Croatian Ice Hockey League

Croatian Ice Hockey league
2015–16 Croatian Ice Hockey League season
Sport	Ice Hockey
Founded	1991
No. of teams	4
Country(ies)	Croatia
Most recent champion(s)	Medveščak
Most championship(s)	Medveščak (20)
Related competitions	Erste Bank Eishockey Liga

The Croatian Ice Hockey League is the top ice hockey league in Croatia. At the end of the season the Croatian Championship is held. The league is operated by the Croatian Ice Hockey Federation.

History

The league was formed in 1991 with the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Until then Croatian teams played in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League. The hockey teams KHL Mladost and KHL Medvescak were playing in the first division, while KHL Sisak and KHL Zagreb were playing in the second division of the Yugoslav league. The former two were much stronger, but as financing went away their best players did not stay with the clubs. This resulted in a more balanced competition, in which KHL Zagreb went on to win three times in a row. KHL Medvescak however managed to remerge as the country's dominant team, as it won the competition for eleven straight seasons.

Due to the very short duration of the season, Croatian teams often play in other leagues, such as the Slohokej Liga, Erste Bank Eishockey Liga and the now defunct Interliga and Panonian League. In the future there may be other clubs in the league, such as KHL Karlovac. However, any expansion will be slow to come due to lack of funds and indoor ice arenas.

Teams

Team	City/Area	Arena	Capacity	Founded
Current Teams
KHL Medveščak II	Zagreb	Dvorana Velesajam	1,000	2003
KHL Mladost	Zagreb	Dvorana Velesajam	500	1946
KHL Zagreb	Zagreb	Dvorana Velesajam	500	1982
HK Sisak	Sisak	Klizalište Zibel	500	1934
Former Teams
Maribor	Maribor	Tabor Ice Hall	1,000	1993
KHL Medveščak	Zagreb	Dom Sportova	6,000	1961

Champions

until 1991 – Yugoslav Hockey League 1991–92 – Zagreb 1992–93 – Zagreb 1993–94 – Zagreb 1994–95 – Medveščak 1995–96 – Zagreb 1996–97 – Medveščak 1997–98 – Medveščak 1998–99 – Medveščak 1999–2000 – Medveščak 2000–01 – Medveščak

2001–02 – Medveščak 2002–03 – Medveščak 2003–04 – Medveščak 2004–05 – Medveščak 2005–06 – Medveščak 2006–07 – Medveščak 2007–08 – Mladost 2008–09 – Medveščak 2009–10 – Medveščak II 2010–11 – Medveščak 2011–12 – Medveščak 2012–13 – Medveščak II 2013–14 – Medveščak II 2014–15 – Medveščak II 2015–16 – Medveščak II

Club	Croatian Championship won	Total
KHL Medveščak	1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016	20
KHL Zagreb	1992, 1993, 1994, 1996	4
KHL Mladost	2008	1

European Ice Hockey Leagues

International leagues Alps Hockey League - Balkan Ice Hockey League - BeNe League - Kontinental Hockey League - MOL Liga National leagues Armenia - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Iceland - Italy - Kazakhstan - Latvia - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Macedonia - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Romania - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - United Kingdom Defunct leagues Soviet Union - Russia - Czechoslovakia - Yugoslavia - West Germany - East Germany - Ireland - Luxembourg - Malta - Portugal - Alpenliga - Interliga - Inter-National League - North Sea Cup - Panonian League - Eastern European - Balkan League - Baltic League - Carpathian League - Slohokej Liga