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 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 ...

league in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

, and the second highest level of Russian hockey. Though currently acting independently, plans were in place to convert it to a

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

for 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)'s 2010–11 season. It was preceded by the Major League of the Russian Championship (Vysshaya Liga) that formerly held a

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

role for the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was cons ...

, and was governed by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. As of the 2017–18 season, some VHL teams were affiliated with a KHL team (e.g.

HC Sarov HC Sarov is an ice hockey team in Sarov, Russia. They play in the Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the ...

is affiliated with KHL's

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

), while other teams of the VHL are not affiliated with a KHL team.

Russian Classic

The Russian Classic (russian: Русская классика, Russkaya klassika, links=no) is an outdoor ice hockey game that is played during the Supreme Hockey League regular season. So far, the visiting team has won every edition of the game. *

Seasons overview

Teams in 2022–23

All-time team records

Since its foundation in 2010, 40 different clubs have played in the VHL, and 34 of them have at least once qualified for the playoffs. Only one club ( Toros Neftekamsk) has made the playoffs in all nine championships of the VHL, reaching the semi-final stage six times. The table gives the final regular-season ranks for all teams, with the playoff performance encoded in colors. The teams are ordered by their best championship results.

References

External links

VHL Official

VHL Official

VHL OfficialAllHockey.Ru
{{Ice hockey in Russia

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...