Volkian Hockey League
 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 21, 1955, Volkgoroda, Volkia |
| Inaugural season | 1956-57 |
| Commissioner | Makar Uspensky |
| No. of teams | 24 |
| Countries |  Volkia  South Hills |
| Most recent champion(s) | Vladinsk Sharks (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Volkgoroda Statesmen (15 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | VTK Sports, NT, SRS, TCB |
| Official website | www.vhl.vol |
The Volkian Hockey League (VHL) (Volkian: Волкскийская хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), Volkskiyskaya hokkeynaya liga) is the top professional ice hockey league in Volkia. It comprises of 24 member clubs who compete annually for the Polivanov Cup, which is awarded to the league's playoff champion at the end of each season. The VHL is considered to be the premier professional lupine ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the major professional sports leagues in Volkia.
The Volkian Hockey League was founded in 1955 after the suspension of operations of its predecessor, the Volkian Hockey Association (VHA). The VHL began play in the 1956-57 season with teams originally from the VHA. The Polivanov Cup was brought over by the VHA's former teams, and is still competed for by the VHL today. The highest ranked Volkian team receives the title Champion of Volkia at the end of the season.
The VHL began play with eight teams from the VHA, and expanded to a total of 10 in 1965. Four additional teams were added at the 1976 VHL Expansion for a total 14 teams. By 2006 the VHL had expanded to 18 teams, becoming larger than its predecessor was by one team. In 2013, the first non-Volkian team from the neighboring nation of Tano entered the league. After seeing success with the addition of a foreign team, three additional Tanoese teams joined the VHL in 2015. An additional Volkian team was also added at this time, bringing the total number of teams to 23. In 2017 South Hills replaced Tano in the league after the ascension of Tano into the UCCS following the 2014 Dverian War. The VHL added its 24th team in 2018 and is currently in talks with multiple cities for possible expansion.
The VHL draws many skilled lupine players from around the world, though Volkians have historically made up the majority of players in the league.
History
Organizational structure
Board of Governors
The Board of Governors is the ruling and governing body of the Volkian Hockey League. As each team is a member of the league, they will appoint a Governor (typically the club owner) and two alternates to the Board. The Board's current chairman is Birsk HC's owner Valerii Chernoff. The Board of Governors exists to establish the league policies and uphold the league constitution. Some responsibilities include:
- review and approve any changes to league rules.
- hiring and firing of the League Commissioner.
- review and approve any purchase, sale, or relocation of any member club.
- review and approve salary caps for member clubs.
- review and approve any changes to the structure of the game schedule.
The Board of Governors meets semiannually in March and September, with the exact date and place set by the League Commissioner.
League Executives
The chief executive of the league is League Commissioner Makar Uspensky. Some of the principal decision-makers who serve under the commissioner's authority include:
- Deputy League Commissioner: Leonid Kravchuk
- Chief Legal Officer: Vlad Ponomaryov
- Executive Vice President & CFO: Yemelyan Loginovsky
- Chief Operating Officer: Ilya Nikiforov
- Executive Vice President & Hockey Operations Director: Mitrofan Bychkov
- Director of Player Safety: Nikita Sharapov
Teams
The VHL has consisted of 24 teams since the 2018-2019 season. The league is divided into two conferences containing twelve teams each: the Northern Conference and the Southern Conference. Each conference is further split into two divisions of six teams each. The conferences first came about after the 1976 VHL Expansion.
The most recent expansion of the VHL occurred in 2018 with the addition of the Okha Knights in Okha, Baksansky Oblast. As of May 2021, the league is reportedly in talks with multiple cities in Volkia for potential expansion teams.
