Most Prestigious KHL teams? (or teams with the greatest Mystique)

[Mathradio]

Just like the NHL has the Original 6 on top of the prestige ladder (Montreal Canadien and Toronto Maple Leafs usually #1-2 on that ladder, in any order) surely the KHL has teams of various prestige levels: CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg would IMO be on, or near, the top of the KHL prestige ladder.

However, is my impression anywhere near the reality?

 

[Exarz]

You can't talk about a look-a-like "original 6" here in Europe because of our promotion/relegation system in our leagues, plus that KHL included 24 teams their first season.

If we talk about "prestigious" teams that are good, or have a history, there are a few clubs in my opinion

• CSKA Moscow - Their history as one of the best clubs through history
• Dynamo Moscow - One of the best clubs in KHL, they also won back to back Gagarin Cup titles
• SKA Saint Petersburg - Probably the best club in the league, but they struggle to win the title
• Metallurg Magnitogorsk - They've been a really good club for a while now

Then we have doubtful teams like Ak Bars Kazan and Salavat Yulaev Ufa, but I can't really speak from those clubs

If I've missed any club, please add it!

 

[SoundAndFury]

You can't talk about a look-a-like "original 6" here in Europe because of our promotion/relegation system in our leagues, plus that KHL included 24 teams their first season.

If we talk about "prestigious" teams that are good, or have a history, there are a few clubs in my opinion

• CSKA Moscow - Their history as one of the best clubs through history
• Dynamo Moscow - One of the best clubs in KHL, they also won back to back Gagarin Cup titles
• SKA Saint Petersburg - Probably the best club in the league, but they struggle to win the title
• Metallurg Magnitogorsk - They've been a really good club for a while now

Then we have doubtful teams like Ak Bars Kazan and Salavat Yulaev Ufa, but I can't really speak from those clubs

If I've missed any club, please add it!

Leaving Ak Bars off this list is a blasphemy and I'm not even an Ak Bars fan of any kind.

To answer the OP, historically it's by far CSKA and then Spartak, Dynamo and, probably, Dinamo Riga, in their own right.

Nowadays though, most prestigious organizations in the KHL are the rich ones, I guess. For example, SKA really has no real source of pride of any kind but hey, they have money and they have a good team, I guess that makes them prestigious. As well as any other rich team.

The question itself is not very clear because CSKA and Dynamo are the only equivalents of the NHL original 6 teams. However, you can make a case that historically poor team like SKA which hasn't won anything ever is the most prestigious club in the KHL. To me personally, Lokomotiv, for example, is much more prestigious club than most: they have a great hockey traditions, great hockey school, great fans, saw their fair share of good and bad throughout existence but.. that's just me. I fully understand if the next guy doesn't feel that way at all. The same goes to SKA, I think many people consider them to be a joke rather than a prestigious club but both opinions have plenty of supporting arguments.

 

[Urbanskog]

Leaving Ak Bars off this list is a blasphemy and I'm not even an Ak Bars fan of any kind.

This. They're the only team besides Dynamo Moscow to win the Gagarin Cup twice.

 

[Exarz]

This. They're the only team besides Dynamo Moscow to win the Gagarin Cup twice.

That's what I was thinking about aswell, but since they're not much of a fan-team with a lot of people disliking them outside Kazan (except for some teams in the east, but correct me if I'm wrong), I didn't know if they were a prestigious team that everyone wanted to beat really bad

 

[punchonico99]

Jokerit Helsinki

I would say this:

CSKA (1946)
SKA (1946)
Dynamo Moscow (1946)
Spartak Moscow (1946)
Dinamo Riga (1946)
Ufa (1961) or Lokomotiv (1959)

But if we take teams that were not in the KHL in the first season we could add Slovan (1921), Medvescak (1961), Jokerit (1967). Avangard has great marketing and exist since 1950 but are they somehow prestigious?

 

[Den]

Nothing beats the prestige of playing for the Sochi Leopards.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Avangard has great marketing and exist since 1950 but are they somehow prestigious?

No, Jaromir Jagr just played for some bush-league club

However, the date of the establishment on its own doesn't make the club prestigious in any way, its history, meaning and achievements do.

 

[quartus]

Slovan Bratislava should be up there I think:

Slovak Extraliga
Winners (8): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12

Czechoslovak Extraliga
Winners (1): 1978–79

Slovak Hockey League
Winners (2): 1940-41, 1941-42

1st. Slovak National Hockey League
Winners (2): 1981–82, 1989–90

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HC_Slovan_Bratislava

They've won things in 5 different decades, that takes a lot.

