Need help picking KHL team to support!

[Rogue Leader]

Recently I have really started watching the KHL. Could you guys share, which team/s do you support and why? I have watched all of the teams, but so far don't feel a special connection with any. I also don't really want to be a bandwagon fan and support the rich teams (unless something really clicks).

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[hansomreiste]

As for which team I support, I've been supporting Avangard for around eight or nine years. No idea why, it just grew up in me over time. I used to follow the league and watch many different teams/games. After a while, I noticed that I like Avangard the most. Mainly because they're not a traditional powerhouse sweeping everyone here and there but they're strong enough to be relevant. The city loves hockey and is big enough to support a great team. It is from Siberia, a region I've been obsessed with since childhood. The arena, even though non-existent at the moment, is/will be great. Also, I think Omsk was heavily neglected in Soviet times due to having hosted "White Russians", so I have a soft spot for that city which is poor but prideful. However, it almost always pains me to be supporting this team: because Omsk is a terrible city. I want to be able to watch my team and be a part of the community. I don't want to be so far away from the team forever but I am not gonna move to Omsk just for my favorite hockey team, either. If I supported, say, Sibir Novosibirsk or some team from St. Petersburg & Moscow, life would be much easier for me.

As about which team you wanna pick, I think it will depend on what you like. Any criteria other than team being rich? Honestly, I wouldn't care too much about being a bandwagon fan - I mean, you have no connection with any of them, so why don't you just check them all and let the time work its magic? If you were a SKA fan from Khabarovsk, I'd be annoyed; but I think we as foreigners have a "free pass" to be plastics.

 

[Rogue Leader]

As for which team I support, I've been supporting Avangard for around eight or nine years. No idea why, it just grew up in me over time. I used to follow the league and watch many different teams/games. After a while, I noticed that I like Avangard the most. Mainly because they're not a traditional powerhouse sweeping everyone here and there but they're strong enough to be relevant. The city loves hockey and is big enough to support a great team. It is from Siberia, a region I've been obsessed with since childhood. The arena, even though non-existent at the moment, is/will be great. Also, I think Omsk was heavily neglected in Soviet times due to having hosted "White Russians", so I have a soft spot for that city which is poor but prideful. However, it almost always pains me to be supporting this team: because Omsk is a terrible city. I want to be able to watch my team and be a part of the community. I don't want to be so far away from the team forever but I am not gonna move to Omsk just for my favorite hockey team, either. If I supported, say, Sibir Novosibirsk or some team from St. Petersburg & Moscow, life would be much easier for me.

As about which team you wanna pick, I think it will depend on what you like. Any criteria other than team being rich? Honestly, I wouldn't care too much about being a bandwagon fan - I mean, you have no connection with any of them, so why don't you just check them all and let the time work its magic? If you were a SKA fan from Khabarovsk, I'd be annoyed; but I think we as foreigners have a "free pass" to be plastics.

Thank you so much for the deep and amazing reply! You are a true inspiration and someday I would really like to support a KHL team with your passion and dedication. You have motivated me to learn more about Avangard and the history of Omsk, thank you. I will do just that and check them all out. I am having a blast learning about a new league and their dynamics. In the NHL I support the Leafs, because I lived there before I moved away and I love them with all my heart. What bugs me at the moment is that it seems that at the moment the team is consumed with greed and really lacks passion, heart and winning spirit. I hope that changes soon. In your experience is there a team in the KHL where the players really play with passion and try hard out of love for their club (maybe Avangard)? I fear that traditional sport values of the past have been exchanged with money comes first attitude. Thank you once again!

 

[Rigafan]

Well mine is pretty obvious? Dinamo Riga!

I have supported them since the league started. I try my best to travel at least once a year to go see a game or two or three. I don't care how bad they are, it's my team now! Initially it was because of Sandis Ozolins and well we really need him to come back and play again! We haven't been the same since he left.

IF Riga where to ever not be a team anymore then I have a huge soft spot for Vityaz. I like their set up, I like they are a small town team in a big league and their current run is very exciting to watch.

 

[Atas2000]

Recently I have really started watching the KHL. Could you guys share, which team/s do you support and why? I have watched all of the teams, but so far don't feel a special connection with any. I also don't really want to be a bandwagon fan and support the rich teams (unless something really clicks).

Well, from Corellia it might not matter, but time zone might be a factor. I would make a case for Avto with Datsyuk having a farewell season(s) there and the team overall being a underdog from recent past that is now gunning for some serious success. Don't know how the Ural time zone game-times work for you though.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Well mine is pretty obvious? Dinamo Riga!

I have supported them since the league started. I try my best to travel at least once a year to go see a game or two or three. I don't care how bad they are, it's my team now! Initially it was because of Sandis Ozolins and well we really need him to come back and play again! We haven't been the same since he left.

IF Riga where to ever not be a team anymore then I have a huge soft spot for Vityaz. I like their set up, I like they are a small town team in a big league and their current run is very exciting to watch.

Really like your passion! You are a true fan - deep respect! Wish all the best to you and Dinamo Riga. I have actually watched the last two wins. You guys play very passionately and seem to never give up.

Well, from Corellia it might not matter, but time zone might be a factor. I would make a case for Avto with Datsyuk having a farewell season(s) there and the team overall being a underdog from recent past that is now gunning for some serious success. Don't know how the Ural time zone game-times work for you though.

Hmm, excellent point! When I think about it Datsyuk in the KHL really excites me. Frankly I have found new happiness. Never imagined that the KHL could be so fun and is actually so skilled when you start watching it. For so many years I have had a screwed up mentality that it is just second rate to the NHL. In reality games are so fun and as a whole I find the players more passionate. Especially with players who play for their youth clubs.

 

[Albatros]

I mean it's second rate, but has its own strengths that are endearing. And also the sides that are not. In the end that will also make one gravitate towards this or that team.

 

[Section Netherlands]

Spartak, of course! It's a club with a very rich history and passionate fans. I picked them as my team when I moved to Moscow and I fell hard for the fans, culture and history. It's one of four Moscow teams, and if you are to label them then Spartak is the people's/worker's of Moscow team. We have fierce rivalries with the other Moscow clubs.

We are usually a mid-table team, which means that we can beat anyone and anyone can beat us. Every game there is something on the line and you can never know how a game is going to end. For this season we got Oleg Znarok, a coach who have experience winning both the KHL and international tournaments with Team Russia. In goal we have Hudacek, and if you don't know what the HudaShow is, look it up!