All-Russian Hockey League B
| Formerly | Pervaya Liga |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Ceased | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 5 (2022–2023 season) |
| Countries | Russia (5 teams) |
| Last champion | CSK VVS Samara (1st title) |
| Most titles | HC Rostov (3) |
| Related competitions | KHL VHL MHL NMHL |
| Official website | vhl.su |
The All-Russian Hockey League B or VHL-B (Russian: Первенство Всероссийской хоккейной лиги (ВХЛ-Б), Pervenstvo Vserossiyskoy hokkeynoy ligi), formerly known as Supreme Hockey League B (Russian: Первенство Высшей хоккейной лиги, Pervenstvo Vysshey hokkeynoy ligi) and Russian Hockey League (Russian: Российская хоккейная лига, Rossiyskaya hokkeynaya liga), was an ice hockey league in Russia. It stood at the third-tier of the Russian ice hockey pyramid, below the second-level VHL and the top-tier KHL. Its final season was 2022/23, and its four surviving teams (Dynamo-Altay, CSK VVS, HC Chelny and Kristall Saratov) joined the VHL.[1]
History
Since 1992, it was the First League of the Russian Ice Hockey Championship. During the 2010–11 season, it was known as the Championship of Russia between the club teams of regions (Russian: Первенство России среди клубных команд регионов, Pervenstvo Rossii sredi klubnykh komand regionov), which was considered a feeder league to both the KHL and the VHL. A majority of the teams were simply junior versions of their professional counterparts. During the era of the Soviet Championship League, it was referred to as "Class B"[citation needed]
The league in 2010–11 featured clubs from the 2009–10 season of the Pervaya Liga and also clubs from the 2009–10 season of the Vysshaya Liga that were not accepted into the VHL for 2010–11.[citation needed]
On August 23, 2011, the FHR announced the creation of the Russian Hockey League that replaced the Pervaya Liga. The league had 2 divisions. The West Division featured teams from both the Central and Povolzhie divisions of the Pervaya Liga. The East Division featured teams from the Ural and West Siberia division as well as teams from the Siberian and Far East division. The Russian Hockey League was also the same name of the organization responsible for organizing the top-tier hockey league of Russia at the time that existed from 1996 and 2008, when it was rebranded and reorganized as the Kontinental Hockey League.[citation needed]
Prior to the beginning of the 2014–15 season, there was a big decrease in league members (with seven teams either leaving to join a different league or disbanding altogether). In connection with this number of losses, FHR officials who ran the league were forced to combine the two territorial divisions into one league table.[citation needed]
After the 2014–15 season and prior to the 2015–16 season, the FHR transferred the organization of the RHL (which had seen its membership numbers plummet from 24 teams in 2011/12 to nine in 2014/15) to the Supreme Hockey League, with the hope of developing a better third-tier competition with an eventual promotion/relegation system with the second-level league thus creating the Supreme Hockey League Championship.[citation needed]
The 2022-23 season ended up the league's final. Before it started, the league, which shrunk to 5 teams at this point, was renamed from "Supreme" to "All-Russian" to match the VHL. During the season, HC Feniks Kazan ran out of funding and folded mid-season.[2] The remaining four teams (Dynamo-Altay, CSK VVS, HC Chelny and Kristall Saratov) played out the season, then joined the VHL.[1] CSK VVS Samara was the league's last champion.
Prospects for expansion
It was planned to replenish the league from the following sources:
- VHL teams, for financial reasons, leaving the league.
- Foreign clubs. For example, interest to the league has been shown by representatives of Latvia.
- Teams from different cities of Russia.
