The Junior Hockey League (JHL) ( (MHL)), sometimes translated as the Minor or Youth Hockey League, is a major junior ice hockey league in Eurasia, founded in 2009. It currently consists of 33 teams from 3 countries. Currently, all teams but one are subsidiaries (feeder teams) of their respective KHL or VHL professional counterparts. A player's age cannot be older than 20. The Kharlamov Cup, named after star ice hockey player Valeri Kharlamov, is awarded annually as the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia's official Junior Championship, following a 16-team playoff at the end of the regular season.
Teams in 2024–25 Junior Hockey LeagueWestern Conference Team City Arena Affiliate Team Founded Joined leagueAlmaz CherepovetsIce PalaceSeverstal Cherepovets (KHL)20092009Amurskie Tigry KhabarovskPlatinum ArenaAmur Khabarovsk (KHL)20102010Atlanty MytishchiMytishchi ArenaSpartak Moscow (KHL)20092009Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk BobruyskBobruysk-ArenaHC Dinamo Minsk (KHL)20102011/2022Chaika Nizhny NovgorodTrade Union Sport PalaceTorpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)20092009Dinamo Saint Petersburg Saint PetersburgYubileyny Sports PalaceDinamo Saint Petersburg (VHL)20132013MHC Dynamo Moscow MoscowBalashikha ArenaDynamo Moscow (KHL)20092009JHC Krylya Sovetov MoscowSoviet Wings Sport PalaceNone19472009/2016Kapitan Stupino StupinoBobrov Ice PalaceHC Sochi (KHL)19992011/2017Krasnaya Armiya MoscowCSKA Ice PalaceCSKA Moscow (KHL)20092009Loko Yaroslavl YaroslavlArena 2000Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)20092009Russkie Vityazi ChekhovIce Hockey Center 2004Vityaz Podolsk (KHL)20092009SKA-1946 Saint PetersburgYubileynySKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)20092009Spartak MoscowSokolniki ArenaSpartak Moscow (KHL)20092009Taifun UssuriyskIce ArenaAdmiral Vladivostok (KHL)20162016Eastern Conference Team City Arena Affiliate Team Founded Joined leagueAvto YekaterinburgYekaterinburg Sports PalaceAvtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL)20092009Belye Medvedi ChelyabinskTraktor Sport PalaceTraktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)20092009Irbis KazanTatNeft ArenaAk Bars Kazan (KHL)20112011Kuznetskie Medvedi NovokuznetskKuznetsk Metallurgists Sports PalaceMetallurg Novokuznetsk (VHL)20092009Ladya TolyattiVolgar Sports PalaceLada Togliatti (VHL)20092009/2013Mamonty Yugry Khanty-MansiyskArena UgraYugra Khanty-Mansiysk (KHL)20112011Omskie Yastreby OmskOmsk ArenaAvangard Omsk (KHL)20092009Reaktor NizhnekamskSCC NeftekhimikNeftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (KHL)20092009Sarmaty OrenburgZvezdny Ice PalaceYuzhny Ural (VHL)20152015Sibirskie Snaipery NovosibirskSibir ArenaSibir Novosibirsk (KHL)20092009Sputnik AlmetyevskYubileyny Sports PalaceNeftyanik Almetyevsk (VHL)20112016Stalnye Lisy MagnitogorskMagnitogorsk ArenaMetallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)20092009Snezhnye Barsy AstanaKazakhstan Sports PalaceBarys Astana (KHL)20112011Tolpar UfaIce Palace/Ufa ArenaSalavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)20092009Tyumensky Legion TyumenSports Palace TyumenRubin Tyumen (VHL)20102010
History
Seasons overview
