The famous hockey portal HockeyArchives has compiled an annual ranking of the best clubs in Europe. In first place, as last year, is SKA, ahead of the Swedish Växjo and CSKA. Four more KHL clubs entered the top 20: Ak Bars, Jokerit, Traktor and Lokomotiv.

The top 20 looks like this:

1. SKA (KHL) - 62.99 points

2.Vaxjo (Sweden) - 62.25

3.CSKA (KHL) - 58.52

4. Ak Bars (KHL) - 54.07

5. "Kerpet" (Finland) - 50.26

6. “Comet” (Czech Republic) - 48.21

7. Djurgården (Sweden) - 47.73

8. “Bern” (Switzerland) - 47.68

9. “Munich” (Germany) - 46.69

10. “Tappara” (Finland) - 45.92

11. Jokerit (KHL) - 45.80

12. Pilsen (Czech Republic) - 45.58

13. "Tršinec" (Czech Republic) - 45.33

14. "Skelleftea" (Sweden) - 44.73

15. “Traktor” (KHL) - 44.14

16. “Lugano” (Switzerland) - 44.10

17. “Hradec Kralove” (Czech Republic) - 43.97

18. "Frelunda" (Sweden) - 43.65

19.Lokomotiv (KHL) - 43.30

20. “Zurich” (Switzerland) - 43.14.

So, SKA is the strongest club in Europe. This is what the authoritative French hockey website thinks. Surely many thousands of fans of the Neva team around the world agree with this thesis.

But all this looks simply like an axiom. Why? Because…

I would like some proof. And not just words that the KHL is the strongest league in the Old World. Okay, let's skip the little things that last season Ak Bars won the Gagarin Cup, beating CSKA in the final. And the St. Petersburg team limited themselves to the semi-finals of the playoffs...

But where is the direct evidence that the KHL is stronger, for example, than the Swedish “Elite Series” or the Swiss “National League”? If you have them, show them!

Why isn’t the Finnish UP Jyväskylä, which won the Champions League last year, the top club in Europe? He's not in the top twenty at all. Or not the Swedish Växjö, who played in the final?

Okay, the survey is unofficial - and this is the taste of French journalists.

But isn’t it time for Russian clubs to officially prove that they really reign in the Old World?

We reproach the NHL team for not wanting to play with Continental League clubs for fear of losing and tarnishing the reputation of the strongest league in the world.

But we respond to Europeans in the same way. In the sense: “We are the best, and everything is clear.” To whom and what is clear is unclear.

We lament that we can’t fit another tournament into . An excuse from the evil one! There would be a desire!

On Eurotours there are “windows” every season. Yes, this is the national team! But the clubs will also represent the interests of the entire country on the international stage.

Moreover, the organizers of the Champions League were ready to adapt to us and allow KHL clubs, for example, straight to the playoff stage. But even here we shake our heads.

It is no secret that the ratings for broadcasts of KHL regular season matches and even the playoffs in Russia are, to put it mildly, low. One might even say low. The conditional confrontation between Ak Bars and Magnitogorsk arouses enthusiasm only among the fans of these teams.

At the moment, the only thing that can be “sold” is the confrontation between SKA and CSKA - clubs with stars. But there are only a few such matches per season.

In the upcoming championship, the army team, for example, will meet each other only four times. And it is not a fact that the “army wars” will continue in the Gagarin Cup. What else can you do to lure TV viewers to KHL games?

But Ledovoy is always sold out when St. Petersburg hockey players compete with their neighbors from Finland - Jokerit. After all, it is clear that there are also the best clubs from Russia and Finland, albeit reinforced by foreign players.

There is no doubt that if SKA competes somewhere in the semi-finals of the Champions League with another club from Helsinki - HIFK - the whole country will be rooting for the players from St. Petersburg. And the average person will remember hockey not only during the World Championships and the Olympic Games.

And there are also the Swedes, Swiss, Germans, Czechs - in these countries they are confident that they are no weaker than the KHL. But we don’t know and don’t have an exact idea what the level of hockey is in these powers? The Continental League may be stronger, but they haven’t bothered to prove it on the ice.

SKA is quite capable of reigning in hockey Europe, like Real Madrid in football. But for now we can only assign to ourselves the unofficial titles of continental “kings.”

Every year, after the World Cup, we publish the rankings of national hockey teams. This year will be no exception. The US team lost two positions (3430 points), the gap from the leader is 275 points. Recent rankings of the United States: 5, 4, 6. The team played 8 matches, 3 losses and 5 wins. The German team moves up one step (3355). The last two years this team was in 8th place. The Germans, like the US team, were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage; they had 8 matches in the tournament (5 wins and 3 fiascoes). The team defeated Austria, but lost the remaining matches.

