The Kontinental Hockey League has announced the four-team mini-tournament format for the 2027 KHL All-Star Game, which will take place in Minsk on February 6 and 7.
According to a statement published on the league's official website on Friday, Belarus will field its own standalone team at the showcase for the first time in KHL All-Star Game history. All matches during the two-day weekend event will be played at Minsk-Arena in the Belarusian capital.
The host squad, named KHL BLR Stars, will be made up of Belarusian hockey players drawn from local club Dinamo Minsk as well as other teams across the league. They will compete against three other select sides: KHL World Stars, KHL RUS Stars and KHL U23 Stars.
Team selection rules and roster breakdown
League officials stated that rosters for the three visiting teams will be selected from the remaining 21 clubs in the competition. KHL RUS Stars will bring together the top Russian players in the league, while KHL World Stars will feature foreign imports competing in the KHL alongside players from Kazakhstan.
The fourth side, KHL U23 Stars, is reserved for young talent and will comprise players born on or after January 1, 2004. Each of the four rosters is structured to pit the host nation's top players against veteran domestic stars, international imports and the league's under-23 generation.
The league noted that this updated principle for building the All-Star teams was first trialled in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. According to the KHL, the revised format received positive feedback from participating players, coaches and supporters.
Belarusian hockey presence and Andrei Stas milestone
In announcing the host team, the league highlighted that Belarusian players have been a prominent part of the KHL since its inaugural season. Veteran Belarusian forward Andrei Stas is one of only five players to have appeared in every single KHL campaign and one of just six skaters to have played more than 1,000 games in the league.
Founded in 2008, the Kontinental Hockey League is the premier professional ice hockey competition in Eurasia, bringing together clubs from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and China. Dinamo Minsk has served as Belarus's representative in the competition since that opening season and plays its home games at Minsk-Arena, one of the largest indoor ice hockey venues in Europe.
With the tournament format and age criteria confirmed, the league will select rosters from Dinamo Minsk and its other 21 member clubs ahead of the All-Star weekend on February 6 and 7, 2027.
