The first MVP and the first to win the Golden Stick award was Ak Bars forward Danis Zaripov, seen here receiving the award from KHL President Alexander Medvedev and singing star Oleg Gazmanov.
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov
In 2013, the stars who stole the show were the young ladies who brought the prizes to the stage, and here we can see one of the most popular innovations introduced that year to the event – body-art, depicting the KHL logo.
Photo: Alexei Bezzubov
2015 was the year in which SKA won its first crown, and therefore, many of the Petersburg Army Men were among those having their exploits rewarded.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
With so many famous names from sport and entertainment gathered in one place, it was a great evening for selfies with the stars, with Mozyakin the master marksman in particular demand – here the great forward is out of shot, to the left of TV stars Mikhail Galustyan and Tina Kandelaki.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
The following year, the Ceremony was held at one of Moscow's plushest nightclubs.
Photo: Denis Moskvinov
This year was almost a solo show by Sergei Mozyakin, who collected the awards for being the top scorer and the top sniper of the regular season, won the Golden Stick, formed part of the top-scoring forward line and was selected for the Team of the Year.
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov
A year later, and the trophy was heading back East to Magnitogorsk, and guarding the Gagarin Cup on its plinth at the Closing Ceremony were two Knights in Shining Armor. Sergei Mozyakin and Jan Kovar were no doubt relieved that they had not faced this particular defensive pairing on their way to winning the title.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
Presenting Anton Belov with his MVP award was one of the foremost stars of Russian pop, Valerya, along with her husband and producer, Josif Prigozhin.
Photo: Andrei Golovanov
Here are pictured several of the award-winners of the 2009-10 season together with those presenting them with their prizes: Alexander Radulov, Sergei Gimaev, Mikhail Tyurkin, Dmitry Kalinin, Michael Garnett, Marcel Hossa, Alexander Medvedev, Alexei Yashin, and Anatoly Nikontsev.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
For the second successive year, Oleg Znarok won the coach of the year award, and he was handed the prize by the renowned two-time Olympic champion Boris Mikhailov.
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov
From the iron-clad men to the men of iron – in 2016, Danis Zaripov collected the Iron Man award for making the most League appearances over the previous three seasons, and presenting the award was three-time Olympic wrestling champion Alexander Karepin.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
Do not forget to mark the time in your diaries: on Wednesday, the 23rd of May, at 19:40 Moscow Time, the Closing Ceremony of the tenth season of the KHL Championship gets underway. Let us see out this great season of hockey together!
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
The 2010 award for the best coach of the year went to HC MVD boss Oleg Znarok, who guided the Moscow Region outsider all the way to the Gagarin Cup final. Within only three years, Znarok would already be a two-time KHL champion, and he since added a third Gagarin Cup to his collection.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
In 2014, Mr Mikhailov returned to the stage, this time to give yet another Golden Stick award to Sergei Mozyakin, who within a few years would surpass the two-time Olympic champion's scoring record.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
Hosting the 2015-16 event were some of Russia's best-known presenters from the world of TV sport: Sofia Tartakova, Dmitry Guberniev, Natalia Clark and Denis Kazansky.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
The 2011-12 season was a triumphant one for Salavat Yulaev, and Alexander Radulov collected his second Golden Stick award. He is pictured here, but not easy to spot.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
Among those taking part in the Ceremony was singer Polina Gagarina, who a year later was runner-up in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
Last year, the grand finale was held in the prestigious Moscow Region village of Barvikha, with a red carpet leading all the way to the concert hall entrance. All those in attendance - such as Alexei Morozov and his wife, Irina – could feel like movie stars arriving for a premiere.
Photo: Andrei Golovanov
Atlant's Konstantin Barulin had his heroics recognised when he was presented with the award for the best goalie of the season, and he attended the gala evening with his wife, Natalya.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
In the ceremony marking the end of the 2013-14 season, Magnitka boss Mike Keenan accepted the award for the best coach of the year from the legendary Viktor Tikhonov, who sadly departed this world within months of attending this event.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
The red carpet led to the Lady in Red (for pop ballad fans) or Woman in Red (for those who prefer references to gangster movies) – our own beautiful presenter of the beautiful game, Daria Mironova.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
A year later, and the dominant presence in the KHL, and therefore at the Closing Ceremony, was that of Dynamo Moscow. Here is the Blue-and-Whites' forward and occasional opera singer, Mikhail Anisin, who was the top sniper of the playoffs.
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov
Chairman of the KHL Board of Directors Gennady Timchenko is regularly tasked with opening the Closing Ceremony, and 2015 was no exception.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
The front row was reserved for the management, and here in the foreground we see Chairman of the KHL Board of Directors Gennady Timchenko, KHL President Dmitry Chernyshenko, and Minister of Sport Pavel Korobkov.
Photo: Andrei Golovanov
The first ever KHL Closing Ceremony took place in Moscow's Novaya Opera theater on the 15th of May, 2009.
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov
The Ceremony was held at Moscow's Izvestia Hall, with a stage large enough to accompany many musicians.
Photo: Alexei Bezzubov
Sometimes the organizers spring surprises on the guests with the choice of personnel to present the awards, and this year the best club doctor award was presented by a famous Russian TV doctor, Elena Malysheva.
Photo: Yury Kuzmin
Once again, it was the year of Sergei Mozyakin, who passed the magic 1,000-point milestone, and as a surprise the League brought onto the stage Sergei's childhood coach, Gennady Khaletsky.
Photo: Andrei Golovanov