In October "SE" runs a special section, dedicated to Russian hockey. In this material we present our own version of the 10 best teams in the history of the Kontinental Hockey League

Two Gagarin Cups in a row is a record. So far only Dynamo Moscow has been able to repeat it. Kazan dominated in the first years of the KHL's existence - fortunately, the strong core that achieved success back in the days of the Super League has not gone away.

The most important thing is that it was a great connection and worked like a clock. In the first final, Lokomotiv had a game advantage throughout the entire series, but Ak Bars managed to pull out a victory on character. Just look at the second match, when the Kazan team was losing 0:3 at home by the 14th minute, sent the match into overtime 74 seconds before the end of regular time, and in the very first attack in extra time they brought the game to victory with a score of 4:3.

But there was also the fifth match of the quarterfinal series with Avangard, when the Omsk team lacked 15 seconds to advance to the next round. Nikulin equalized the score after a throw-in won by Niko Kapanen, and the veteran scored the winning goal in overtime.

The second title was remembered for the fact that Ak Bars stopped the powerful Salavat, led by , in the semifinals, and in the decisive series put the squeeze on HC MVD, losing 2-3 and losing Alexei Morozov due to injury.

The first club trophy of the coaching tandem of Vyacheslav Bykov was wonderful in everything - both with a dramatic background (defeat to Ak Bars in the playoffs in the 2009/10 season) and a joyful ending. In the fall of 2010, the duo narrowly avoided retirement when the team was feverishly ill. But from the middle of the season, the Ufa team, led by the team and, gained impressive momentum.

In a head-to-head confrontation in the second round of the playoffs, they dethroned the two-time Cup winner and their number one rival in the KHL in the person of Kazan Ak Bars, which makes the final success even more significant and brighter. The toughest final of the East and the 1:0 victory in the seventh match over Magnitogorsk became a real test. In the decisive series, the sensational team of that playoffs, Atlanta, simply did not have enough strength and emotion to stop Salavat.

Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov, brilliant, a crazy trio - -, Norwegian scorer Patrick Thoresen and a dozen other KHL stars - with such a wonderful set, SKA had no right to lose in that playoffs.

Although in previous years the St. Petersburg team were also considered favorites, they stumbled over and over again on the way to the main trophy in their history. The brightest series that went down in the history of Russian hockey came in the Western Conference finals. SKA managed to get even, having suffered defeats in the first three matches from CSKA, where Alexander Radulov himself went on a rampage. After that, Vyacheslav Bykov’s team dealt with “Ak Bars” in the final without any problems.

It’s hard to imagine when we’ll be able to see a “Traktor” like this again, playing classic Soviet hockey with an emphasis on rolling, the ability to play a pass and create a masterpiece of combinational rather than power play.

We have to remember those times with nostalgia. The classic story about hockey’s Cinderella looked especially impressive five years ago, given the fact that this squad under the leadership of Oleg Znark didn’t even make it to the playoffs the season before!

The team of “downed pilots,” as the club’s general manager Andrei Safronov put it, stopped one step away from the loudest sensation in the history of Russian hockey. Character and willingness to fight for each other turned out to be stronger than the individual skill of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv stars. In the Western finals, the team from Balashikha beat a formidable opponent in seven matches. And I fought with dignity against Ak Bars and even led the series 3-2.

HC MVD was disbanded the following season, and its management, coaching staff and leaders formed the backbone of the renewed Moscow Dynamo. Two years after that success of the “policemen,” the blue and white, betting on all the same trump cards, won the Gagarin Cup. And then another one.

Before the appearance of the HC MVD, “Atlant” performed for a year in the rank of Cinderella, which did not reach the queen of the ball. To be fair, the Moscow region team had in its ranks such eminent players as Sergei Mozyakin, Dmitry Bykov, Zbynek Irgl, . The team started the season neither shaky nor weak. Nikolai Borshchevsky was dismissed in October.

With the arrival of the charismatic Milos Rzhiga, Atlant got out of the tournament swamp and made some noise in the playoffs. In first place is the victory over SKA in the second round. Then the Moscow region team fought back from a 1-3 score in the series, losing 1-2 in the seventh game a little over five minutes before the end of the third period. The defeat of Yaroslavl's Lokomotiv led at the next stage was impressive, and the 8:2 score in the sixth match, which became the final one, is impossible to forget. Another thing is that victory in the final over a fully staffed Salavat Yulaev turned out to be an impossible task.

This team did not win the Gagarin Cup, but forever won the hearts of picky and demanding Omsk fans. The head coach of that Avangard, with all his frantic character, became the favorite of Omsk until the end of his life. Even now they are ready to welcome him with open arms in any popular place in this city. Under him, the team, with such stars as a Finnish goalkeeper and a Czech striker, played flashy hockey with an emphasis on attack and pressure. In the 2010/11 season, the Omsk team became first in the regular season, reaching the conference finals in the playoffs, and a year later they led the decisive series with Dynamo Moscow 3-1, but missed out on the title, believing in their ultimate success too early.

