Kazakhstan’s hockey roots trace back to the Soviet era when the country was part of the USSR. Since gaining independence in 1992, Kazakhstan has written its own hockey story. Not only has it dominated the Asian hockey landscape, but it has also made its mark on the global stage with some remarkable achievements. The nation has competed in two Olympic tournaments, maintains a fairly regular presence in the top division, and its premier club, Barys Astana, has shown it can shake things up in the Kontinental Hockey League.
| KAZAKHSTAN’S ICE HOCKEY IN A NUTSHELL | |
|---|---|
| IIHF Member Since | May 6, 1992 |
| Men’s World Ranking | 15 |
| Total Players | 4,931 |
| Senior Male Players | 1,048 |
| Junior Players | 2,797 |
| Female Players | 1,086 |
| Total Referees | 55 |
| Indoor Rinks | 47 |
| Outdoor Rinks | 35 |
| Nation Population | 19,398,331 |
| Source: IIHF | |
Ice Hockey in Kazakhstan: From Soviet Roots to International Contender
As the Soviet hockey program rapidly expanded, the first hockey clubs in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic began to emerge in the 1950s. The country’s first national hockey championship was held in 1957.
The collapse of the Soviet Union gave rise to new hockey nations, with an independent Kazakhstan joining the international hockey family in 1992. Today, ice hockey enjoys widespread popularity in the country, and the national team’s success on both the Asian and global stage fills Kazakh fans with pride.
Kazakhtstan Ice Hockey Teams, Leagues and Players
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Kazakhstan National Hockey Team
Even during the Soviet era, there was a predecessor to Kazakhstan’s national team – as a selection representing the Kazakh SSR competed in the Soviet Winter Spartakiads. The independent national team wrote its first chapter at the 1993 C-Pool World Championship. However, it didn’t take long for Kazakhstan to break into the elite. First, the team stunned the hockey world by reaching the quarterfinals at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
Later that same year, they made their debut in the top division of the World Championship, becoming only the second Asian nation in history to do so after Japan.
Kazakhstan Ice Hockey on the Olympic and World Championship Stage
Kazakhstan has competed in the Olympic ice hockey tournament twice, in 1998 and 2006. On the World Championship stage, the team has spent years fluctuating between the top two divisions, but in recent seasons, it has found stability at the elite level – currently enjoying its fifth consecutive year among the world’s best, a national record. The country’s top finishes include 8th place at the 1998 Olympics, 9th at the 2006 Olympics, and 10th at the 2021 World Championship.
🏒 Kazakhstan is back on hockey’s biggest stage!
Check out their 2025 IIHF Worlds preview.
Kazakhstan National Team: The Hockey Powerhouse of Asia
On the Asian stage, Kazakhstan has been virtually untouchable. The national team has won five gold medals at the Winter Asian Games (1996, 1999, 2011, 2017, 2025), putting them at the top of the all-time leaderboard ahead of Japan and China, who have each won the tournament twice.
Kazakhstan also claimed victory at the inaugural IIHF Asia Championship in 2025, and captured the title at the last edition of the IIHF Asian Cup in 1995.
Kazakhstan Ice Hockey: History, Achievements, and Key Statistics
The Kazakhstan men’s national hockey team is currently led by experienced coach Oleg Bolyakin. The undisputed leader in games played (171), goals (91), and points (159) is Kazakhstan’s living hockey legend and national team captain, Roman Starchenko.
| 🏆 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | |
|---|---|
| Appearance | 31 (12 in Top Division) |
| Best Result | 10th (2021) |
| ❄️ WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES | |
| Appearance | 2 |
| Best Result | 8th (1998) |
| 🌏 ASIAN WINTER GAMES | |
| Appearance | 7 |
| Best Result | 🥇 (1996, 1999, 2011, 2017, 2025) |
| 📈 STATISTICS | |
| First Match | Ukraine 5:1 (1992) |
| Biggest Win | Thailand 52:1 (2007) |
| Biggest Defeat | USA 0:10 (2010) |
Kazakhstan IIHF Ranking 2025: A Look at the Team’s Position and Progress
Kazakhstan’s men’s national team currently sits at 15th place in the IIHF ranking. The country’s highest-ever ranking came in 2006, when it finished just outside the top 10 at 11th place. On the other end of the spectrum, its lowest ranking was 21st in 2003. As of now, Kazakhstan holds the distinction of being the highest-ranked Asian men’s team in the world rankings, ahead of South Korea, Japan, and China.