 

[maxim84]

In croatia whenever there is some tv interview with Medvescak's president Gojanovic or other club officials and they ask them about khl future of medvescak and stuff like that it is clear that SKA and Dynamo Moscow are two clubs they look up as something Medvescak should follow in terms of marketing, public relations and organization. I am not a former player, and didn't live in russia or follow khl before this season like Gojanovic but i could agree with that from what i've seen so far when watching the games on tv or internet... I also think when you talk about prestige...the number of national team players certain club gave should be significant...

 

[SoundAndFury]

Slovan Bratislava should be up there I think:

And yet, they haven't achieved anything in the KHL. When I think about the most prestigious clubs of the KHL Slovan sure as hell doesn't come to mind.

 

[Mathradio]

I would say this:

CSKA (1946)
SKA (1946)
Dynamo Moscow (1946)
Spartak Moscow (1946)
Dinamo Riga (1946)
Ufa (1961)

So this is the Russian O6... the teams whose prestige are similar to that of NHL teams.

 

[SoundAndFury]

So this is the Russian O6... the teams whose prestige are similar to that of NHL teams.

Simply put - no Or your definition of prestige is a very weird one.

 

[Exarz]

So this is the Russian O6... the teams whose prestige are similar to that of NHL teams.

Those are the Russian/Soviet O6 by oldest clubs I believe.

If you talk about prestige as winning the Gagarin Cup, it's Ak Bars, Ufa and Dynamo Moscow.

If we would make an O6 from prestige with old clubs and titles it'd be:

Ak Bars Kazan
Dynamo Moscow
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
SKA Saint Petersburg (even though they never win anything )
CSKA Moscow
And one more..

I can't decide which the 6th club would be.. Riga is an old club, but they haven't really been very successful in the KHL. Same with Spartak.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I can't decide which the 6th club would be.. Riga is an old club, but they haven't really been very successful in the KHL. Same with Spartak.

It doesn't make sense to limit it to 6. Big Russian clubs at this point are CSKA, SKA, Dynamo, Lokomotiv, Avangard, Magnitka, Ak Bars and SU. You would need some kind of prestige-meter to determine which two of those are worse than the others

And yeah, there's also Dinamo Riga but they are a different story.

This O6 thing just doesn't apply here at all. Not to mention that evolution from Soviet hockey to RSL to KHL makes "prestige" very hard to define, it's not like the NHL clubs who were in the same league and the same position ever since the dawn of time

 

[BlueBratislava]

It doesn't make sense to limit it to 6. Big Russian clubs at this point are CSKA, SKA, Dynamo, Lokomotiv, Avangard, Magnitka, Ak Bars and SU. You would need some kind of prestige-meter to determine which two of those are worse than the others

And yeah, there's also Dinamo Riga but they are a different story.

This O6 thing just doesn't apply here at all. Not to mention that evolution from Soviet hockey to RSL to KHL makes "prestige" very hard to define, it's not like the NHL clubs who were in the same league and the same position ever since the dawn of time

Exactly, you are totally right. Plus you have the euro teams in the league that function in a completely different society. I think the word "prestigious" should be also applied to the team's popularity in the city, consistency of arena location, or atmosphere and ticket sales. For example Montréal is not always the best on the ice, but for a fan the experience is incomparable to the rest in the NHL. I remember perfectly every single game and everything around it that I came to see in MTL So, for me that is prestigious!

 

[Exarz]

It doesn't make sense to limit it to 6. Big Russian clubs at this point are CSKA, SKA, Dynamo, Lokomotiv, Avangard, Magnitka, Ak Bars and SU. You would need some kind of prestige-meter to determine which two of those are worse than the others

And yeah, there's also Dinamo Riga but they are a different story.

This O6 thing just doesn't apply here at all. Not to mention that evolution from Soviet hockey to RSL to KHL makes "prestige" very hard to define, it's not like the NHL clubs who were in the same league and the same position ever since the dawn of time

Exactly x2

It's a very difficult question to answer, since there's a different situation in Europe, plus that it's a new league.

 

[BlueBratislava]

Slovan Bratislava should be up there I think:


They've won things in 5 different decades, that takes a lot.

You forgot winning the Spengler Cup in Davos in 1972, 1973, and 1974.

 

[Pominville Knows]

CSKA (1946)
SKA (1946)
Dynamo Moscow (1946)
Spartak Moscow (1946)
Dinamo Riga (1946)

wow, there we can see the soviet system in full works i guess. But on the other end it is 68 years ago so it does not matter when it comes to prestige.

 

[robwangjing]

If I understand European sports culture, prestige often comes with age. So an old club that has been around for a decade is often regarded as prestigious.