- Independent teams of the MHL and/or the NMHL who left due to reorganization.[3]
Teams for 2022–2023
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined league |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo-Altay |  Barnaul | Titov Sports Palace | 3,800 | 2006 | 2011 |
| CSK VVS Samara | Samara | Vladimir Vysotsky Sport Palace | 5,000 | 1993 | 2022 |
| Feniks | Kazan | Sport Palace | 3,345 | 2022 | 2022 |
| HC Chelny | Naberezhnye Chelny | Ice Palace Naberezhny Chelny | 1,500 | 2004 | 2016 |
| Kristall | Saratov | Ice Sports Palace Saratov | 5,000 | 1946 | 2017 |
Former teams
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Fate of the team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel Sibiri | Tobolsk | Crystal Sports Complex | Unknown | Unknown |
| Avangard-Yugra | Kogalym | Iceberg Sports Complex | Unknown | Originally joined, but ultimately did not participate; possibly disbanded |
| Buran Voronezh | Voronezh | LDS Jubileiny | 3,200 | Joined the VHL in 2012 |
| Burevestnik Yekaterinburg | Yekaterinburg | KRK Uralets | 5,570 | Withdrew during 2013–14 season; later disbanded due to connection with financial problems |
| Burevestnik-1976 | Tomsk | Crystal Sport Palace | Unknown | Currently, the club performs in the Siberian Student Hockey League |
| HC Belgorod | Belgorod | Oranzevjy led | 1,200 | Joined the NMHL (then MHL-B) in 2012 due to financial issues |
| HC Bryansk | Bryansk | Desna Stadium | 1,000 | Joined the NMHL (then MHL-B) in 2014 |
| HC Cheboksary | Cheboksary | Cheboksary-Arena | 7,500 | Disbanded |
| HC Lipetsk | Lipetsk | Zvezdny Sports Complex | 2,000 | Joined the VHL in 2013; later withdrew in 2015 |
| HC Rostov | Rostov-on-Don | Ice Arena | 600 | Joined the VHL in 2019 |
| HC Tambov | Tambov | Crystal Ice Palace | 1,200 | Joined the VHL in 2018 |
| Junior-Sputnik | Nizhny Tagil | Sotnikov Ice Sports Palace | 4,200 | Club skips season due to financial problems |
| Kedr Novouralsk | Novouralsk | Novouralsk Ice Palace | 1,200 | Disbanded |
| Krasnoyarskie Rysi | Krasnoyarsk | Arena Sever | 2,600 | Joined the JHL in 2022 |
| Kristall Elektrostal | Elektrostal | Kristall Sport Palace | 3,500 | Disbanded |
| Kristall-Yugra Beloyarsky | Beloyarsky | Palace of Sports | 450 | Possibly disbanded |
| Krylya Sovetov Novosibirsk | Novosibirsk | Unknown | - | Disbanded |
| Neftyanik Almetyevsk-2 | Almetyevsk | Yubileyny Sports Palace | 2,000 | Changed name to Sputnik; joined the MHL in 2012 as farm club of Neftyanik (Almetyevsk) (VHL) |
| Progress Glazov | Glazov | Progress Sports Palace | 4,300 | Joined the NMHL (then MHL-B) in 2014; became farm club of Izhstal (Izhevsk) (VHL) |
| Rubin Tyumen-2 | Tyumen | Sports Palace Tyumen | 3,300 | Unknown |
| Shakhtyor Prokopyevsk | Prokopyevsk | Snowflake Sports Complex | 3,150 | Due to financial problems, the club decided to go to the Siberian Student Hockey League in 2013 |
| Slavutych Smolensk | Smolensk | Ice Palace SGAFKST | 1,080 | Left league in 2017 due to financial problems |
| Sokol Novocheboksarsk | Novocheboksarsk | LD Sokol | 3,000 | Disbanded |
| Soyuz | Zarechny | Sports Palace Soyuz | Unknown | Possibly disbanded |
| THK Tver | Tver | Ice Palace Yubileyny | 1,980 | Joined the VHL in 2012; later declared bankruptcy and ceased in 2017 |
| Yamal Sterkhi | Noyabrsk | KSK Fakel | Unknown | Disbanded |
| Yantar Seversk | Seversk | SK North | Unknown | Withdrew from league after 2011–12 season; later disbanded due to financial issues in 2013-14 |
| Yuzhny Ural-Metallurg Orsk | Orsk | Unknown | - | Disbanded |
| Zauralje Kurgan-2 | Kurgan | Ice Sports Palace Mostovik | 2,500 | Changed name to Junior and became a youth team joining the MHL and then the NMHL (then MHL-B) in 2012; currently still member of the league |
Champions
|
- [*]: Both losing semifinalists received bronze medals
- [**]: Playoffs cancelled, placement determined by the regular season
- [NK]: Result not known
See also
References
- ^ a b "Закрытие сезона и первенства". 2023-05-21. Archived from the original on 2023-06-04.
- ^ "Прощай, «Феникс»!". Первенство ВХЛ (in Russian). 2023-01-24. Archived from the original on 2023-02-28.
- ^ "Оптимизация МХЛ поможет возродить РХЛ". Sports.ru. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
External links
- VHL-B Official website
- Inter-Regional Coordinating Council Siberia–Far East, responsible for the Siberia–Far East Division of Pervaya Liga
- Inter-Regional Coordinating Council Northwest, responsible for the Northwest Division of Pervaya Liga
- Inter-Regional Coordinating Council Povolzhye, responsible for the Povolzhye Division of Pervaya Liga
- Inter-Regional Coordinating Council Ural–West Siberia, responsible for the Ural–West Siberia Division of Pervaya Liga
- Euro Hockey