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head Coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Conference | ||||||||
| Boreal | Deyevsk Lumberjacks | Deyevsk
|
Gorma Center | 17,472 | 2006 | Vanya Kolesov
|
Filipp Isayev
| |
| Poltovka HC | Poltovka
|
VorkutaGas Arena | 18,915 | 1923 | 1955 |  Georgy Dementyev
|
Anton Sychyov
| |
| Yadrin Penguins | Yadrin
|
Rekelta Arena | 18,526 | 1916 | 1955 | Stas Tsvetkov
|
Rostislav Balabanov
| |
| Repyovka Ice Wolves | Repyovka
|
Bank of Volkia Arena | 20,149 | 1965 | Oleg Kutuzov
|
Venedikt Korotkov
| ||
| Kovdor Falcons | Kovdor
|
VolkiaWest Bank Arena | 19,174 | 1976 | Pavel Zarubin
|
Kuzma Kuzmetsov
| ||
| Grenitsagorov Icemen | Grenitsagorov
|
Grand Northern Hockey Center | 23,806 | 2015 | Yuri Orevolikov
|
Kantov Feravov
| ||
| Metro | Volkgoroda Statesmen | Volkgoroda
|
VSB Arena | 21,872 | 1915 | 1955 | Yaromir Samoylov
|
Patya Bogdanov
|
| Uzlovaya Monarchs | Askiz
|
King's Coliseum | 17,186 | 1992 | Markus Soosaar
|
Gennady Ibragimov
| ||
| Kalinibinsk Atoms | Georgiyevsk
|
Alexander Lapidus Arena | 18,120 | 1976* | Sergei Zaporozhets
|
Orev Sleniki
| ||
| HC Kodinsk | Kodinsk
|
Petroyva Center | 18,920 | 1919 | 1955 | Valentin Kryukov
|
Fedir Lavrov
| |
| Okha Knights | Okha
|
Besprov Center | 17,508 | 2018 | Alexei Bobrov
|
Sasha Bezrukov
| ||
| Yugrepyovka Ice Warriors | Yugrepyovka
|
Sultana Alice Jbenamin Center | 19,806 | 2013 | Jakob Valentinorov
|
Johan Darensen
| ||
| Southern Conference | ||||||||
| Central | Kursavka Golden Eagles | Kursavka
|
Yekartovsk Airlines Arena | 21,504 | 1927 | 1955 | Albert Vinogradov
|
Pavel Ozerov
|
| Zarinsk Wolverines | Zarinsk
|
TIK Arena | 17,879 | 1976* | Petya Tereschchenko
|
Maksim Ulyanov
| ||
| HC Svetlogorsk | Svetlogorsk
|
Svetlogorsk Ice Arena | 18,375 | 1943 | 1955 | Anton Kapitsa
|
Evgeny Chkalov
| |
| Kalista HC | Kalista
|
Velox Motors Center | 20,941 | 1965 | Yuliy Zaytsev
|
Gennady Engalychev
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| Birsk HC | Birsk
|
Mishin Motors Arena | 17,059 | 1976* | Erik Nielisov
|
Timur Aksyonov
| ||
| Polonov Pitmen | Polonov
|
Tuyav Stadium | 20,422 | 2015 | Vlad Previkov
|
 Olaf Nilsen
| ||
| Coastal | Vladinsk Sharks | Izumrud
|
Volktel Center | 19,025 | 1925 | 1955 | Vadim Nikiforov
|
Vasiliy Tsereteli
|
| Osinsky Stingers | Petrovskoye
|
Air Volkia Center | 17,562 | 1919 | 1955 | Zahkar Lavrov
|
Kir Gagarin
| |
| Beryozovka Panthers | Beryozovka
|
Osokin Financial Arena | 17,365 | 2000 | Igor Kalashnik
|
Leonid Yevdokimov
| ||
| Likhoslavl Thunder | Likhoslavl
|
Big Slice Center | 21,302 | 2015 | Yuri Zhdanov
|
Leonid Seleznyov
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| Makushin Cyclones | Nikolayevsk
|
Zhazh Center | 19,104 | 1995 | Ipatiy Balandin
|
Aleks Yakubovich
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| Ozerokov Oracles | Ozerokov
|
Standard Tano Oil Arena | 17,039 | 2015 | Alloni Polinski
|
Richard Yenskov
| ||
- Notes
- An asterisk (*) denotes a franchise move. See the respective team articles for more information.
Game
Every Volkian Hockey League regulation game is 60 minutes long. The game is broken up into three 20-minute periods with an intermission between each period. At the end of regulation time the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, three-on-three sudden death period in which whoever scores first wins the game.
If no winner has been determined after overtime, the game enters a shootout. Three players from each team take turns taking a penalty shot. The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game. If the game is still tied after the three rounds, the shootout continues but becomes sudden death. Whichever team wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus receives two points in the standings. The losing team in either overtime or a shootout receives one point.
Shootouts do not occur during the playoffs. Instead, multiple sudden death, 20 minute five-on-five periods are played until one team scores. There have been three games to reach five overtime periods, but none have gone past five. During playoff overtime periods, the only break is to clean the loose ice at the first stoppage after the period is halfway finished.
Hockey rink
Rules
Season structure
Trophies and awards
List of champions
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Volkian Federative Republic |
|
|---|---|---|
| Main article: Volkia | ||
| Important Topics: Culture ♦ Lupine ♦ Volkian language ♦ Lunarism ♦ Volkian korona ♦ Defense Forces | ||
| Government: Federal Government ♦ President ♦ Cabinet ♦ National Assembly ♦ Federal Supreme Court ♦ Political Parties | ||
| History: Grand Principality of Volkia ♦ Duchy of Volkia ♦ Kingdom of Volkia ♦ Volkian Civil War ♦ Northern Revolt ♦ Volkian Revolution | ||
| Important Figures (Past and Present): Yuliya Surkova ♦ Aleksey Pushkarev ♦ Stefan Gurkovsky ♦ Ivan Ogarkov ♦ Vasily Tolmachyov ♦ Yulian Lebedev | ||