Kazakhstan Hockey League Emerges After 1992
During the Soviet era, the powerhouse of Kazakh hockey was Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk. After years of competing in the Kazakh league and the lower tiers of Soviet hockey, the club made its debut in the top Soviet league during the 1987-88 season – a milestone moment in the development of hockey in Kazakhstan.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a transitional league, the International Ice Hockey League (IIHL), operated from 1992 to 1996. At the same time, an independent Kazakh league was already taking shape. When the IIHL folded, Kazakhstan’s top teams were still able to compete in Russia’s lower divisions.
Barys Astana Hockey Club: The New Hockey Stronghold of Kazakhstan
A major turning point came in 2008 when Barys Astana joined the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) as the first Asian team in the league’s history – the second being the Chinese team Kunlun Red Star, which joined in 2016.
With that move, Barys took over the mantle of Kazakhstan’s hockey powerhouse, a title previously held by Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk. The core of Barys Astana is typically built around top Kazakh national team players, complemented by high-profile imports from Russia, North America, and other top hockey nations.
Barys Astana, Formerly Nur-Sultan – Kazakhstan KHL Team Since 2008
Barys Astana, which was temporarily known as Barys Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022 due to the city’s name change, has been a permanent fixture in the KHL since 2008. The team has been a fairly consistent playoff contender, though it has yet to break through its quarterfinal ceiling. Barys’ best season came in 2019-20, when it finished an impressive 4th in the regular season standings. Unfortunately, that very season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Best Kazakhstan Hockey Players
Kazakhstan’s top hockey players are currently competing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), with most of them concentrated at Barys Astana. One notable exception is Nikita Mikhailis, a skilled playmaker who plays for Metallurg Magnitogorsk and celebrated a Gagarin Cup victory in 2024. On that championship run he was joined by Valeri Orekhov, one of Kazakhstan’s premier defensemen.
Another Kazakh player who has made his mark in Russia is Arkadi Shestakov, who has secured a role as a center with Admiral Vladivostok.
When it comes to Kazakh hockey, no list would be complete without mentioning the living legend, Roman Starchenko. Another key figure for the national team is Yevgeni Rymarev – a veteran who remains a staple of the roster despite spending much of his career in the VHL.
The current core of both Barys Astana and the national team is built around players like Kirill Savitsky, Adil Beketayev, Alikhan Asetov, and Kirill Panyukov, along with the well-established goaltending duo of Nikita Boyarkin and Andrei Shutov.
Kazakh players in NHL
At the moment, there are no Kazakh players in the NHL. However, in the past, several have made their way into the best league in the world.
Shortly after Kazakhstan became an independent nation, the NHL took notice. In the 1992 draft, the Winnipeg Jets selected Andrei Raisky, making him the first-ever Kazakh drafted into the league. However, the native of Ust-Kamenogorsk never made it to the NHL, leaving the distinction of the first Kazakh to play in the league to Konstantin Shafranov, who appeared in five games for the St. Louis Blues during the 1996–97 season. Though his NHL career was brief, Shafranov remains Kazakhstan’s pioneer in the world’s top league.
In the 1999–2000 season, Nikolai Antropov followed in his footsteps and went on to have the most successful NHL career among Kazakh players – his 788 games and 465 points speak for themselves. Another forward, Konstantin Pushkaryov, had a short stint with the Los Angeles Kings, while two goaltenders also had brief NHL appearances: Vitali Yeremeyev with the New York Rangers and Vitali Kolesnik with the Colorado Avalanche.
