Barys Astana
Hockey Club Barys (Kazakh: Барыс хоккей клубы, romanized: Barys Hokkei Kluby), 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.
| Barys Astana | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | "Snow Leopards" |
| City | Astana, Kazakhstan |
| League | KHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Chernyshev |
| Founded | 26 November 1999 |
| Home arena | Barys Arena (capacity: 11,578) |
| Colours | |
| Owner(s) | Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (Askar Mamin, chairman) |
| President | Boris Ivanishchev |
| Head coach | Galym Mambetaliyev (acting) |
| Captain | Roman Starchenko |
| Affiliates | Nomad Astana (KAZ) Snezhnye Barsy (MHL) |
| Website | hcbarys |
| Franchise history | |
| 1999–present | HC Barys |
| Current season | |
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.