And if the same club has won a lot of titles and been a top club for many years, this adds to its prestige.

And if the club is very popular this also adds to its prestige.

So the most important is:
1. A long history/Old team
2. Many victories
3. Being popular

Am I right?

 

[SoundAndFury]

If I understand European sports culture, prestige often comes with age. So an old club that has been around for a decade is often regarded as prestigious.

And if the same club has won a lot of titles and been a top club for many years, this adds to its prestige.

And if the club is very popular this also adds to its prestige.

So the most important is:
1. A long history/Old team
2. Many victories
3. Being popular

Am I right?

Not really. It's all about being well respected (this is kind of a definition of the word prestige) which comes from winning things (having a rich history, not just A history) and/or representing some kind of idea, having strong identity while being good at what they do at the same time; like Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao in soccer, Dinamo Riga in hockey and Zalgiris Kaunas in basketball although the prestige of the later two is decreasing because they aren't anymore what they used to be and what they used to mean. I guess a similar point can be made about Barcelona, too.

For example, Avtomobilist, Traktor or Sibir are very old clubs too but that by itself doesn't make them prestigious at all.

 

[Killion]

If I understand European sports culture, prestige often comes with age. So an old club that has been around for a decade is often regarded as prestigious.

And if the same club has won a lot of titles and been a top club for many years, this adds to its prestige.

And if the club is very popular this also adds to its prestige.

So the most important is:
1. A long history/Old team
2. Many victories
3. Being popular

Am I right?

You may not appreciate the prestige of being on your feet if youve not felt the pain of being on your knee's..... Considering where the Russians are coming from, their history, the very existence of the KHL itself and all of its member clubs carry a certain "prestige" and elan. A certain caleche'. The history of Russian hockey itself & its players is "prestigious" in and of itself & themselves. Money is prestige and of that they are not short in all quarters though some do struggle just as do any number of NHL franchises. Though the KHL itself is only 7yrs old, I for one do not really separate it from the chain forged by Anatoli Tarasov in the 1940's & the elite domestic league, Olympic, Junior, World Championships. Canada Cups etc & of course the storied CSKA Moscow Team which rolled off the tracks he laid. As prestigious as the fabled Montreal Canadiens. The KHL its Grandchildren. So decades yes, but more than just one, beyond 7yrs.

 

[martin1983]

Not really. It's all about being well respected (this is kind of a definition of the word prestige) which comes from winning things (having a rich history, not just A history) and/or representing some kind of idea, having strong identity while being good at what they do at the same time; like Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao in soccer, Dinamo Riga in hockey and Zalgiris Kaunas in basketball although the prestige of the later two is decreasing because they aren't anymore what they used to be and what they used to mean. I guess a similar point can be made about Barcelona, too.

For example, Avtomobilist, Traktor or Sibir are very old clubs too but that by itself doesn't make them prestigious at all.

That's only your opinion. I can define prestige by other parameters.. Toronto Maple Leafs is still prestigious team for me, despite the fact that they not win anything since 1966 - 67

 

[SoundAndFury]

That's only your opinion. I can define prestige by other parameters.. Toronto Maple Leafs is still prestigious team for me, despite the fact that they not win anything since 1966 - 67

But they had won all kinds of hardware before and furthermore, they were THE team for a whole non-French speaking Canada not that long ago. And even though Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa and Alberta has their own teams Leafs are still the team for the crapload of people all over Canada. They are THE representatives of the country where the game was created, THE team of country's national sport. I think that fits my definition fairly well.

What would be prestigious about them if they weren't all that? They would be the Buffalo Sabres.

 

[Killion]

What would be prestigious about them if they weren't all that? They would be the Buffalo Sabres.

I think maybe a better word, more accurate & descriptive than "prestigious" when considering the Leafs, Habs, Bruins, Red Wings or Chicago, the Rangers, HC CSKA Moscow, the Red Army Team, even clubs like Jokerit etc is "mystique". A certain "aura" & perception about them based on history & past glories. Even minor-pro teams like the Rochester Americans, the Cleveland Barons, San Diego Gulls, they all have a certain mystique, invoke images, great clubs no matter what level theyve played at. As the game is comprised & made up of players, and though the KHL is fairly new & recent, that league to me is indivisible from superb Russian hockey. Yes they have imports but at its core, uniquely Russian. In-built mystique & prestige that if your playing in that league at all, your a damn good player. Its certainly "different" from the NHL and they have a ways to go to catch up to that leagues prestigious preeminence as the oldest & greatest professional league in the World but still, has that "mystique" about it. That undeniable Russian hockey vibe about it thats pretty hard to resist huh?