Barys Astana

Hockey Club Barys, also referred to as Barys Astana or HC Barys, is a professional ice hockey team based in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is one of the founding members of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). They play in the league's Chernyshev Division of the Eastern Conference. Their home arena is the Barys Arena, where they have played since the 2015–16 KHL season. Prior to 2015, the team played home games at the Kazakhstan Sports Palace for 14 seasons, beginning in 2001. The head coach is Andrei Skabelka and the president is Boris Ivanishchev. The team serves as a base club for the Kazakhstan national ice hockey team. The club was founded in 1999 as a member of the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship. In 10 seasons of national competition, Barys has won two Championships in 2007–08 and 2008–09. In 2004, Barys was admitted into the Russian ice hockey system, joining its third tier the Pervaya Liga. Their win in Ural-Western Siberia Zone in 2007, led to promotion to the Vysshaya Liga. After a single season of play in the Vysshaya Liga, Barys joined the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League in 2008. History 1999–2008: early years Barys was founded on 26 November 1999 as the result of resolution accepted by the City Council of Astana. The team was gathered in a semi-professional level by an enthusiast players who were annually playing an amateur tournament for the prize of Mayor of Astana and professional players who came from other teams of the Championship. The team's name, Barys, is derived from the national symbol of Kazakhstan, translated as snow leopard. Nikolai Myshagin became the first head coach in the club's history. Under Myshagin rule, Barys earned silver medals in its first three season of play in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship. Barys would stay there until 2009. During the 2003–04 season, Barys squaded by junior players to serve as a base club for the Kazakhstan national junior ice hockey team. In 2004, Barys was admitted into the Russian ice hockey system. They made their debut in the Pervaya Liga; in parallel, Barys kept a second team in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship. Barys' debut in Russia was interesting, with the team doing fairly well. They played three seasons in the Pervaya Liga, where they finished respectively third, second and first of the Ural-Western Siberia Zone where they played. With this first place in 2007, Barys was allowed into the Vysshaya Liga.