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Kazzinc-Torpedo
Torpedo Hockey Club (Kazakh: Торпедо хоккей клубы, «Torpedo» hokkeı klýby; Russian: Хоккейный клуб Торпедо), commonly referred to as Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk, formerly known as Kazzinc-Torpedo (1999–2015), is a professional ice hockey team based in Oskemen, Kazakhstan. Torpedo has typically been the most dominant developmental club in Kazakhstan and its senior level team plays at the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship. Most Kazakh players who have reached the National Hockey League (NHL) trace their roots to Torpedo.[1] Kazzinc-Torpedo is the most crowned Kazakhstan team, with 13 championship wins. History1955–1992: the Soviet eraThe Torpedo were founded by Nikolai Konyakhin in 1955.[2] Konyakhin was a former ice hockey player and he had experience of playing for a youth team of the Moscow region. Father and son Konaykhin's have initiated the foundation of the amateur team at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant. Ice Hockey was a new kind of sport for the factory guys and they started to train and play on the ice of Ulba River in winter. By that time, the factory workers were playing football and bandy. Both teams were calling Torpedo. The new hockey team was named Torpedo, too. In 1957, they participated at the Kazakh SSR Hockey Championship in Alma-Ata. Also, it was the first official tournament for Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk. They won silver medals at this championship. It was first and last silver medals at the National Championships, because they were unbeaten before 1964. In 1964, Torpedo debuted in the Soviet Hockey Championship's Class B. The team was coached by Olympic medalist and multiple champion of USSR Yuri Baulin.[3] His management led to promotion to Soviet Hockey Championship's Class A2. In 1966–67, they were runners-up and lost only to Avtomobilist Sverdlovsk. In 1977, Torpedo was relegated to the Soviet Hockey Championship's Class A3. However, three years later they returned to Class A2 Division. That team was coached by Valentin Grigoriev and formed only by its own hockey school graduates. In the early 1980s, the team was headed by local coach Viktor Semykin. The young manager gathered new powerful squad. The team included the most famous local graduate Boris Alexandrov, who returned from CSKA Moscow to his hometown. He became famous all over the world after playing in the Super Series '76 with the team CSKA Moscow and scoring against the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins.[4][5][6] In 1986, a conflict between Semykin and the players saw Semykin sacked. Team management assigned Vladimir Goltze as a new head coach. He led the team to the Soviet Hockey Championship's Class A. It was the team's first time at that level. Boris Alexandrov was the best goalscorer at the first round of championships. However, the team was relegated after one season to Class A2 Division. One season later, they returned to the highest division. They stayed at the top division for three seasons until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The post-Soviet era After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the team kept up much of its momentum, despite losing many of its players and coaches to Russian teams.[7] From 1992 to 1996, Torpedo competed at the International Hockey League, which replaced the Soviet Hockey Championship. In 1993, Torpedo joined the newly created Kazakhstan Hockey Championship, where they would play in parallel to their participation in the International Hockey League. In 1992-93 season, they qualified to the play-offs, but lost to SKA Saint Petersburg in the preliminary round. The team had big financial problems and the Ulba Metallurgical Plant was unable to sponsor them. Vladimir Goltze was fired and Boris Alexandrov replaced him. Alexandrov combined his coaching duties with his playing role. He led the team to victory at the Rudi Hiti Summer League in 1994. In the 1994-95 season, Torpedo reached the play-offs, but lost to Krylya Sovetov Moscow in the preliminary round again. In 1996, the International Hockey League was disbanded. In 1996, Torpedo was admitted into the Russian hockey system. Torpedo joined the Supreme League of the Russian Ice Hockey Championship, the second highest level after the Russian Superleague. In 1998, the Kazakhstan national team competed at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano. The team was composed entirely of players from Kazzinc–Torpedo and coached by Boris Alexandrov. Journalists called them "The team of one locker room." It was an unexpected result for many people, when they ranked first at the groupe stage after defeating Italy and Slovakia.[8][9] Season-by-season recordThis is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Kazzinc-Torpedo. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Kazzinc-Torpedo seasons. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTW = Overtime/shootout wins, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
AchievementsDomesticKazakhstan Hockey Championship:
International
Notable alumni Evgeni Nabokov was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the most best rookie in his first season in the National Hockey League.  Nik Antropov was selected 10th overall in the first round of 1998 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto Maple Leafs. List of Torpedo players selected in the NHL Amateur Draft
List of Torpedo players selected in the NHL Entry Draft
Note: Only counts if the players played for Torpedo before they were selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Some players played only for the Torpedo Junior Team.[10][11] List of undrafted NHL alumni
LeadersTeam captains
Head coaches
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kazzinc-Torpedo.
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