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NHLGamers, Ak Bars Kazan is a traditional ice hockey club that has been competing at the highest level of the Russian KHL since the leagues inception in 2008, when a total of 20 teams moved over from the former Russian Superleague. The word Ak Bars means comes from the Tatar language, spoken in the Tatarstan region in the southwest of Russia and means snow leopard, a vicious creature that is showcased on the logo of the club. It is the swift movement and vicious attack that the club also looks to emulate on the ice. It's a joy for us to report that AK Bars is among the first KHL clubs to officially announce their esports involvement by signing the roster of EHC Tatneft Ak Bars, formed out of former Arctic Lightning players. The team consists of a rather inexperienced group of players that have earned their stripes in the Russian competitive gaming scene and are now looking to take their success into the European ice by moving up in the ECL ranks. "We had a long discussion about the forming of an esports team for Ak Bars, and the club was fully on board with our ideas, so there weren't really any difficulties in that regard. Our goal is to be competitive at the European level and at the highest Russian level. We're going to start working our way up from ECL Neo and hopefully will qualify for Lite after our first season under the AK Bars colors." - Captain Ivan @Ivanjunior34 Schetina The roster has come together over a longer period of time, when captain Schetina brought together the most skilled players from his former team Arctic Lightning that saw a second round exit in the most recent Russian RCL Cup. "Ehc Tatneft Ak Bars will be fully operating under the Ak Bars organization, the club will be backing us and helping us on our way to hopeful success even on the European ice. We are really happy to be working with such a professional organization." - Schetina on their cooperation with Ak Bars Interestingly enough, Ak Bars will be one of the first clubs to issue a cooperation between two teams at the ECL and RCL level, when EHC Tatneft Ak Bars will be serving as the KHL clubs first team in the esports scene and their second team will be EHC Tatneft Bars. NHLGamer leagues do not allow back and forth transfers between teams during leagues, but according to the club, the objective of their second team is allowing fans of Ak Bars Kazan to get acquainted with esports hockey in a low-pressure environment.

NHLGamers, EHC Amur is one of the newer clubs to be put on the esports map and they're doing so with a bang in representing the famous KHL club Amur Khabarovsk. Located in the city of Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East, the team takes their name from the Amur River. The logo of Amur is a Siberian tiger, sometimes also referred to as the Amur tiger. Due to their geographic isolation from competitors in the KHL, it's been hard for Amur to get proper rivalries going, but that's going to change, since they are together with EHC Tatneft Ak Bars now the two new KHL clubs joining esports competition. The two Russian powerhouses will now be able to fight for the throne of best KHL club on the virtual ice, hopefully with lots of other competition following close behind. The esports roster of EHC Amur has in fact already participated in a few leagues under the KHL clubs name, but their entry to the european ice will be when they really look to come into their own. Captain Taras @Taras Nosulko informs NHLGamer that their roster has been heavily overhauled, with the possibility to still recruit some additional strength if required: "We have quite heavily renewed our team. Several guys were unhappy with their role in the team and we wished them well in future endeavors. Me, Stepan @SteBastian Belyakov and Semyon @Sokollito Sokol are the remaining original members of the club. In net this season I think we have one of the most underestimated and talented goalkeepers in Russia - Vadim @Vadim87 Losev. We're still on the lookout for a strong defenseman to help our journey in the Neo division and in the RCL. Of course I would like to sign one of the talented Finnish or Swedish defenders on the market and we'll be trying our best to accomplish that." "We have to understand that representing HC Amur in the ECL is a privilege and we simply cannot afford to perform poorly. We've already established ourselves in the Russian scene over the summer by conceding minimally to a top team like Exen and imposing a fight on Nova. We always prefer training against high level opponents from the Lite and Pro divisions in order to ready up for the ECL season." Nosulko believes that their cooperation with the KHL club allows their team to up their level on social media and increase visibility also on other channels. The objective is translating this into recruiting better players for the team.