Kaunas Hockey is a professional ice hockey team located in Kaunas, Lithuania, which plays in the Lithuania Hockey League, the top tier of ice hockey in Lithuania. They play home games at the Kaunas Ice Arena.
| Kaunas Hockey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| League | Lithuania Hockey League |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Folded | 2021 |
| Home arena | Kaunas Ice Arena (capacity: 300[1]) |
| Colours | Green, light green, black, white |
| Head coach | Petras Nausėda |
History
editHockey Kaunas was founded in 2017, with the purpose of helping to improve the standard of Lithuanian hockey with the ultimate goal of seeing the Lithuanian national team compete in the Winter Olympics.[2][3] One of the team's initial investors was TeleSoftas, a Kaunas-based software company.[2][3] Following their formation, Hockey Kaunas immediately began play in the Lithuania Hockey League. Their first season was a productive one, making it to the playoff finals, before ultimately losing to SC Energija.[4]
In 2020 Kaunas Hockey took part in the inaugural Baltic Hockey League, a competition made up of two teams from each of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[5] The team finished last in their group after suffering heavy losses against both Tartu Välk 949 of Estonia, and Latvian side HK Mogo. As a result, they did not progress to the final round.[6] In addition, as a result of being in first place of the NLRL when the remainder of games were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaunas Hockey also qualified for the 2020–21 IIHF Continental Cup where they were scheduled to face-off against Skautafelag Akureyrar of Iceland, Israeli team HC Bat Yam and Spanish outfit FC Barcelona.[7] However, two months later, the IIHF cancelled the Continental Cup due to the Pandemic.[8]
Roster
editUpdated January 24, 2021.[9]
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 95 | 
|
Pavel Davydyuk | L | 2020 | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| 1 | 
|
Daniel Jankovskij | R | 2019 | - |
| 30 |
|
Artur Pavliukov | L | 2018 | Klaipėda, Lithuania |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 88 |
|
Vasilijus Fedotovas | L | 2019 | Rokiškis, Lithuania | |
| 19 |
|
Žygimantas Girdžius | L | 2017 | Kaunas, Lithuania | |
| 22 |
|
Povilas Jagelavicius | L | 2017 | Kaunas, Lithuania | |
| 76 |
|
Vėjas Jokubynas | R | 2020 | Vilnius, Lithuania | |
| 55 |
|
Ilya Malashkevich | L | 2020 | Moscow, Russia | |
| 97 | 
|
Yegor Rublyov | R | 2020 | Gomel, Belarus | |
| 47 |
|
Artiom Starovoitov | L | 2020 | - | |
| 71 |
|
Alexander Strokin | L | 2020 | - | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 33 |
|
Rojus Adamonis | L | F | 2020 | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 69 |
|
Nojus Asmonas | L | F | 2020 | - |
| 14 |
|
Egidijus Binkulis | L | C | 2020 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 46 |
|
Eduard Chekmaryov | R | F | 2019 | Yekaterinburg, Russia |
| 17 |
|
Kirill Danilenko | L | F | 2019 | Gomel, Belarus |
| 16 |
|
Remigijus Guoga | L | F | 2017 | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 27 |
|
Vytautas Jagelavičius | L | LW/RW | 2017 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 89 |
|
Dovydas Laimutis | L | R | 2020 | - |
| 29 |
|
Pavel Pravilo | L | F | 2020 | Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia |
| 18 |
|
Roman Reshetnikov | - | F | 2020 | - |
| 15 |
|
Anton Sharpanskikh | L | C | 2020 | Nizhny Tagil, Russia |
| 91 |
|
Grigori Vorobyov | L | LW | 2019 | Tyumen, Russia |
| 13 |
|
Lukas Zukauskas | L | F | 2018 | Jonava, Lithuania |
Season-by-season record
editNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | 20 | 12 | 5 | — | 2 | 1 | 41 | 96 | 80 | 2nd | Final loss |
| 2018–19 | 18 | 10 | 5 | — | 2 | 1 | 35 | 74 | 35 | 2nd | Semi-final loss |
| 2019–20 | 18 | 12 | 1 | — | 3 | 2 | 44 | 115 | 51 | 1st | Playoffs cancelled |
Team records
editCareer
editThese are the top five scorers in Kaunas Hockey history.[9]
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eduard Chekmaryov | F | 30 | 36 | 33 | 69 |
| Lukas Zukauskas | F | 30 | 18 | 35 | 53 |
| Remigijus Guoga | F | 54 | 24 | 22 | 46 |
| Vytautas Jagelavičius | F | 65 | 23 | 22 | 45 |
| Dovydas Streckis | F | 34 | 15 | 22 | 37 |
Penalty minutes: Vasilijus Fedotovas, 135
Season
editRegular season
edit- Most goals in a season: Eduard Chekmaryov, 27 (2019–20)
- Most assists in a season: Lukas Zukauskas, 24 (2019–20)
- Most points in a season: Eduard Chekmaryov, 50 (2019–20)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Jon Stephansson, 90 (2018–19)
Playoffs
edit- Most goals in a playoff season: Eduard Chekmaryov, 9 (2019–20)
- Most assists in a playoff season: Lukas Zukauskas, 7 (2019–20)
- Most points in a playoff season: Eduard Chekmaryov, 14 (2019–20)
- Most penalty minutes in a playoff season: Vasilijus Fedotovas, 10 (2019–20)
References
edit- ^ "Ledos Arena Kaunas - HockeyArenas.net". EuroHockey.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ a b "Kaunas verčia naują puslapį ledo ritulio istorijoje: turės naują klubą Lietuvos ledo ritulio čempionate" (in Lithuanian). Sportas.lt. June 13, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "Debiutuojanti ledo ritulio komanda Kaune stiprino ryšį su sirgaliais" (in Lithuanian). Kas vyksta Kaune. June 13, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ^ "Lithuania - 2017-2018". Sportas.lt. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Baltic Hockey League finally start". EuroHockey.com. November 16, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ "Baltic Hockey League detail". EuroHockey.com. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ "Continental Cup expands with new format". International Ice Hockey Federation. June 19, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ "IIHF cancels Continental Cup". International Ice Hockey Federation. August 25, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ a b "Elite Prospects - Kaunas Hockey" (in Lithuanian). EliteProspects.com. Retrieved January 24, 2020.