| Kazakhstan Players in NHL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Years | Clubs | Matches | Stats |
| Nikolai Antropov | 1999 – 2013 | Toronto, NY Rangers, Atlanta, Winnipeg | 788 | 193 + 272 |
| Konstantin Pushkaryov | 2005 – 2007 | LA Kings | 17 | 2 + 3 |
| Konstantin Shafranov | 1996 – 1997 | St. Louis | 5 | 2 + 1 |
| Vitali Kolesnik | 2005 – 2006 | Colorado | 8 | 88,8 %/3,24 |
| Vitali Yeremeyev | 2000 – 2001 | NY Rangers | 4 | 84,6 %/4,52 |
Kazakhstan-Born NHL Players Who Changed Citizenship
Kazakhstan could have had even more NHL players if not for the fact that many young Kazakh players opted to acquire Russian citizenship, a common trend given the country’s sizable Russian ethnic population. The most notable case is longtime NHL goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who initially represented Kazakhstan at the 1994 IIHF C-Pool World Championship as an 18-year-old but later chose to represent Russia instead, making his debut for his new country at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Other Kazakhstan-born players who switched to Russian nationality and reached the NHL include Alexander Perezhogin, Pavel Vorobyev, Viktor Antipin, Maxim Kuznetsov, and Anton Khudobin.
| Kazakhstan-Born NHL Players Who Played for Russia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Born | Nationality Change |
| Evgeni Nabokov | KAZ | Kazakhstan ➡️ Russia |
| Alexander Perezhogin | KAZ | Kazakhstan ➡️ Russia |
| Pavel Vorobyev | KAZ | Kazakhstan ➡️ Russia |
| Viktor Antipin | KAZ | Kazakhstan ➡️ Russia |
| Maxim Kuznetsov | KAZ | Kazakhstan ➡️ Russia |
| Anton Khudobin | KAZ | Kazakhstan ➡️ Russia |
Naturalized Former NHLers Competing for Kazakhstan
For a period, the Kazakh national team also naturalized several former NHLers who obtained Kazakh citizenship while playing for Barys Astana – much like what Kunlun Red Star would later do to bolster China’s national roster.
The most prominent examples include Kevin Dallman, Nigel Dawes, Brandon Bochenski, and Dustin Boyd. However, since all of them played in the NHL before changing their nationality, they cannot be counted among Kazakhstan’s NHL players neither.
Players from Kazakhstan in the NHL Draft
To date, 18 Kazakh players have been drafted into NHL teams. The first-ever Kazakh selected in the NHL Draft was Andrei Raisky, picked 156th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the seventh round of the 1992 draft. The highest-drafted Kazakh in history remains Nikolai Antropov, who is also the country’s only first-round selection – taken 10th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1998.
| Players from Kazakhstan in the NHL Draft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Year/Round/Pick | Played in NHL |
| Vladimir Nikitin (G) | Ottawa Senators | 2023 | 7 | 207 | ❌ |
| Andrei Buyalsky (F) | Colorado Avalanche | 2021 | 3 | 092 | ❌ |
| Viktor Alexandrov (F) | St. Louis Blues | 2004 | 3 | 083 | ❌ |
| Maxim Semyonov (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2004 | 7 | 220 | ❌ |
| Konstantin Pushkaryov (F) | Los Angeles Kings | 2003 | 2 | 044 | ✅ |
| Vitali Smolyaninov (F) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2001 | 9 | 261 | ❌ |
| Dmitri Upper (F) | New York Islanders | 2000 | 5 | 136 | ❌ |
| Vadim Sozinov (F) | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2000 | 6 | 179 | ❌ |
| Alexander Krevsun (F) | Nashville Predators | 1999 | 4 | 124 | ❌ |
| Konstantin Rudenko (F) | Philadelphia Flyers | 1999 | 6 | 160 | ❌ |
| Alexei Litvinenko (D) | Phoenix Coyotes | 1999 | 9 | 262 | ❌ |
| Nikolai Antropov (F) | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1998 | 1 | 010 | ✅ |
| Andrei Troshchinsky (F) | St. Louis Blues | 1998 | 6 | 170 | ❌ |
| Konstantin Shafranov (F) | St. Louis Blues | 1996 | 9 | 229 | ✅ |
| Andrei Samokhvalov (F) | Detroit Red Wings | 1995 | 8 | 208 | ❌ |
| Vitali Yeremeyev (G) | New York Rangers | 1994 | 9 | 209 | ✅ |
| Anatoli Filatov (F) | San Jose Sharks | 1993 | 7 | 158 | ❌ |
| Andrei Raisky (F) | Winnipeg Jets | 1992 | 7 | 156 | ❌ |
Top Kazakh Hockey Prospects
Kazakh hockey appears to have a bright future, with several promising young players already making their mark and showing the potential to break into top leagues.