Season Kharlamov Cup Winner Kharlamov Cup finalist Final score Eastern Conference winner Western conference winner Regular season winner2009–10 Stalnye Lisy Kuznetskie Medvedi 3–1 Stalnye Lisy (54 games, 135 points) Krylya Sovetov (66 games, 119 points) Stalnye Lisy (41-4-4-5)2010–11 Krasnaya Armiya Stalnye Lisy 4–0 Tolpar Ufa (53 games, 121 points) MHC Khimik (56 games, 107 points) Tolpar Ufa (37-1-8-7)2011–12 Omskie Yastreby Krasnaya Armiya 4–1 Omskie Yastreby (60 games, 114 points) Almaz (60 games, 128 points) Almaz (40-2-2-14)2012–13 Omskie Yastreby MHC Spartak 4–3 Omskie Yastreby (61 games, 151 points) Atlanty (64 games, 135 points) Omskie Yastreby (43-10-2-6)2013–14 MHC Spartak Krasnaya Armiya 4–3 MHC Bars (56 games, 135 points) Loko Yaroslavl (56 games, 136 points) Loko Yaroslavl (39-8-3-6)2014–15 Chaika Nizhny Novgorod SKA-1946 4–1 Belye Medvedi (54 games, 124 points) Loko Yaroslavl (56 games, 122 points) Belye Medvedi (36-7-2-9)2015–16 Loko Yaroslavl Chaika Nizhny Novgorod 4–1 Omskie Yastreby (44 games, 93 points) Loko Yaroslavl (42 games, 92 points) Omskie Yastreby (26-6-3-9)2016–17 Krasnaya Armiya Reaktor 4–0 Reaktor (60 games, 123 points) SKA-1946 (60 games, 121 points) Reaktor (36-4-7-13)2017–18 Loko Jaroslavl SKA-1946 4–2 Loko (64 games, 162 points) SKA-1946 (64 games, 155 points) Loko (47-9-3-5)
2009–10 season
In the first MHL season, 22 teams participated, all from Russia. The MHL opened its doors on September 4, 2009 in Moscow, when the first ever MHL game was played between MHC Dynamo (then the junior team of Dynamo Moscow) and CSKA-Red Army (the junior team of CSKA Moscow) with Dynamo picking up the 6–2 victory.
The 2010 Challenge Cup (), the all-star game of the MHL, was played on February 6 in the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg. The Western Conference team defeated the Eastern Conference team 6–4. The last matches of the regular season were played on March 8, 2010. Steel Foxes (the junior team of Metallurg Magnitogorsk) won the Eastern Conference regular season and the overall MHL regular season with 135 points in 54 games. Soviet Wings won the Western Conference regular season with 119 points in 66 games.
The playoffs started on March 13, 2010. No teams of the Western Conference made it past the round of 16 of the playoffs. Steel Foxes and Kuznetskie Medvedi (the junior team of Metallurg Novokuznetsk) reached the playoff finals for the Kharlamov Cup. The first game of the best-of-five series between these two clubs was played on April 21, 2010. Steel Foxes won the first ever Kharlamov Cup after defeating Kuznetsk Bears 3–2 on April 26, 2010 and winning the series 3–1. Belye Medvedi (the junior team of Traktor Chelyabinsk) and Tolpar (the junior team of Salavat Yulaev Ufa) lost the semi-finals series of the playoffs and played in a two-legged tie for the third place. The first match of the tie was played on April 20, 2010 on Belye Medvedi's home ice and the second leg on April 24 on Tolpar's home ice. Tolpar won both games, first 4–2, second 5–2 and clinched third place of the first season of the MHL.
2010–11 season
The number of teams was expanded from 22 in the inaugural season to 29 in the second season. 8 new teams joined the league while Dynamo Moscow's junior team left the league. Sheriff, the junior team of HC MVD in the inaugural season, was moved to Tver and would serve as the junior team of UHC Dynamo in the second season. Phoenix was renamed to MHC Khimik. MHC Krylya Sovetov was reunited with PHC Krylya Sovetov (playing in the VHL) and the MHL team of the newly reunited club was moved to Dmitrov. Among the new teams were teams from Belarus (Minskie Zubry (then the junior team of Dinamo Minsk) and MHC Yunost (the junior team of Yunost Minsk)) and Latvia (HC Riga (the junior team of Dinamo Riga)), thus making the league international. Both conferences were divided into 2 divisions each.
