The CSKA Hockey Club is the most titled and recognizable in the country, its history is inextricably linked with the history of domestic sports. The CSKA club was represented by many legendary players and coaches who formed the basis of the national team and led it to victories both on the international stage and in the domestic championship, where CSKA has 37 victories as the national champion, and another 20 in the European Champions Cup as the best team in the Old World.
Since 2011, CSKA HC has been cooperating with PJSC NK Rosneft, and the support of the company and its head Igor Ivanovich Sechin allows us to maintain the status of the best team in the country. During this time, CSKA won the title of champion of Russia five times and won the Gagarin Cup – the main trophy of the Kontinental Hockey League - three times.
The main goal of CSKA for the 2024/25 season is to build a new team and return Gagarin Cup to the club. To achieve this goal, a course has been taken to invite Russian hockey players from North America, primarily students of the CSKA Hockey School. The club was joined by: goalkeeper Ivan Prosvetov, defenders Dmitry Samorukov, Nikita Okhotyuk, Christian Jarosh from the Czech Republic, Nikita Sedov, forwards Denis Guryanov, Ruslan Iskhakov, Egor Afanasyev, Ivan Drozdov, Nikita Rozhkov. According to the club's management, they should become the leaders of the new championship team in the future.
With the transfer policy, CSKA pursues not only its own goals, but also works for the benefit of the national team. In 2018, several players of the CSKA club, who had recently returned to Russia, became Olympic champions as part of the national team.
THE CLUB IS ALWAYS SET UP FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS
The President of the club Igor Esmantovich will open the 13th consecutive season at CSKA:
– Our club is guided by high goals, we at CSKA are always determined to achieve maximum results. Yes, last season we failed to set a record and win the Gagarin Cup for the third time in a row, although we really wanted to. That's why we are starting a radical restructuring of the team: we have a new head coach, 10 newcomers. Six of them played overseas and came to us in good condition with the desire to win the Cup. These guys will bring a fresh aggressive mood to our team, and the new coaching staff, I am sure, will be able not only to unite everyone with a creative winning idea, but also to establish the necessary communications between players on and off the ice.
VOROBIEV BELIEVES IN THE TEAM
The coaching staff, headed by one of the most awarded Russian specialists, Ilya Petrovich Vorobiev, will work with the updated team. His track record includes two Gagarin Cups and work in the Russian national team.
– CSKA always has the same goals, and they are obvious to everyone, – says Ilya Vorobiev. – Our team has a lot of ambitious young guys who have gained overseas experience, to whom we are grateful. Together with them, we will completely change the tactical pattern. We want to play with the puck more, to be more active. A laborious training process is underway. During the two-week training camp in Minsk, the team was under a very high physical load. Because of this, some moments did not work out in the test match against Dinamo Minsk, although we won 4-2. We don't have much time and matches before the start of the championship to get everything right. The upcoming sparring with Spartak and the three games of the Moscow Mayor's Cup are certainly designed to help us achieve coherence on the ice and readiness for the start of the championship. I believe that our team will be able to fight for the championship.
NEW PARTNERSHIP AND FAN-FEST AT CSKA ARENA
In the coming season, OLIMPBET Bookmaker's Office will become the new partner of the club. This cooperation is designed to expand the information boundaries of interaction with the audience and reach a new level of partnership between an influential hockey club and a company that has been working in the field of sports competitions of the highest level in Russia for several years. It is noteworthy that this will be the first experience of such a partnership for CSKA HC.
The new season starts for the CSKA on September 5 with a match against Spartak at the Megasport Palace. Before the start of the championship, CSKA HC will hold a presentation of the updated team for its fans. The idea of unity between the team and the fans is at the heart of all club communication, and to implement this idea, the club organizes a grandiose CSKA Fan Fest, which will be held on Saturday, August 24, on the square in front of the CSKA ARENA on Avtozavodskaya Street. It starts at 4 p.m.
The signing of a cooperation agreement with it was announced on Thursday, August 22, at a special press conference - presentation of CSKA HC on Novy Arbat. A new playing uniform and a new corporate identity of the club were presented there, and the leaders – President of CSKA HC Igor Esmantovich and Director of Development of OLIMPBET Konstantin Gusev solemnly shook hands and signed contracts on both sides.
In recent years, the bookmaker has been actively supporting Russian hockey and participating in its development throughout the country. Thanks to the implementation of joint projects with OLIMPBET, CSKA HC plans to strengthen interaction with its fans.
The slogan of the upcoming season is a phrase well known to the club's fans: "As long as we are united, we are invincible!" The return of active fans to the stands of the CSKA ARENA gives the slogan even more power and meaning.
NEW CORPORATE IDENTITY
The key element of the new visual of CSKA HC is a tile made in red and blue colors, collecting an image of the map of Russia. CSKA fans live in all regions of the country, including the new territories that recently became part of the Russian Federation.
The individual cells of the map depict the elements that make up the unity of the CSKA club: heritage, players, fans, as well as the symbols of Rosneft, with which all the successes in the recent history of CSKA HC are inextricably linked.