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The 12 Best Hockey Teams in the World Right Now

the site presents a subjective ranking of the best hockey teams in the world during the lockout.

Jyväskylä is not one of the wealthiest teams in its league (UP's budget is about 7 million euros) and is a typical coaching team, with its coach, Jyrki Aho, considered one of the most promising in the country. The attack in Jyväskylä is led by the familiar Eric Perrin and Ramzi Abid, which only emphasizes the meaning of the word “coaching,” as well as Rich Peverley from Boston, who decided to wait out the lockout in Finland. It is worth mentioning the presence of Tuomas Tarkka, Petr Hubacek and Jyrka Välivaara, well-known to Russian fans. In general, this Finnish club is in many ways similar to Brunhes, about which a little later.

11., AHL

Inclusion in the rating of “Oklahoma” is more of an advance than a reflection of the real picture. After all, the AHL season has just begun. But not including the Barons here would be blasphemy, given the presence of the youth super trio of Taylor Hall - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle, as well as Magnus Päjarvi, Teemu Hartikainen and the good start of Justin Schultz, for whom Edmonton had to fight literally with the entire league . Last season, Oklahoma reached the conference finals, and this season, if the lockout drags on, they may well have their sights set on the Calder Cup.

Current championship position: 9th in the conference

10. , NLA (Switzerland)

Having almost been relegated to League B last season, the oldest and, by the way, not the richest NLA club (budget - about 12 million euros) started the season victoriously and is the undisputed leader in the championship, which sheltered the vast majority of North American NHL players during the lockout. “Geneva” itself limited itself to inviting Yannick Weber (Montreal) and Logan Couture (San Jose), and these moves are fully justified so far.

It is worth noting that Servette’s roster includes enough players who are known, so to speak, in narrow circles. Here are Brian Potier, and the naturalized Dan Fritsch, and Rico Fata, and Alexandre Picard, as well as Tobias Stefan, who is having a simply enchanting season. If Stefan continues in the same spirit, Chris McSorley, who has been working with the team for 12 years, risks reaching the final for the third time.

Current place in the championship: 1st

9. , Elitserien (Sweden)

Brynäs goalkeeper Johan Holmqvist. Photo: brynas.se

The current champion and at the same time one of the poorest (budget - about 7 million euros) Elitserien teams are second in the standings, despite the departure of the team's top scorer Jakob Silfverberg and the promising Johan Larsson, Sebastian Wennström and Matthias Ekholm, who went overseas, as well as Niklas Andersen, who moved to Severstal.

But the squad didn’t seem to notice the losses, which must first of all be associated with the figure of Tommy Jonsson - one of the most promising coaches in Sweden, the best coach of the Elitserien last season, who was his debut as head coach. We can, of course, remember some strengthening in the off-season (shout out to our old friend Johan Harju and Cody Franson from Toronto), note Johan Holmqvist, who is having a wonderful season, Zetterberg’s “heir” Kalle Jernkrok and the rising superstar Elias Lynholm, who has already gained 17 years of age 10 (4+6) points in 14 matches, but the main creator of Brynäs’ success is Jonsson. This team plays in such a way that, according to impressions, even the conditional “Detroit” would have problems with them.

Current place in the championship: 2nd

8. , KHL

The 2012 Gagarin Cup finalist lost Raimo Summanen in the offseason, who could lead the team with just the sight of a tablet, and the “hawks” somehow immediately became lost. But lately they have picked up a good pace, showing quite manageable play and good results.

While Tomas Zaborski is getting used to it, and Nikita Nikitin is not spoiling the mass, the Avangard management made a knight's move, inviting Sergei Kostitsyn for the duration of the lockout, with whom, by the way, the team's recent successes can be associated. However, even without him, Avangard remains a serious force in European hockey.

Current championship position: 5th in the conference

7. , AHL

As you know, in the offseason, Tampa exchanged farm clubs with Anaheim, so the Norfolk team, which had a record streak of 28 victories in the 2011/12 AHL regular season and eventually won the Calder Cup, moved almost its entire team to Syracuse, including coach John Cooper, who won bowl championships with every team he worked for. One has to think that this trick will also work for him at Syracuse, since the players are mostly familiar with a nice and extremely effective system of play.

Of the truly significant losses, it is worth noting only Trevor Smith, who moved to the Pittsburgh farm club, Alexander Picard, who signed a contract with Geneva, and Jaroslav Janusz, now playing in the KHL for Slovan. However, the replenishment is also good: the best goalkeeper of the SM-league Riku Helenius, selected in the first round Vladislav Namestnikov, Dmitry Korobov, who is well known to us. Plus Brett Connolly, who spent the entire last season in the NHL, JT Wyman, who also signed up for the Bolts, and recent student JT Brown, who even managed to go to the 2012 World Cup as a member of the US national team.

