Vladimir Ignatievich Kukushkin was the first coach in the history of our club. In 1955, Omsk Spartak coached by Kukushkin made their debut in the USSR Championship.

Born on February 25, 1929 in Gran, Orenburg region. In 1942, was evacuated to Krasnoyarsk together with the ordnance factory. Graduated from a high school there and left for Moscow in 1948 to enter the State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism and pursue a degree in ice hockey.   During his studies, played for the university team, became the champion of Moscow universities tournament and made it to the Moscow Cup finals.

In 1952, Vladimir Ignatievich graduated from the university and was assigned to work for Omsk Institute of Physical Education (present-day Siberian State University of Physical Culture and Sport). When Vladimir Kukushkin came to Omsk, he became the only qualified hockey specialist in the city. He started working as a senior lecturer of sports games department, was the chairman of sports games department since 1955 for almost 18 years, and then the chairman of football-hockey department.

In addition to teaching, Kukushkin was not without heed of playing hockey. First he played for SKIF in the RSFSR Championship, and in 1955, when Spartak team (the first name of Avangard) was created, he became not only one of its leaders, but also a player-coach.

In 1958, Spartak achieved their first major success, was ranked second in the zone and competed for making it to the top league. After that, Vladimir Ignatievich coached Omsk Burevestnik, second-tier Soviet team, and in the autumn of 1960 stepped behind the bench for Spartak again.

With Kukushkin as the coach, 16-year-old Viktor Blinov made his debut with the team, and soon became widely known. After the 1962 season, Vladimir Ignatievich left the team and started officiating games played by the country’s strongest clubs. He also spent some time working for Spartak school and opened the doors to elite hockey to G. Berdyshev, S. Deryabin, I. Cherkashin, V. Kirichenko, V. Lyapin, V. Shitik, G. Domashkin, A. Antonchik, and others, who won silver medals at the Russian Championship in 1963/64. 

For many years, Vladimir Ignatievich was a secretary and official at various tournaments. Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports, internationally certified referee, professor emeritus at Siberian State University of Physical Culture and Sport.

Omsk hockey goes hand in hand with the name of Leonid Kiselyov, first as a player of Lokomotiv and then as the head coach of Avangard.

Born on April 21, 1947 in Omsk. Played for Lokomotiv (Omsk, 1967 – 1969, 1972), SKA (Novosibirsk, 1970). The team’s top scorer in followup of the 1968 season with 33 goals scored. Totals more than 60 goals overall. 1969 RSFSR champion. Honored coach of Russia (1992).

Сoached Vodnik (Vanino, 1977 - 1979), worked as the team manager of Irtysh football club (Omsk, 1979 - 1982). Was the head coach of Barnaul Motor from 1985 till 1987 and helped the team become one of the leaders of the second league. Motor’s all-time best accomplishments are associated with the name of Kiselyov.

Leonid Georgievich devoted ten years to the development of the main sports team of Omsk - Avangard. Having stepped behind the bench for Avangard before the 1987/88 season, he insured its rapid growth from a mediocre team of the second league to the 1992 12th-best club of the top league. Kiselyov was good at finding the right words in the locker room at important moments. A fan of hockey, he knew how to make the team get primed for the game. His scope of work extended beyond mere sports aspects. He paid much attention to players’ daily life as well.

Four years later, new success was achieved – International Hockey League bronze medals, the first medals in the history of Omsk hockey. The team pushed on to the next level and hockey became the city’s number one sport.

1996 bronze medals rang up the curtain on Avangard’s further rising to the top. Leonid Georgievich managed to build a special atmosphere around Omsk hockey. The team, that had no major sponsors at that time, was adored. Games hosted by the Irtysh Sports Complex were always sold out.

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, economic situation in the country changed for the worse, and in 1992 the Transmash factory had to stop sponsoring the team. There was a risk of the team being pulled out from the competition, but Kiselyov’s organizational talents made it possible to keep the Omsk hockey team afloat.

The club got the financing from the regional budget, and soon a major oil company started to sponsor the team. Kiselyov himself considered it to be perhaps his main achievement, and indeed, such impressive financial support allowed Avangard to grow stronger and finally cement its place among elite Russian teams.

After Avangard, Kiselyov worked for Cherepovets Severstal (1998/99 season), Novosibirsk Sibir (1999 – 2001), was the general manager of Perm Molot-Prikamye (2003/04), Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik (2004), was the head coach of Minsk Dinamo (2004/05), Kemerovo Energia (2005/06), Ekaterinburg Avtomobilist. He worked for Magnitogorsk Metallurg as an assistant general manager, was the head of Irtysh football club, and a scout of the KHL’s Central Scouting Bureau.

