HC Norilsk
Ice hockey team in Norilsk, Russia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hockey Club Norilsk (Russian: Хоккейный клуб "Норильск") is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Norilsk. They play in the All-Russian Hockey League (VHL), the second level of Russian ice hockey.
| HC Norilsk | |
|---|---|
| |
| City | Norilsk, Russia |
| League | VHL |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Home arena | Arktika Sport Palace (capacity: 2,184) |
| Head coach | Sergei Golubovich |
| Website | hcnorilsk.com |
History
A professional hockey club in Norilsk was founded in 2023, for the first time since HC Zapolyarnik folded in 2001.[1] HC Norilsk immediately became the northernmost professional ice hockey club in the world.[2]
The team played their first game on July 19, 2023, losing to Chaika Nizhny Novgorod, the Youth Hockey League's reigning champion.[3]
They played their first official game was on September 2, 2023, losing to Neftyanik Almetyevsk 2-3 in the shootout. Before the game, there was a performance by the Olympic champion in figure skating Anna Shcherbakova.[4]
The team's first head coach was Aidar Musakayev, who previously coached HC Chelny.[2] On January 18, 2024, he was fired, and Evgeny Filinov took over as the interim head coach.[5] Despite that, Norilsk made the VHL playoffs in their first season, but were defeated by Rubin Tyumen 1-4 in the first round.[1] The team's captain and top scorer Vladislav Kaletnik reached third place in goals across the VHL regular season with 22 and fifth in points with 51.[3]
In October 2024, HC Norilsk started a promotion with NordStar Airlines, which painted one of their Boeing 737-800 aircraft into a livery themed after the club.[6]
Before their second season, the club appointed Vladimir Gusev as the new head coach.[7] Under his lead, Norilsk won a playoff series for the first time, defeating Gornyak-UGMK 4-2.[8] In the second round of the VHL playoffs, they were swept by Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk.[9]
In the 2025-26 season, Norilsk would go through several head coaches: on October 6, 2025, the team fired Gusev and appointed Nikolai Zolotukhin as the interim head coach[10] then Alexei Zhdakhin became the new head coach on November 15,[11] then Sergei Golubovich on January 29.[12] Vladislav Kaletnik would also leave the team during the season.[13] The team finished the season 30th in the VHL and missed the playoffs.[14]
Rivalries
Norilsk's games against the regional rival Sokol Krasnoyarsk have been called "the Frosty Derby" (Russian: "Морозное дерби").[15][16]