6. , KHL

The two-time KHL champion has an excellent squad and could easily lead the standings, but, in his typical manner, is in no hurry to score points. However, there is no doubt that this is one of the strongest clubs in Europe. Even with one hostage of the lockout, who played only 3 matches, and a new coach, who, in general, is not entirely new.

Current championship position: 4th in the conference

5. , KHL

In the ranking of the best teams in the world, there simply cannot be a team that has the objectively best player in the world, even if he is not yet in optimal shape. But he's clearly getting closer to her. I remember that at the World Championship no one was able to find justice for Evgeni Malkin, and they are unlikely to find it in the KHL. Nikolai Kulemin and Sergei Gonchar, who also joined Magnitogorsk during the lockout, fit right into the already very serious team, and Paul Maurice, apparently, is one of those coaches who draw conclusions from local and not so failures.

4., KHL

Despite the lack of teamwork among the hockey players, the revived team started the season quite cheerfully. And the addition of Semyon Varlamov, Dmitry Kulikov, Artem Anisimov only added touches to the playing picture of the Yaroslavl team. The character of one of the fastest teams in the KHL is in perfect order, and such a lineup is quite capable of claiming victory in any of the European championships, provided that they are competent coaching work, which so far seems to be just that.

Current place in the championship: 2nd in the conference.

3., KHL

The semi-finalist of the 2012 Gagarin Cup managed to avoid serious personnel losses in the off-season, and in September signed a full-fledged contract with Andrei Kostitsyn, who has a controversial reputation, but certainly strengthened the attack of the Chelyabinsk team. Plus, Evgeny Kuznetsov is getting closer to his design capacity, and Valery Belousov, whose rollback is still in fashion and very effective, has nothing to be particularly sad about.

Current place in the championship: 1st in the conference

2., KHL

The current winner of the Gagarin Cup at least did not lose quality in the lineup in the new season and, in addition, strengthened during the lockout with Alexander Ovechkin, who should soon be joined by one of the best center forwards in the world, Nicklas Backstrom, who is excellent at finding Ovi with passes. Well, Oleg Znarok’s system of play, which is not conducive to entertainment, has long proven its worth at the KHL level, where Dynamo is now in first place in points.

Current place in the championship: 1st in the conference

1. , KHL

The leader of our rating is also the leader of the KHL regular championship standings in terms of lost points. The already quite good lineup of army players for the duration of the lockout was replenished by Ilya Kovalchuk, Vladimir Tarasenko and Sergei Bobrovsky, plus Viktor Tikhonov once again returned to Russia, and the main, in the opinion of many, favorite of the 2012/13 season looks the way it should look the main favorite, easily dealing with most opponents due to the class of players alone.

Current championship position: 3rd in the conference

The ranking of national teams is based on their performance at the last four World Championships and four Olympics. The winner of Olympic gold medals and world champion receives 1200 points, the difference between first, second and subsequent places up to tenth is estimated at 40 points, then 20 points.

An important role in assessing the performance of a particular national team is played by the results of the last international tournament, in particular the World Cup. The last championship is taken into account in full, the penultimate one by three quarters, etc., and the results of the Olympics play the same role. The rating of the International Ice Hockey Federation is compiled not only out of idle curiosity, it is used to select and seed teams participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics and the World Championship; the first places in this rating are occupied by the strongest hockey teams.

Which is the strongest hockey team?

It is not surprising that the first place belongs to the birthplace of hockey - Canada. The second place is deservedly taken by the successor of the “Red Machine” - the Russian team, the following places are the USA, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia and Belarus, the German team closes the top ten best teams.

Top 5 hockey teams:

• The Canadian national team is the founder of hockey, which until 1954 had no equal. The best hockey players in the world play for the national team, as evidenced by its performances at the recent world championships.
• The Russian national team is the heir to the famous Soviet team, which practically never knew defeat until the collapse of the USSR. Despite the unstable play, the Russian team shows excellent results and deservedly takes second place.
• Team USA is a national team that has never fallen below 6th place at the Olympics and below 7th place at the World Championships (the exceptions are 12th place in 1998 and 13th place in 2010).
• The Finnish national team is a fairly young team for a leader, but for a long time it was among the outsiders. It demonstrates the ability in just a few years not only to rise to the top positions of the rankings, but also to gain a foothold there.
• The Swedish national team is one of the most stable teams. The team's achievements do not include many gold medals, but it regularly wins awards at international competitions at various levels.

The scoring system for ranking national hockey teams according to the International Federation was approved at the IIHF meeting in September 2003.