Gennady Tsygurov is an outstanding Russian hockey coach.

Born on April 15, 1942 in Chelyabinsk. Spent his entire playing career with local Traktor, played defense. Bronze medalist of the 1977 USSR Championship. Finalist of the 1973 USSR Cup.

Coached SC Uritskogo (Kazan), Traktor (Chelyabinsk), Avangard (Omsk), Lada (Togliatti), Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) and Russian national junior team, was assistant coach of the men’s national team. Led Lada to being ranked first in the country in 1994 and 1996, and to being ranked second in 1993, 1995, 1997. In 1996, his team won the European Cup. In 1999, Russian national junior team coached by Tsygurov, became world champions.  

There are people who represent an entire epoch. And the tougher and more contradictory the times, the brighter the personality. Gennady Tsygurov is one of those who raised Russian hockey from the ashes in the 90s.

He railed against mediocracy and worked toward winning championships. Tsygurov was an old-school coach, which was revealed, among other things, in his love for quotations from the great names. He knew how to get his team primed for the game. He was a strong-willed person. He built and led the team with an iron fist, which could only work up to a certain point, but he could act no otherwise, because he himself was raised that way. Not all players could cope with the workload and the head coach’s stern ways, but in general they knew that Gennady Fedorovich was doing everything for the good of the team.

In 2000 midseason, Tsygurov was hired as Avangard head coach, and the very next season the Omsk team accomplished their highest achievement and won silver medals of Russian championship. The team advanced to the finals with confidence, battled really hard in the series against Magnitogorsk and surpassed themselves. The loss in Game 6 didn’t leave Omsk sorrowing for missing out on gold medals, since the team won the silver. Yes, our hockey players did not manage to take first place, but they did make themselves respected. Russian hockey got another authentic and ambitious team. Avangard made it straight into the top clubs for the long haul.

After Avangard made it all the way to the finals for the first time in its history, excitement about hockey in Omsk arrived at an incredible level. Expectations for the following season were high. But Avangard finished fourth and Tsygurov left the club following the end of the season.

After that, he coached Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod), Kristall (Saratov), HC MVD (Tver), Traktor (Chelyabinsk), Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk), Saryarka (Kazakhstan). Led Lada, Torpedo, HC MVD and Traktor to the Top League.

Valery Belousov is one of the most titled Russian coaches. His name is associated with many victories and feats of Russian hockey.

Born on December 17, 1948 in Verkh-Neyvinsk (present-day Novouralsk), Sverdlovsk region.

He played as a forward for Kedr (Verkh-Neyvinsk), Sputnik (Nizhny Tagil), Traktor (Chelyabinsk), Metallurg (Chelyabinsk), Oji Seishi (Japan). 1976 Canada Cup participant. 1977 USSR Championship bronze medalist. 1971 RSFSR Cup winner, 1973 finalist. Three-time champion of Japan. Traktor’s all-time top scorer. Top scorer of the Ural-Western Siberia region (331 goals).

Three-time Russian Championship bronze medalist and Russian vice-champion as head coach of Traktor. Achieved great success with Magnitogorsk Metallurg. The club became a two-time Russian champion, two-time winner of the European Hockey League, the winner of the Russian Cup and the European Super Cup.

In October 2003, Belousov was hired as Avangard head coach. In 2004, the team won Russian Championship gold medals, and in 2005 – the European Champions Cup. In 2006, Avangard coached by Belousov won Russian Championship silver medals, in 2007 – Russian Championship bronze medals and silver medals at the Continental Cup.

Belousov brought his charisma to his work – and his coaching talent combined with a respect for all the people around him, produced results. He was a maximalist, a coach who is always up to challenging goals. And he demanded the same attitude from everyone he worked with. He formed a fatherly bond with players, was patient and it really spoke to them.

“Respect and love the game of hockey, respect the name on your jersey,” Valery Belousov used to tell his players. And they treated these words as the main rule.

After Avangard, he coached Metallurg (Magnitogorsk), Traktor (Chelyabinsk) and was a member of the Russian national team’s coaching staff.

Born on March 2, 1962 in Jyväskylä, Finland. He played forward for Finnish teams JyP HT (Jyväskylä), Kiekkoreipas (Lahti), Ilves (Tampere), TPS (Turku), HPK (Hämeenlinna), Jokerit (Helsinki), and for the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks in the NHL.

SM-Liiga Champion of 1993 and 1995, SM-Liiga Silver medalist in 1990. Four-time SM-liiga All-Star Team member (1983, 1984, 1989, 1990). 1984 Stanley Cup Champion. Totals 710 games, 364 goals and 351 assists in different leagues and countries. Played 161 games in the NHL, scored 38 goals, was credited with 45 assists and had 35 penalty minutes.

