Translated, the Cyrillic up top reads “Kontinental Hockey League,” and that’s the name of Russia’s major professional hockey league. Actually, the KHL is technically an international league. Of its 24 teams, 21 are Russian, but there’s a squad from Belarus, another from Latvia, and the glorious nation of Kazakhstan has a franchise too.

The KHL’s still in its infancy – only been around since 2008, when it was formed from the ashes of the Russian Superleague, which in turn evolved from the old Soviet League. Nevertheless, the KHL’s birth made big waves across the Atlantic, as billionaire Russian oil barons like Roman Abramovich (who also owns Chelsea F.C.) put their petrodollars to work by offering erstwhile stars like Jaromir Jagr a place to play (and get paid) on the continent, closer to home.

Yeah, right from the start, worried NHL execs have been freaking out about the prospect of competing for top European talent with a cash-heavy Russian upstart league that was already getting into contract disputes with American clubs. By offering young dudes a chance to skip the trip to the States while still making dough, and old dogs like Alexei Yashin an opportunity to reclaim their former glory on their own turf, the KHL poses a significant threat to the NHL’s heretofore unrivaled global dominance of professional hockey.

For now, and probably for the foreseeable future, the KHL isn’t pulling any names bigger than Jagr and Yashin. They’ll get guys like Ray Emery – who played there last year, punched a trainer who tried to put a hat on him after he was pulled, and is now back in the NHL – but superhumans like Alex Ovechkin will still ply their trade here in North America.

But this may not always be the case. Hell, this summer, Vladimir Putin himself publicly promoted plans for the KHL’s expansion into Scandinavia and the Czech Republic. Shit’s getting deep and geopolitical. And just look at this fucking awesome trophy they’ve got – it’s called the Gagarin Cup, named after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

I love the pucks in it. And check out this shot of the inaugural champs, Ak Bars Kazan (roughly translated as Kazan Snow Leopards), drinking out of the Cup, all happy and shit.

Anyways, the occasion for this look at the KHL is the league’s recent launch of an English version of its website. It’s actually pretty decent, and where else are you gonna keep tabs on Ak Bars, Metallurg NK, Lokomotiv, and all the rest? If for no other reason, visit the site to check out the alien-yet-familiar team logos. Naturally, I like Dinamo Minsk’s frosty-looking bison, even though their team apparently sucks.

And Dinamo Riga’s long-tongue double cat D is pretty formidable, too.

Makes the Detroit Lions look tame in comparison. Interesting side note: There are three KHL teams named Dinamo – although Dynamo Moscow spells it with a “y” – and they’re all in the Bobrov division. The name “Dinamo” is apparently common for Russian clubs in all sports and comes from an old Soviet Union athletic training society that dates back to 1923, spread all over the country, and was closely linked with the KGB.

Anyways, that’s the KHL. Let’s see these logos on some New Eras already.

- Caps