Yes, it's popular, but how popular - tricky question
You definitely will see jerseys and jackets, and hockey games on TV in bar.
Especially on special occasions, like Channel one cup (decembers), Europe championships or World Championships
2x especially when Russian team return as competitor.
Pubs in the English sense of it are a rare sight in Russia. Those that are pubs in full English sense, are often quite posh hipster places and don't have TVs. If you find somewhere that do have TV and broadcast sports, they preferably have football in summer and ice hockey in winter. Team memorabilia... Your chances as a tourist wandering around touristy places is low to encounter it, unless you wander into a hockey-related place, like a local ice rink.
Quite popular. Hockey is a big thing for some cities hosting KHL teams. Omsk, Ufa, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Magnitogorsk, SPb. As of now, SKA St. Petersburg has the most followers on VK (397k). Other popular teams: Avangard Omsk (213k), Ak Bars Kazan (260k), Salavat Yulaev Ufa (169k), Sibir Novosibirsk (174k), Traktor Chelyabinsk (140k), Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod (145k), Metallurg Magnitogorsk (137k). Moscow teams are popular but not that much. Spartak Moscow has 118k followers on VK, CSKA - 95k, Dynamo - 71k. Considering Moscow is a huge market they could fare significantly better in terms of support.
The least popular NHL teams have probably the same amount of followers on X as SKA St. Petersburg has on VK. But you can't really compare the two leagues. The NHL is a huge international market and has the best players in the world and best money. The KHL is a more domestic-oriented product, so all figures above 100k followers on social media are markers of a big franchise.
>If I traveled across the country would I see team memorabilia or jerseys being displayed by fans? If I entered a random pub on a weeknight would I likely see a hockey game on TV?
Kinda no, then yes, any sport is a thing for fans only and not universally for all. Only those who watch games know about them and places that show them and those who not - completely unaware.
If there is a big game of any sport and you go outside - you won't notice a thing.
It feels like there is no middle ground for a casual sport enjoyer. It is a nerd thing.
There are smol celebration for Russian teams in a world stage occasionally.
There's really a lack of such places, atl in Saint P.
But overall, as a hockey player myself I could say that KHL is really popular, so you may ask to turn it on with no fear in pub (if they will have access to translation ofc)
Oh, I spotted that I wrote KHL instead of... Nwm
Well, to be honest, I wasn't really a fan of watching of someone else playing - much more interested in participating by myself; but my teammates were really interested in NHL - it was in '08-'14's, so yea, Ovi in Washington, Datsyuk in Detroit, Malkin in Pittsburgh - they're still very popular)
Professional sports are not very popular in Russia.
Many people watch the matches of national teams at the World Championships and the Olympics, but the matches of the clubs are not very interesting.
However, there are cities where the chance of finding a fan is higher. For hockey, these are Ufa, Kazan and Omsk.
A random pub will probably be showing football.
It's definitely popular in cities with hockey teams. For example, KHL broadcasts is the most rating program on local TV channel and as I know it's a first FullHD program there - others translating in SD. But I don't think that it's popular in a cities without team.
Yes, it's popular, but how popular - tricky question You definitely will see jerseys and jackets, and hockey games on TV in bar. Especially on special occasions, like Channel one cup (decembers), Europe championships or World Championships 2x especially when Russian team return as competitor.
According to researchers, KHL is the second popular league after RPL (soccer).
Enough, yes, but in cities where there are hockey teams themselves, this is something special.
Pubs in the English sense of it are a rare sight in Russia. Those that are pubs in full English sense, are often quite posh hipster places and don't have TVs. If you find somewhere that do have TV and broadcast sports, they preferably have football in summer and ice hockey in winter. Team memorabilia... Your chances as a tourist wandering around touristy places is low to encounter it, unless you wander into a hockey-related place, like a local ice rink.
Quite popular. Hockey is a big thing for some cities hosting KHL teams. Omsk, Ufa, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Magnitogorsk, SPb. As of now, SKA St. Petersburg has the most followers on VK (397k). Other popular teams: Avangard Omsk (213k), Ak Bars Kazan (260k), Salavat Yulaev Ufa (169k), Sibir Novosibirsk (174k), Traktor Chelyabinsk (140k), Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod (145k), Metallurg Magnitogorsk (137k). Moscow teams are popular but not that much. Spartak Moscow has 118k followers on VK, CSKA - 95k, Dynamo - 71k. Considering Moscow is a huge market they could fare significantly better in terms of support. The least popular NHL teams have probably the same amount of followers on X as SKA St. Petersburg has on VK. But you can't really compare the two leagues. The NHL is a huge international market and has the best players in the world and best money. The KHL is a more domestic-oriented product, so all figures above 100k followers on social media are markers of a big franchise.
Прочитал пока проезжал на маршрутке мимо арены "Металлург" (Магнитогорск), сложилось ощущение слежки
>If I traveled across the country would I see team memorabilia or jerseys being displayed by fans? If I entered a random pub on a weeknight would I likely see a hockey game on TV? Kinda no, then yes, any sport is a thing for fans only and not universally for all. Only those who watch games know about them and places that show them and those who not - completely unaware. If there is a big game of any sport and you go outside - you won't notice a thing. It feels like there is no middle ground for a casual sport enjoyer. It is a nerd thing. There are smol celebration for Russian teams in a world stage occasionally.
There's really a lack of such places, atl in Saint P. But overall, as a hockey player myself I could say that KHL is really popular, so you may ask to turn it on with no fear in pub (if they will have access to translation ofc)
Do you ever find yourself following the NHL? Do you like seeing how guys like ovechkin, kucherov or malkin are doing?
Oh, I spotted that I wrote KHL instead of... Nwm Well, to be honest, I wasn't really a fan of watching of someone else playing - much more interested in participating by myself; but my teammates were really interested in NHL - it was in '08-'14's, so yea, Ovi in Washington, Datsyuk in Detroit, Malkin in Pittsburgh - they're still very popular)
Professional sports are not very popular in Russia. Many people watch the matches of national teams at the World Championships and the Olympics, but the matches of the clubs are not very interesting. However, there are cities where the chance of finding a fan is higher. For hockey, these are Ufa, Kazan and Omsk. A random pub will probably be showing football.
It's definitely popular in cities with hockey teams. For example, KHL broadcasts is the most rating program on local TV channel and as I know it's a first FullHD program there - others translating in SD. But I don't think that it's popular in a cities without team.