Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is the only semi-professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond (NIJB; English: "Dutch Ice Hockey Federation") and sanctioned by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation. Formed in 1945 and playing continuously since 1964, the league currently has six teams in the Netherlands and one in Belgium. The league features a mix of Dutch, European and overseas players. The winner of the Eredivisie is crowned the Dutch National Champion and represents the Netherlands in the IIHF Continental Cup.

Teams
The current teams of the league are:

Format
The league's format changes from year to year depending on the number of teams and the format of the Dutch Cup Tournament. Currently, the league has a 36-game regular season, followed by a best-of five semi-finals amongst the top five qualifiers and a best-of-five final for the Dutch championship.

Formation
The Dutch ice hockey Eredivisie was formed after World War II, with teams in Amsterdam, The Hague and Tilburg. It suspended operations from 1950 to 1964, but has organized a season of competition annually ever since. Over the years the number of teams competing fluctuated between 3 and 10 (currently 7), and the number of games played in the regular season between 4 and 36.

Recent History
For the 2008-2009 Eredivisie season, the Utrecht Dragons and Eindhoven Kemphanen joined the league. In 2009-2010, Utrecht returned to the Eerste Divisie. Prior to the 2010-2011 season, Amstel Tijgers, one of the oldest teams in the league, dropped out, as did Groningen Grizzlies after three seasons, due to poor results on the ice and low revenues. In 2010, a new team, the Zoetermeer Panthers, won the Dutch Cup but dropped out of the first North Sea Cup tournament due to financial problems.

For two seasons, 2010-11 and 2011-12, the league's regular season consisted of a tournament with several Belgian teams called the North Sea Cup. The two countries maintained distinct national cups and national championship playoffs during these years. The Belgian teams, namely HYC Herentals, Turnhout White Caps, and Leuven Chiefs, struggled on and off the ice in the new league, with smaller budgets and fewer imported players than their Dutch counterparts. By the end of the second North Sea Cup season, Leuven and Turnhout had dropped out of the league. The North Sea Cup was disbanded in the summer of 2012 when the lone remaining Belgian team, HYC Herentals, was admitted as a full member of the Dutch Eredivisie.

Other Leagues
In the Netherlands, below the Eredivisie is the Eerste Divisie (First Division), the country's top amateur ice hockey league. There is no relegation or promotion between the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie, although some cities (such as Tilburg, Amsterdam and The Hague) have a professional team in the Eredivisie and a separate but similarly-named amateur team in the Eerste Divisie. All other Dutch hockey leagues are recreational leagues. Dutch Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie teams currently compete against each other for the Dutch Cup, a tournament that is played before and during the Eredivisie regular season.

In Belgium, the Belgian National League operates as the league with the top Belgian teams, apart from HYC Herentals which plays in the Eredivisie. Herentals competes in the Belgian Cup tournament but in the Dutch national championship tournament.

Champions
Dutch Eredivisie national champions since 1946: