Hockey Club Donbass ( uk, Хокейний Клуб Донбас; russian: link=no, Хоккейный Клуб Донбасс, '' tr. Hokeinyi Klub Donbas'') is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in

Druzhkivka Druzhkivka ( uk, Дружківка, ; russian: Дружковка, Druzhkovka) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 64,557 (2001). The area of the ...

, currently playing in the

Ukrainian Hockey League The Ukrainian Hockey League is the name of the highest ice hockey league in Ukraine since the 2016–17 season, playing for the Ukrainian Hockey Championship. The league was created in June 2016 and folded in 2021. Seasons * 2016–17 (winner: ...

. HC Donbass is six times Ukrainian champion (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018). The team was a member of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

) during the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and 2013–14 seasons, and was the sole representative from Ukraine competing at the elite international level. Due to the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, the team did not compete in the

2014–15 KHL season The 2014–15 KHL season was the seventh season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 3 September with the Opening Cup between defending champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Dynamo Moscow, replacing Lev Praha, last year's runner ...

Borys Kolesnikov Borys Viktorovych Kolesnikov ( uk, Борис Вікторович Колесніков, born October 25, 1962) is the leader of the political party Ukraine is Our Home. He is the former secretary of the Party of Regions' presidium, former people ...

, a prominent Ukrainian politician and businessman, purchased the team in 2010, and from then until 2014 it was the most successful hockey club in Ukraine. The team takes its name from its geographic location in the heart of the

Donets Basin The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Don ...

(''Donbas''). The club was founded in 2005 as Hockey Club Kolbiko-Donetsk and took part in the XIV Ukrainian Championship by competing in the First League. After three years of competing only in tournament play, the club returned to the

Ukrainian Hockey Championship The Ukrainian Hockey Championship ( ua, Чемпіонат України з Хокею, '' tr: Chempionat Ukrayiny z Khokeyu'') is an annual ice hockey award and national title, bestowed to the ice hockey organization judged to have the best perf ...

, and ascended to the

Ukrainian Major League The Ukrainian Hockey Championship ( ua, Чемпіонат України з Хокею, '' tr: Chempionat Ukrayiny z Khokeyu'') is an annual ice hockey award and national title, bestowed to the ice hockey organization judged to have the best per ...

. In its fourth seasons of national competition beginning in 2008, the franchise won its first national title in 2011, before joining the

Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the Major Hockey League or Higher Hockey League (HHL), is a professional ice hockey league i ...

(VHL). The team also won the 2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup, becoming the first team from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

to do so. Following the 2010–11 season, Donbass split into two teams with their affiliate, Donbass-2, representing the organization in the

Professional Hockey League The Professional Hockey League (PHL) ( uk, Професіональна хокейна ліга (ПХЛ), '' tr: Profesional'na khokeina liha'') was an ice hockey league in Ukraine, founded in 2011; ceased in 2013. The country's national title, ...

of Ukraine. Donbass-2 won its first title in 2012 during the inaugural PHL season, and its second title the following season for the organization. In 2013,

Bilyi Bars Hockey Club Bilyi Bars Bila Tserkva ( uk, ХК Білий Барс Біла Церква; en, White Leopard of Bila Tserkva) is a Ukrainian team based in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. The club was a founding member of the Professional Hockey League of U ...

began acting as HC Donbass's PHL affiliate, dissolving Donbass-2. Their second arena, in Druzhkivka, was bombed by Russia on 2 January 2023.

Franchise history

Origins

The Donbass Hockey Club founded as a successor to the original Donbass team formed in June 2001 in

Sievierodonetsk russian: Северодоне́цк , other_name = Severodonetsk , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Severodoneck prapor.png , image_shield ...

. This original team, in turn, was a spiritual successor to previous Donetsk teams ''KOOPERATOR'' (from 1990) and ''NORD'' (from 1993). Players from Kharkiv and Kyiv were invited to the team, among them there were D. Pashinsky, D. Gnyt'ko, A. Kalitka, D. Klyuchko, O. Timchenko. The original Donbass club made its first appearance in 2001, participating in Belarus' entry division and the Major League of the

, earning bronze medals in each league's finals. However, shortly thereafter, the team would dissolve. Following the team's dissolution, most former Donbass players would go on to join Khimik Sievierodonetsk of the Ukrainian Major League.

Founding and competitions (2005–2009)

In December 2005 the team was re-founded by a group of local Donetsk players, then playing in Sievierodonetsk, who wanted to represent Donetsk within the league. The club was created under the name HC Donetsk-Kolbiko ( ukr, link=no, Донецьк-Колбіко), (after the team's sponsor, Kolbiko Meats), and applied for participation as a professional team in the First League, a division of the annual

. A lack of artificial ice in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

forced the team to practice on a lake in

Yasynuvata Yasynuvata ( uk, Ясинува́та, ; russian: Ясиноватая — Yasinovataya) is a city in Donetsk Oblast (Oblast, province) of south-eastern Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a City of regional significance (Ukraine), c ...

. The two-game competition took place between January 31 and February 3, 2006, and on only three weeks of practice, the team still managed to top its respective division, and win the finals match against the

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.SDYuSShOR). Donbass would lose to ATEK Kyiv in the following playoff, failing to earn promotion to Major League. Between 2006 and 2008, First League play was cancelled, but the team did compete in a series of tournaments and re-adopted the original ''Donbass'' club name, crest, and colours. During the autumn of 2007, the new ice arena "Leader" was built in Donetsk. The team had practice and home games there. Under the guidance of G. Kravchenko (later D. Gordyushin) children's sports school restarted its work. This year HC Donbass took part in Ukraine Hockey Cup and took up the 5th place among 6 teams. The same year in May HC "Donbass" got the invitation to take part in "Trade Point" tournament, which was held in Dnepropetrovsk. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

the team returned to competition in the Ukrainian Hockey Championship, participating in the Eastern Division of the Ukrainian Major League; finishing 1st and leading the division in all offensive categories. Donbass was able to sweep HC Verony in the qualifying round, and

Ekspres Lviv Hockey Club Express ( uk, Експрес, ''Ekspres'') are an ice hockey team based in Lviv, Ukraine. They are currently playing in the Western Ukrainian Amateur Hockey League. References Ice hockey teams in Ukraine Sport in Lv ...

due to forfeiture, but were themselves swept by

HC Kharkiv HC Kharkiv was an ice hockey team based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. They participated in Division-A of the former semi-professional Ukrainian Major League The Ukrainian Hockey Championship ( ua, Чемпіонат України з Хокею, '' tr: Ch ...

2–0.

Kolesnikov ownership and the Major League (2009–2011)

In 2009 the club's management invited Andrey Ovchinnikov (a former player of

Sokil Kyiv Hockey Club Sokil Kyiv ( uk, ХК Сокіл Київ; en, Falcon Hockey Club), commonly known as Sokil Kyiv or HC Sokil, is a Ukrainian Professional Hockey League team based in Kyiv. While their home arena is located in the city, the team also ...

) to the position of head coach. The team finished in 5th place at the Ukrainian championship, and Ovchinnikov's contract wasn't extended. Fortunes for the club changed in 2010 when owner and prominent Ukrainian businessman

gained full control of the team, making them the most financially secure team in the history of Ukrainian hockey. The first influential addition to the club after this change in management was former

head coach, Aleksandr Kulikov, in the summer of 2010. He came with Anatoliy Dyomin, his partner from

, and Sergey Viter from Donetsk. Under the leadership of this coach trio, HC Donbass began to play in a new way, surpassing all expectations with a record-breaking 27 wins in the

. Under Kulikov, the team broke the previous record for most consecutive wins in the Ukrainian championship as well. This year, Donbass was capable of sweeping HC Kharkiv in the first round of the best-of-three playoff series, and would go on to upset Sokil by sweeping them in the finals, with scores of 1–0 and 3–2. With the win, Donbass became the first non-Kyiv-based team to win the national title and began a new era of Donetsk as the epicentre of Ukrainian hockey. Following the 2011 Ukrainian League season, Donbass applied for and was given membership to the

Russian Major League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the Major Hockey League or Higher Hockey League (HHL), is a professional ice hockey league i ...

. A vast majority of the championship winning roster from the 2010–11 season were cut from the team as it rebuilt for its first year in the VHL. While the primary team would compete in Russia, Donbass also iced a team in the newly formed

of Ukraine, Donbass-2. Like its parent club the year prior, Donbass-2 secured the second consecutive national title for the franchise, again defeating Sokil in the final. In July 2011, Donbass trained for the upcoming season in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and held an exhibition game against the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

all-star team. Donbass won the fight-filled game 4–1 and was reported to have garnered overwhelming fan support from the local

Ukrainian diaspora The Ukrainian diaspora comprises Ukrainians and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Uk ...

, accounting for approximately 500 of the 550 in attendance. The title also secured the club's entry into the 2011–12

IIHF Continental Cup The Continental Cup is a second-level ice hockey tournament for European clubs (behind Champions Hockey League), begun in 1997 after the discontinuing of the European Cup. It was intended for teams from countries without representatives in the E ...

, the third round of which was hosted in Donetsk. Donbass secured a place in the Super Final, falling to the host

Dragons de Rouen Rouen Hockey Élite 76 (also known as the Dragons de Rouen (Rouen Dragons)) is a French ice hockey team based in Rouen playing in the Ligue Magnus. The team was founded in 1982 and plays home games at the Île Lacroix. History Only 3 years aft ...

in the final game 5–2. Vladimir Malevich of Donbass took home honors as the best defenseman of the tournament.

Supreme Hockey League (2011–12 season)

The

(VHL) accepted HC Donbass to a non-commercial partnership in the league on May the 31st 2011. HC Donbass became the first domestic club in independent Ukraine history to have full-fledged days-long training sessions abroad, at the "Tin Ranch" center in Ontario, Canada. There, HC Donbass has won against the Ontario HL all-star team twice. A month later, in Donetsk, the club organized and held an international tournament, the "Donbass Open Cup", where three

clubs took part. On September 23, 2011, owner Borys Kolesnikov elevated his role to that of team president over Serhiy Shakurov, who had held the role with the club since its inception. The year the club played in the VHL resulted in a third-place finish in the regular season and a semifinal loss against

Toros Neftekamsk Toros Neftekamsk is an ice hockey team in Neftekamsk, Russia. They play in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL), the second level of Russian ice hockey. The Russian word "toros" means "hummock, ice block". History The club was founded in 1988 (and prio ...

who went on to become the champions.

Kontinental Hockey League (2012–2014)

On April 23, Slovakian specialist Július Šupler became the head coach of HC Donbass. In July 2012 the management of the KHL accepted HC Donbass. Because of lockout NHL-2012, Ukrainian players

Ruslan Fedotenko Ruslan Viktorovych Fedotenko ( uk, Руслан Вікторович Федотенко; born 18 January 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey winger. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, in his National Hockey League (NHL) career he ...

, Alexey Ponikarovsky and

Anton Babchuk Anton Anatoliiovych Babchuk ( uk, Антон Анатолійович Бабчук, russian: Антон Анатольевич Бабчук; born May 6, 1984) is a Ukrainian-Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman He last played for At ...

replenished the club's membership. Afterwards twice Stanley Cup winner Ruslan Fedotenko became the captain of the team. Donbass played its first KHL game on September 6, 2012, at Slovan Bratislava, winning 4–2. Evgeny Belukhin scored the first goal in Donbass's KHL history. Following the season the team hosted the 2013 KHL junior draft. In January 2013, HC Donbass won the 2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup as first Ukrainian club. Within the super final in Donetsk on the January 11 to 13, the champions of Ukraine HC Donbass beat

Metallurg Zhlobin Metallurg Zhlobin is an ice hockey team in Zhlobin, Belarus. The team was formed in 2004 and competes in the Belarusian Extraliga (BXL). Winner Belarusian Extraleague: * - 2012, 2022 Belarusian Cup (ice hockey) The Belarusian Cup is the national ...

from

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

with a score of 1–0, Bolzano Foxes from Italy with a score of 3–0, and

from France with a score of 7–1 and got a total of 9 points. As a result of its first regular season in KHL the club got the 9th stage in the West and fetched up to play-off. In the 2013-14 KHL season, Donbass moved from the Bobrov to the Tarasov division. The Russian specialist Andrey Nazarov was in charge of Donetsk team. On September 10, 2013, Alexey Braga was assigned to the position of the HC Donbass GM. At the end of the regular season Donbass finished 4th in the Western Conference, and qualified to the playoffs of the

Gagarin Cup The Gagarin Cup (russian: Кубок Гагарина, Kubok Gagarina) is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was ...

for the first time. Donbass also set a

record for the fewest goals against in a regular season with 99. In the first round, Donbass defeated

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga ( lv, Rīgas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LLU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of ...

4 games to 3 before falling to

Lev Prague Hockey Club Lev Praha (stylized as HC LEV Praha) was a professional ice hockey team located in Prague, Czech Republic, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012–13 KHL season, 2012–13 and 2013–14 KHL season, 2013–14 ...

in the Western Conference Semi-finals 4 games to 2. In the second game of the series with Lev, the teams set a record for the longest game in the history of the

. The game was won 4–3 by Donbass, and lasted for 126 minutes and 13 seconds before Evgeny Belukhin scored the winning goal. Due to political events occurring in Ukraine at the time, the third and fourth games of the series, scheduled for Donetsk, were played in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. The series returned to Donetsk for Game 6, which Lev won 1–0 to finish Donbass's season. At the end of the season HC Donbass was named the 2013 Best Sports Club of Ukraine at the Heroes of Sports Year awards. On the night of May 26, 2014, because of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, the home arena of the club was looted and set on fire. HC Donbass initially expected the arena to be reconditioned within 90 days and fully restored by the start of the KHL season, which never happened.

Suspension of operations (2014–15 season)

On June 18, 2014, the KHL President

Alexander Medvedev Alexander Ivanovich Medvedev (russian: Александр Иванович Медведев, ) (born 14 August 1955 in Shakhtyorsk, Sakhalin Oblast) is the current Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Russian energy company Gazprom ...

met with the management of Donbass to discuss the team's situation. The parties agreed that HC Donbass would take a one-year "stop-out" from operations. The team bought an equity stake in the league and, as a result, would theoretically be guaranteed a place in the competition for the 2015–16 season, although the ongoing

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

combined with the league's financial situation leave the future uncertain. In order to ensure the team's ability to compete upon its return, all rosters and contracts have been frozen. Players and coaches affected by the suspension were permitted to sign one-year contracts with other clubs but otherwise remain under contract to Donbass. Donbass's new home, Kalmius Arena, would contain 12,800 of spectators for hockey. It was initially expected to be operational by the 2014–15 season, which never happened too although the project is currently on hold.

Resumed operation (2015–16 season)

Instead of rejoining the KHL, the club and the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine ( FHU) signed a contract about the participation of the team in the

Ukrainian Hockey Extra League The Ukrainian Hockey Extra League was the name of the highest ice hockey league in Ukraine during the 2015–16 season, playing for the Ukrainian Hockey Championship. After only one season, the league was disbanded. Seasons * 2015–16 (winner: ...

in the 2015–16 season. The team now plays their home games at the Altair Arena, in

, 90 km from Donetsk. Anatoliy Stepanischev became the head coach of the club and Evgeniy Brul' the coach of goalkeepers. Sergey Petrov became the general manager of the team. After pre-season training session in Svyatogorsk (Donetsk region), the team arrived to

for preparation prior to the Ukrainian Hockey Extra League 2015–16 season. The pre-season tournament Donbass Open Cup was organized for the 4th in the club history. Among the players in the team during the pre-season tournament, were Sergey Varlamov, Denis Kochetkov and Viktor Zaharov. Donbass won the Cup, by winning over the teams HC Bilyi Bars, HC Vityaz Kharkiv and HC Kremenchuk. Prior to the 2015–16 Ukrainian Hockey Extra League season, Donbass had conducted three sparrings in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, playing towards local teams HC Mogo, HC Zemgale and Kurbads, winning two out of three games. On September 26 the club held its first match within the scope of the national championship, which also involved another seven teams this season. Before the New Year Anatoliy Stepanichev's team also held two unofficial games abroad in

and finished that year being in the top of the Ukrainian championship table. HC Donbass continued to lead in the regular season, and at the same time having renewed club record of the greatest wins. Within the scope of away game, HC Yunost Kharkiv was beaten with a score of 27–1. The club won the regular season, with the nearest competitor 7 points behind. The semi-final playoff series against HC Vityaz Kharkiv, Donbass completed for the minimum three games (5–2, 6–1 and 3–1). In the final of season Donetsk team had to play against the second team of the regular season – HC Generals Kiev. In the final, Donbass won in four straight games (2–1, 3–2, 2–1 and 3–1) and became champions of the year.

2016–17 season

Within the pre-season training session HC Donbass took part in some domestic and international competitions. Within the period from 11 until August 13 the team played on Kremenchuk Open Cup, from 18 until 20 – on the Pavel Zaboynik Memorial and on August 25–28 it held the traditional domestic competition Donbass Open Cup in Druzhkovka. 5 Ukrainian clubs took part in this fifth draw of Donbass Open Cup – HC Biliy Bars, HC Vityaz, HC Kremenchuk, HC Krivbass and HC Donbass. Teams played 10 games in total. With 12 points gained in four games HC Donbass became the winner and saved the cup at home. In the season 2016–17 HC "Donbass" takes part in

championship. The starting match of the season took place on September 9, 2016. On the ice of Altair arena in Druzhkovka the champion of the last season HC Donbass met silver medalists – HC Generals, Kyiv. The match ended with the score 4–0 in favor of the Donetsk "Donbass". On June 6, 2016, in Budapest a meeting of representatives of the teams participating in the 20th draw of the IIHF Continental Cup was held. Due to this meeting HC Donbass learned their first opponents. "Donbass" started with a semi-final round, which was held in Denmark from November 18 to 20. French "Ange", Danish "Odense" and champion of the British elite league season 2015/16 "Nottingham Panthers" was the opponents of HC Donbass.Performance in the group D «Donbass" finished in third place. On December 21, 2016 "Donbass" became the first club UHL, which guaranteed itself place in the play-off round of the championship. On February 5, 2017, the contract between HC "Donbass" and the coaching staff, who led the 56-year-old Anatoly Stepanishev, was to terminate by mutual agreement of the parties. On February 12, 48-year-old Igor Chibirev entered the coaching staff, and on February 21, a 54-year-old specialist from Latvia Andrejs Matzins. They became assistants to the acting head coach Serhiy Viter. On March 6, Serhiy Viter became the head coach of the hockey club "Donbass". The contract with the 42-year-old Ukrainian specialist was concluded for two years. On March 9, "Donbass" began the semifinal series of the playoffs UHL against "Kryvbas" Krivoy Rog. In a series of four wins, "Donbass" took 5 matches to beat the club from Krivoy Rog (4–0, 3–2 OT, 3–4, 3–0, 5–2). The opponents of Donetsk in the final was "Kremenchuk". In a tense confrontation with the team from the Poltava region, "Donbass" with a total score 4–2 (3–1, 3–4 OT, 3–1, 2–1, 1–4, 2–1) became five-time champions of Ukraine, and Serhiy Viter first tried on a gold medal as head coach.

Ice hockey school

Children's ice hockey and figure skating sports school was opened on September 22, 2008, after Ice Sports Complex "Leader". On December 29, 2011, the Ice Sports Complex Almaz was opened. The goals of the children's ice hockey and figure skating sports school are to attract children and youth to winter sports activities, to hold their sports events and to train high performing sportsmen for different teams. On June 19, 2013, Donbass youth team Molodaya Gvardia was admitted into the Junior Hockey League and, starting from 2013 to 2014 season the team plays in Junior Hockey League Championship. Due to the aggravation of the conflict in the East of Ukraine, Molodaya Gvardia went on vacation, which lasted at least for one year. In 2014–15 season HC Donbass children's sports school has started work in Altair ice arena (Druzhkivka). Since September 1, 2014, more than 900 children from 5 to 12 years old from

Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...

Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a City of regional significa ...

and

Kostiantynivka Kostiantynivka ( uk, Костянтинівка, ; russian: Константиновка) is an industrial city in the Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine, on the river. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast signifi ...

have been involved with the sports school. They start at the school for figure skating and ice hockey without payment. The club provided each of the young sportsmen with the necessary equipment, qualified coaching staff and comfortable buses that bring and take away children to ice arena "Altair" and back to their communities. The intake of children was going on in 2015. In the 2015–16 season, three teams of HC Donbass children's sports school were moved to "Terminal" ice arena base to Brovary. Such a change in the permanent training places was due to the participation of the ''Donbass 2003'', ''Donbass 2004'' and ''Donbass 2005'' teams in Belarus championships and respective budget reduction for visiting the out matches of the tournament. The biggest part of Ice hockey school continuing its activity in Druzhkivka, with adding more than 300 pupils to the hockey and figure skating groups. In season 2015/16 Youth Sports School HC "Donbass" has done a lot of work, aimed at the education of children, their high-quality professional development. During the year teams of the Youth Sports School HC "Donbass" held more than 250 official matches on the domestic and international arena. They took part in 25 tournaments, 12 of which came out victorious. Older teams of the youth sports school of Donetsk club "Donbass 2003", "Donbass 2004" won the championship in Ukraine, "Donbass 2005" – Open Championship of Kyiv, also they won the group "B" in the championship of Belarus. The sportsman of the section of figure skating Youth Sports School HC "Donbass" Valery Karasev won the Open Cup of Ukraine. In the season 2016/17 years Youth Sports School HC "Donbass" continues its work on the basis of the ice arena "Altair" (Druzhkovka), and Arena "Terminal" in Brovary. The season 2016/17 was a new round of school club. After last year's victory in the championship of Belarus in group B "Donbass 2003" and "Donbass 2004" started in the competition in Group A. "Donbass 2005", debuted in the championship U-12 in Ukraine. In Belarus Gorki "Donbass 2007" in the final match with a score of 4:2 beat compatriots from "Legion." At the international figure skating tournament Vinnitsa Trophy 2016 was attended by 12 of our students under the direction of Natalia Gordeeva, Tatiana and Igor Vystavkin malaria. From Vinnitsa our skaters brought four medals - three gold and one bronze. In 2017, Ice Hockey School has expanded its geography. Jan. 22 children of

Bakhmut Bakhmut ( uk, Ба́хмут, ) is a city in the Donbas and the administrative centre of Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is located on the Bakhmutka River, about 89 km north of Donetsk city, the administrative center of the o ...

made the first steps on the ice. And on February 5 were joined by young athletes of the

Pokrovsk Pokrovsk (russian: Покро́вск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Pokrovsk, Sakha Republic, a town under republic jurisdiction in Khangalassky District of the Sakha Republic ;Rura ...

and

Myrnohrad Myrnohrad (, ; ), formerly Dymytrov (, ), is a city of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: . The city was previously named after Georgi Dimitrov () - a prominen ...

. The end of the season turned out to be especially successful for the team of Children's Sports School "Donbass" in 2004 - Donbass 2004 became the champion of Ukraine, and also the bronze medalist of the Open Championship of Belarus.

Team identity

Logo

The team's original colours of 2001 were blue and grey and featured a logo representing a

hockey puck A hockey puck is either an open or closed disk used in a variety of sports and games. There are designs made for use on an ice surface, such as in ice hockey, and others for the different variants of floor hockey which includes the wheeled skate ...

