.09.1984	USA	30.04.2016
-	goaltender	Malgin Dmitry	28.07.1987	Kazakhstan
-	forward	Mikhailis Nikita	18.06.1995	Kazakhstan
-	forward	Polishchuk Fyodor	04.07.1979	Russia
1	goaltender	Poluektov Pavel	20.01.1992	Russia	30.04.2016
-	forward	Pushkaryov Konstantin	12.02.1985	Russia
79	forward	Rakhmanov Mikhail	27.05.1992	Kazakhstan	30.04.2016
-	forward	Romanov Konstantin	14.03.1985	Russia
-	forward	Rudenko Konstantin	23.07.1981	Russia
-	forward	Rymarev Evgeny	09.09.1988	Kazakhstan
-	defense	Ryspayev Damir	25.04.1995	Kazakhstan
2	defense	Savchenko Roman	28.07.1988	Kazakhstan	30.04.2017
-	defense	Semyonov Maxim	09.02.1984	Russia
-	forward	St.Pierre Martin	11.08.1983	Canada
48	forward	Starchenko Roman	12.05.1986	Kazakhstan	30.04.2016
-	defense	Stepanenko Ivan	12.11.1995	Kazakhstan
-	forward	Yevdokimov Yaroslav	18.09.1993	Russia
-	forward	Zhailauov Talgat	07.07.1985	Kazakhstan
-	defense	Zinchenko Stanislav	05.07.1995	Kazakhstan

36

forward

Upper Dmitry

27.07.1978

Russia

30.04.2016

Arenas
At the time Barys were formed, the Kazakhstan Sports Palace just began construction. The lack of hockey rinks in Astana, forced Barys to relocate temporarily. During the first two seasons of its existence, the team was based at the arenas of Temirtau, Almaty and Oskemen.
The Kazakhstan Sports Palace was opened on 6 March 2001 by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev with a game against Yesil Petropavlovsk. It seats 4,070 in the hockey arena. In September 2011, The league's authorities considered Kazakhstan Sports Palace to be the worst in the KHL. The main reason was the regrettably little capacity. Konayeva st. 10, fl. 25, off. 2509; Astana, Kazakhstan, 010017


The team's owner Kazakhstan Temir Zholy decided to build the new Barys Arena with a capacity of 12,000 seats. It opened just this month with a pre-season tournament ahead of the 2015–16 season.

Season Preview
* This coming season brings new excitement in Astana where Barys finally moves into its long-awaited new home. The Kazakh team has long been accustomed to the cramped surroundings of a 4,000-seater venue but will now have space to welcome up to 12,000 supporters to an impressive modern arena.

* The grand opening, carried out by President Nursultan Nazabayev, coincided with this week’s President’s Cup, giving Kazakhstan’s hockey faithful a chance to check out the new venue and the efforts of incoming head coach Yerlan Sagymbayev. The initial signs are good: Barys lifted the cup thanks to an overtime win against Admiral in the final. A quick look at the scorers in that competition turns up familiar names aplenty, the old axis of Brandon Bochenski, Nigel Dawes and Dustin Boyd is tuning up nicely for the coming campaign, while stalwart D-man Kevin Dallman is also back among the points. 

* Familiarity and continuity are the keywords as Barys prepares for the 2015-16 season. Sagymbayev may be new to the hot seat, but he’s been around the organization for some time. He spent two seasons as assistant coach of the senior team before stepping sideways to perform a similar role with the MHL roster last season. As a legendary figure in Kazakh hockey, a graduate of the Ust-Kaminogorsk school who went on to an Olympic Quarter-Final in Nagano in 1998, he’s up to speed with the needs and expectations of the nation’s flagship team. And he’s also working to build on a roster that has steadily improved in recent seasons. 

After starting its KHL life as a team destined to battle for a play-off spot and then bow out quietly, the past two campaigns have seen Barys emerge as a strong contender in the East. The prospect of upsetting the likes of Ak Bars, Magnitka or Salavat Yulaev to reach a grand final may appear remote, but it’s no longer the impossible dream it seemed a few years ago. It’s evolution rather than revolution, though, with only a handful of changes. 

The key arrival is Canadian defenseman Keaton Ellerby. He comes with more than 200 NHL appearances where he’s been putting his imposing physique to good use in his own zone. Very much a ‘stay at home’ blue-liner, he could be the ideal complement to the marauding Dallman, but his challenge will be to adapt to the bigger European-sized ice. 

Another newcomer, Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev (right), needs little introduction. The Kazakh international is back home after a stint with Torpedo and, as a recognized star for club and country, will be warmly welcomed by Barys fans. The other new face, Evgeny Rymarov, steps up from the SHL after spending most of last season with Sariyaka and Kazzinc-Torpedo. 

The departure board is also modest. Veteran goalie Vitaly Yeremeyev has hung up his skates and Latvian defenseman Oscars Bartulis moves to Admiral but it’s largely the same personnel that Andrei Nazarov led last season. 

As for the new arena, the early indications are also encouraging. Reports suggest that it offers all the facilities of a top-class venue and should become an attractive home for Barys and Kazakhstan’s national team. Part of the KHL’s long-term program is based around improving hockey facilities throughout its member nations, and this new venue makes a valuable contribution towards that aim.