Power forward Asanali Sarkenov has played in the top division of both the U18 and U20 World Championships within a single year and held his own against elite competition. Now competing in the WHL, he will be eagerly anticipating the 2025 NHL Entry Draft to see if an NHL team selects him.
Another talented forward, Kornei Korneyev, has also taken the North American route, currently playing in the prestigious QMJHL.
Meanwhile, the duo of Davlat Nurkenov and Alexander Kim chose Scandinavia, dominating the scoring race in Finland’s top U18 league during the 2022–23 season. Nurkenov continues to pursue his career in Finland, while Kim has since moved to the NAHL in the United States.
Two promising defensemen, Beibarys Orazov and Sanzhar Ibragim, along with forward Kirill Lyapunov, remain within the Barys Astana system, splitting time between the MHL and KHL.
Lastly, Andrei Buyalsky, who previously had solid stints in the USHL and NCAA, has returned to domestic hockey. While now playing in Kazakhstan’s Pro Hokei Ligasy, he is suiting up for the Uzbek club Humo Tashkent.
Kazakhstan U20 and U18 Junior Hockey Teams and Players
It is well known that qualifying for the top divisions of the IIHF World Championship at the U18 and U20 levels is significantly more challenging than at the senior level, as these divisions feature only 10 teams compared to 16 in the men’s tournament. Despite this, Kazakhstan’s junior teams have broken into the world’s top 10 on multiple occasions. The U18 squad has competed in the elite division twice (2003, 2024), while the U20 team has done so nine times (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2025).
Kazakhstan’s U20 team enjoyed its most successful stretch at the turn of the millennium, spending four consecutive years among the world’s best. It was during this era that Kazakhstan secured its most remarkable victory at the junior level – a stunning 6–3 triumph over Canada at the 1998 tournament in Finland. That game may have contributed to 17-year-old Nik Antropov being selected high in the NHL Draft. However, the standout performance came from his teammate, the late Andrei Troshchinsky, who recorded a hat trick and an assist.
A Legacy Shaped by the Soviet Era
While the IIHF officially recognizes only Russia as the successor to the Soviet hockey legacy, Kazakhstan can also lay claim to a piece of that storied tradition. Kazakhstan’s hockey is deeply rooted in the Soviet system. The country produced several players who represented the USSR, most notably Boris Alexandrov, an Olympic gold medalist in 1976 and a Canada Cup participant the same year, and Yevgeni Paladyev, a three-time world champion (1969, 1970, 1973).
While Kazakhstan was never a central hub of Soviet hockey, its connection to the legendary system is undeniable. Even after gaining independence, the country has preserved many elements of the Soviet hockey school, maintaining its presence on the international stage.
Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Fedration – contact
The governing body of ice hockey in Kazakhstan is the Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation, currently led by Askar Mamin. Below, you will find all available contact details.
| Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation | |
|---|---|
| President | Askar Mamin |
| Address | Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation Radisson Astana Hotel 4, Saryarka Str., office 501 010000 Astana Republic of Kazakhstan |
| Phone | +7 7172 725608 |
| office@icehockey.kz | |
| Website | icehockey.kz |
| Social Media | facebook.com/kazakhstanhockey/ instagram.com/kazakhstanhockey/ vk.com/kazakhstanhockey |
#️⃣ Is ice hockey popular in Kazakhstan?
Ice hockey enjoys significant popularity in Kazakhstan, attracting strong interest from both fans and the media. It is among the country’s most beloved team sports. The sport’s prominence is further reinforced by the solid performances of Kazakh national teams on both the Asian and global stages.
#️⃣ Did Kazakhstan ever beat Canada in hockey?
Kazakhstan’s senior national team has yet to defeat Canada. However, the country’s junior team accomplished this feat at the 1998 IIHF World Junior Championship, pulling off a stunning 6–3 victory over the hockey powerhouse in the seventh-place game in Hämeenlinna, Finland.
#️⃣ Is Kazakhstan good at ice hockey?
Kazakhstan is the dominant force in Asian ice hockey and has also achieved respectable results on the global stage. The men’s national team reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament in 1998 in Nagano and has competed in the top division of the IIHF World Championship in recent years. Meanwhile, the country’s university team ranks among the world’s elite, having won the gold medal at the 1995 Winter Universiade.