, with a

hockey stick A hockey stick is a piece of sports equipment used by the players in all the forms of hockey to move the ball or puck (as appropriate to the type of hockey) either to push, pull, hit, strike, flick, steer, launch or stop the ball/ puck during pla ...

overlain. On November 14, 2008, the club changed their logo and team colours to the current scheme of red, black, and white. As part of this change, the team's name was changed from the Ukrainian spelling (Хокейний Клуб Донбас, ''Khokeinyi Klub Donbas'') to Russian (Хоккейный Клуб Донбасс, ''Khokkeynyi Klub Donbass''). The team again altered its logo in 2010, where it remains currently. The modern Donbass logos feature prominently two

spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

s, which represent the city's strong ties to the steel and coal mining industry. The change from a metallic script to white is meant to symbolize "a blank page". Image:HCDonbasold.png, Original Donbass logo, in English, 2001–02, 2006–08 Image:HCDonbasold2.png, Second Donbass logo, in Russian, 2008–11 Image:HC Donbass.png, Current logo, 2011–present

Honours

Ukraine

* Ukrainian Hockey Championship Regular Season ** Gold medal icon

Winners (4):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19 * Ukrainian Hockey Championship Trophy ** Gold medal icon

Winners (8):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

*''The 2012 and 2013 titles were won as

HC Donbass-2 Hockey Club Donbass-2 (russian: ХК Донбасс-2; uk, Хокейний Клуб Донбас-2, '' tr. Khokeinyi Klub Donbas-2''), was a Ukrainian Professional Hockey League club based in Donetsk. They were a founding member of the Professio ...

.''

Europe

Winners (1):

Runners-up (1): 2013–14 ** Bronze medal icon

Third place (1): 2011–12

Individual honours

Ukrainian Ice Hockey Player of the Year *

Oleksandr Materukhin Oleksandr Ivanovych Materukhin ( uk, Олександр Іванович Матерухін; born 17 October 1981) is a Ukrainian-Belarusian professional former ice hockey right winger. He formerly played with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of ...

(2011) *

(2012) Slovakian Goalkeeper of the Year *

Ján Laco Ján Laco (; born 1 December 1981) is a former Slovak ice hockey goaltender. Career He won the 2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup with HC Donbass and was named the best goaltender in the tournament. On June 30, 2014, Laco signed one-year contract wi ...

(2012)

Seasons and records

Season by season results

League history and results

ImageSize = width:676 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2005 till:01/07/2016 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2005 Colors = id:elite value:rgb(0.4,0.6,1) id:1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:1b value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) id:2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:2b value:rgb(1,1,0.4) id:3 value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.1) id:4 value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1) id:champ value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.6) PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text: 18 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text: 6 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text: 1 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 color:4 shift:(0,13) text: " UKR-2" from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 color:4 shift:(0,13) text: " UKR-East" from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2011 color:3 shift:(0,13) text: " UKR" from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 color:2 shift:(0,13) text: " VHL" from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2014 color:1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 color:3 shift:(0,13) text: " HEL"

Team roster

''As of the 30 June 2017''

Team captains

* Vitaliy Bychkov,

–

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Oleh Novikov Oleh may refer to: * Oleh, Delta * Common Ukrainian male name, see also Oleg * A Jew immigrating to Israel (plural of oleh is olim Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, histor ...

, September 2010 * Dmytro Isayenko,

–

Serhiy Varlamov Serhiy Volodymyrovych Varlamov ( uk, Сергі́й Володи́мирович Варла́мов; born July 21, 1978) is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues of the National Ho ...

, 2011–2012 * ''Rotating captains'',

, August–October 2012 ** Jaroslav Obšut, October–November 2012 **

, November 2012 – January 2013 **

Václav Nedorost Václav Nedorost (born March 16, 1982) is a Czech former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), center. He played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche, who selected him 14th overall at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, and the F ...

, January–April 2013 * Oleg Piganovich, August–October 2013 ''(Interim)'' *

–2014

Head coaches

* Mykola Timko, 2001–2002 * Ivan Polischuk, 2008–2009 * Andriy Ovchinnikov, 2009–2010 * Aleksandr Kulikov, 2010–12 * Július Šupler, 2012–2013 *

Andrei Nazarov Andrei Viktorovich Nazarov (russian: Андрей Викторович Назаров; born May 22, 1974) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and head coach of HC Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has formerly manag ...

, 2013–2014 * Anatoli Stepanischev, 2015–2017 * Serhiy Viter, 2017–present

KHL draft picks

References

External links

Official website
*
Old official website archive

Team roster and statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donbass Ice hockey teams in Ukraine Sport in Donetsk Former Kontinental Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2005 2005 establishments in Ukraine