Participant of the 1984 and 1992 Olympic Games, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1995 World Championships, 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup. 1995 world champion.

Started coaching in the 1997/98 season. In 2002, led Jokerit to SM-Liiga champion’s title. In 2005, Finnish national team coached by Summanen, finished second in the World Cup.

Was hired as Avangard head coach in 2010 before the playoffs. Omsk lost the series against Neftekhimik and got eliminated.

In the 2010/11 season, Avangard coached by Summanen finished first in the regular season for the first time in club’s history. The team was 9 points ahead of the second-place finisher Ufa Salavat Yulaev and won the Continental Cup. Avangard had an 18-game winning streak and played solid and exciting hockey. But in the playoffs, the Summanen’s team broke hearts of many fans being eliminated in the second round.

In the decisive game against Magnitogorsk in Omsk, Avangard scored no goals for the first time in the season, lost 0-2 and got eliminated from Gagarin Cup playoffs. Avangard played that game without Summanen behind the bench, who was suddenly relieved of his duties on the same day. After leaving Avangard, Summanen was a coaching consultant with Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland).

On December 15, 2011, the Finnish specialist was again appointed head coach of the Omsk club and replaced Rostislav Cada. The Finnish coach managed to return Avangard’s offensive style in a short space of time. The team reached the finals and were just one step away from gold medals, leading the series 3-1, but then lost three games in a row.

In the summer, Summanen signed one-year extension, but unexpectedly, the coach made an official request to bring the contract to an early termination.

In 2014, Raimo Summanen stepped behind the bench for Avangard again. In the regular season, the team finished fourth in the East, and got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Every time when joining the team, Summanen inspired the team to battle hard. Seeing the team playing hockey the coach believed in, the fans were sure that Avangard would never give up. Summanen’s temperament was his redeeming feature. Following his emotions on the bench during a game and in everyday life was very exciting.

Our hockey history is replete with examples where foreign coaches returned to Russia. But Summanen is in a league of his own in terms of a great amount of fans’ adoration and returning three times to the same club. He remained committed to coaching our team.

The second coming of the Finnish coach was for sure the most successful one. He managed to build a modern close-knit team, which reached the finals at breakneck speed. There weren’t too many big names on the team, but coached by the explosive Finn, Avangard battled hard against Moscow Dynamo and everything was decided by one goal in Game 7. In addition to giving the hope for winning the championship, Summanen ensured the progress of local young players, including Buffalo WJC champions Kalinin and Pivtsakin.

Born on September 7, 1960 in Hawkesbury.

Before the 2018/19 season, 57-year-old Canadian specialist Bob Hartley became the head coach of Avangard. He had spent 14 seasons coaching NHL teams and won championships in every league he coached in. Hartley could step behind the bench for Avangard back in the fall of 2008, and he himself showed interest in working in Omsk, but it wasn’t meant to be.

In his first season with Avangard, Hartley led the team to Gagarin Cup final. The Canadian coach proved that his level is really high. Upper executive management changes and moving to Balashikha due to problems with Omsk arena made Avangard face many objective difficulties. The team was getting the roster in shape when almost all available good players were already signed by other clubs. Hartley did a great job in those settings.

Hartley built a championship-caliber team in a span of three years. He imbued the locker room with the ideas of his system and made every player believe that the system did work and could produce results.

Hartley accomplished a unique achievement, he became the first head coach to win the Stanley Cup, the Gagarin Cup and one of the main European tournaments, the Swiss Championship, not to mention winning the Quebec Junior Hockey League and the Calder Cup (the main AHL trophy).

The main thing that Hartley managed to do in Avangard was build communication and position himself in the right way. Bob came here to win, and he used all his skills and experience to achieve that goal. He made the players believe that they could become champions, but only provided that they meet his requirements.

Hartley was patient with players and worked a lot with young guys. Bob implemented his own system based on a thousand little things. He taught experienced players how to hold their sticks the right way, choose position, and practiced every movement on the ice with them. Of course, Hartley did not win the trophy all by himself. But he was able to surround himself with good people, first of all, the coaching staff.

There is hardly any big secret of Hartley’s success. As a matter of fact, he was his own self – a professional of the highest level who knows what needs to be done to win games. He did win his next trophy, which was Avangard’s first one in 17 years, and etched his name into the history of Omsk hockey.

The Canadian coach led Avangard to two finals and one Gagarin Cup, two Opening Cups and a great deal of unforgettable emotions experienced by fans. For Balashikha and Omsk, he is definitely a winning coach, who united players of different type and built a solid contender for the Gagarin Cup, and, in fact, gave the long-awaited title to the club. For players – a scrupulous and meticulous mentor with rigorous approach.