Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a country in Central Asia. Astana is the capital, and Almaty is the largest city. Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

History of hockey in Kazakhstan
The first ice hockey teams in Kazakhstan were founded in the 1950's. The Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1991 as part of the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation. After the Soviet Union disintegrated, the federation became independent, and the country joined the IIHF in 1992.

Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk became the first Kazakh team to play in the Soviet Championship League in the 1987-88 season. After the country became independent, the Kazakhstani Championship was founded for the 1992-93 season. Kazzinc-Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk has won the most titles with 13. The Kazakhstan Cup was first contested during the 2001-02 season. Kazzinc-Torpedo has won four of the eight Cups.

The men's national team frequently represented the Kazakh SSR at the Winter Spartakiad when the country was part of the Soviet Union. After becoming independent, the country played its first game in April, 1992, against Ukraine, winning 5-1. They participated in the 1992 World Championship Group C Qualification tournament, and qualified for the 1993 World Championship Pool C tournament. They were promoted to Pool B in 1997, and made their debut in the top division the following year. They participated in the Olympics in 1998, finishing in eighth place, and 2006, finishing in ninth place. They first participated in the Asian Winter Games in 1996, and have won the gold medal three times, and the silver medal twice.

The women's national team has participated yearly in the Women's World Championships since 2000. Their best finish was sixth place in 2009. They finished in eighth place at the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City. In five Asian Winter Games, they have won three gold and two bronze medals. The Women's U18 national team made its international debut in 2007.

The junior national team participated in the World Junior Championship Group C Qualification tournament in 1992, 1993, and 1994. They first participated in the C2 Pool of the World Junior Championship in 1995. Their best finish was sixth place in the top division 1999. The U18 national team won three gold medals and two silver medals at the IIHF Asian Oceanic U18 Championships.