The regular season started on 4 September 2010 in Magnitogorsk with a match for the Opening Cup between last year's Kharlamov Cup playoff finalists Steel Foxes and Kuznetskie Medvedi. Steel Foxes won the match with 8 goals to 1. The 2011 Challenge Cup took place in Ufa on 12 February 2011. As in 2010, the match pitted the best players of the Western Conference on one side against the best players of the Eastern Conference on the other side. In the West, MHC Khimik won the regular season, while in the East, Tolpar Ufa was the winner.
The playoffs were for the first time separate in each conference, with the two winners meeting in the Kharlamov Cup final. In the final, the Red Army team from Moscow defeated the Steel Foxes from Magnitogorsk with a 4–0 sweep.
2011–12 season
For the 2011–12 season, a second division named MHL-B was established, which features mostly junior teams of VHL teams. A relegation and promotion system is in place between the MHL and MHL-B. The number of MHL teams was expanded from 29 to 32. One team, Krylya Sovetov, left the league, while 4 new teams joined: Tatranskí Vlci from Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia (the junior team of Lev Poprad), Kapitan Stupino from Stupino, Snezhnye Barsy from Astana, Kazakhstan (the junior team of Barys Astana) and Mamonty Yugry from Khanty-Mansiysk (the junior team of Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk). Minskie Zubry were renamed to Dinamo-Shinnik and moved to Babruysk. Sheriff was renamed to MHC MVD and moved from Tver to Balashikha.
The 2012 Challenge Cup took place in Magnitogorsk on 11 February 2012. The first ever Future Cup () took place in Chelyabinsk on 13 March 2012 and featured the best under-18 players (not born before 1 January 1994) of both the MHL and the MHL-B division.
The regular season winners were the Omsk Hawks (the junior team of Avangard Omsk) in the East and Almaz Cherepovets (the junior team of Severstal Cherepovets) in the West. Omsk Hawks also made it to the Kharlamov Cup final, where they defeated the Red Army team from Moscow with a 4–1 series win.
2012–13 season For their fourth season, the MHL expanded to Czech Republic and Hungary, with the junior team of HC Energie Karlovy Vary and Patriot Budapest joining. The two Russian teams Kristall Berdsk and HC Oktan Perm were promoted from MHL-B, while Ladya Togliatti (the junior team of Lada Togliatti) and HC Olimpiya Kirovo-Chepetsk were relegated. Slovak team Tatranskí Vlci withdrew from the league. These changes brought the number of teams up to 33, representing 6 countries.
The Omsk Hawks once again made it to the Kharlamov Cup final, where this time they defeated MHC Spartak (the junior team of Spartak Moscow) from Moscow in 7 games, winning the seventh game in overtime thanks to Kirill Rasskazov. Omsk Hawks also became the first team ever to not only win 2 Kharlamov Cups, but also the first team to ever repeat as Kharlamov Cup champions.
2013–14 season For the fifth season, the league expanded to 40 teams, divided into two conferences with two divisions each. New teams are the junior team of EC Red Bull Salzburg from Austria, Molodaya Gvardia from Ukraine (the junior team of HC Donbass) and Dinamo Saint Petersburg. Ladya Togliatti, Olimpiya Kirovo-Chepetsk, Junior Kurgan (the junior team of Zauralie Kurgan) and HC Chelny were promoted from MHL-B. Oktan Perm was renamed to "Molot". In September, after the season had already started, Patriot from Hungary withdrew from the league, leaving only 39 teams to play the season.
MHC Spartak achieved redemption this season after falling just short the season before by winning the Kharlamov Cup defeating their rivals, the Red Army team from Moscow, 4–3 in the final.
2014–15 season For the sixth season, the league went through a number of changes, with 2 teams joining the league and 2 teams leaving, each for different reasons. Due to the War in Donbass, the league stated that Molodaya Gvardia would miss this season. JHC Bars (then the junior team of Ak Bars Kazan) left the league to join the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). Their place as Ak Bars Kazan's junior team would be taken by Irbis. New teams joining the league were an expansion team from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk called the Sakhalin Sharks as well as Berkuty Kubani Krasnodar from Krasnodar, who were promoted from MHL-B.
Chaika (the junior team of Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod) won the Kharlamov Cup for the first time after defeating SKA-1946 (one of the junior teams of SKA Saint Petersburg) with a 4–1 final series win.
2015–16 season