1st Czech Republic Hockey League

Last updated
Maxa liga
Upcoming season or competition:
Hockey current event.svg 2024–25 Czech 1. Liga season
Maxa liga, 1st Czech Republic Hockey League, 2024.png
Sport Ice hockey
Founded1993
No. of teams14
CountryFlag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
Most recent
champion(s)		 VHK Vsetín (2nd title)
Promotion to Czech Extraliga
Relegation to Czech 2.liga
Related
competitions		 Czech Extraliga
Czech 2.liga
Official website hokej.cz/maxa-liga

The Maxa liga [1] is the second-highest level of professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic, after the Extraliga. It began in 1993 and is run and administered by Czech Ice Hockey Association.

Contents

Until 2015, the league was known as the 1st Czech National Hockey League. It was then known as the WSM Liga until 2018, [2] and the Chance Liga until 2024. [3]

Format (2023-24)

In the first phase, every team plays each other four times—twice at home and twice away—which makes for a 52-game regular season.

After the 52-game regular season, the first six teams directly qualify for the quarter-finals, while teams which placed 7 to 10 play a round-robin to determine the final two participants in the quarter-finals.

The playoffs end with the finals, with the winning team go on to face the bottom team from the Extraliga in a round-robin. The winner of the round-robin is promoted to Extraliga for the following season.

The last placed team at the end of the regular season is directly relegated to the Second League for the following season. They are replaced by the winner of a 3 team round-robin group between the winners of the East, the Central and the West divisions of the Second League.

Three points are awarded for a win in regulation time and two points for an overtime or shootout victory, while the team defeated in overtime or shootout gets one point.

The level of 1. národní hokejová liga is slightly lower than the Czech Extraliga, but there are a lot of players moving between those two leagues every season. Each team in this league is allowed to have five imports. The league has no salary cap, with an average salary of USD 2200 per month, but some of the best players reportedly sign contracts for more than USD 5000 per month, plus most of the teams cover accommodation expenses for their players during the season.

Chance Liga (2018-2024) 1st Czech Republic Hockey League logo.png
Chance Liga (2018–2024)

Current teams (2023-24)

TeamCityArenaCapacityAffiliate Team
HC Baník Sokolov Sokolov Zimni stadion Sokolov5,000independent
VHK ROBE Vsetín Vsetín Zimní stadion Na Lapači 5,386independent
HC Slavia Praha Prague Zimní stadion Eden 4,000independent
HC Stadion Litoměřice Litoměřice Kalich arena 1,750independent
HC ZUBR Přerov Přerov Zimní stadion Přerov3,000independent
HC Frýdek-Místek Frýdek-Místek Hala Polárka 2,056 HC Oceláři Třinec (ELH)
LHK Jestřábi Prostějov Prostějov Zimní hokejový stadion Prostějov5,125independent
HC Dukla Jihlava Jihlava CZ LOKO Arena 6,500independent
SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč Třebíč Zimní stadion města Třebíče5,000independent
HC RT TORAX Poruba Poruba Zimní stadion Ostrava - Poruba5,000independent
HC Dynamo Pardubice B Chrudim Zimní stadion Chrudim1,744 HC Dynamo Pardubice (ELH)
SC Kolín Kolín Zimní stadion Kolín5,500 Mountfield HK (ELH)
Piráti Chomutov Chomutov Rocknet Arena 4,020 HC Litvínov (ELH)
Berani Zlin Zlín Zimní stadion Luďka Čajky 7,000independent

Champions

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ Čekal, Tomáš (21 June 2024). "Hokejová Chance liga se nově stává Maxa ligou". BPA sport marketing (Press release). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "WSM Liga další čtyři sezony! Svaz prodloužil spolupráci s WSM do jara 2020". Hokej.cz. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "Chance liga. Druhá nejvyšší hokejová soutěž změní název". iDNES.cz . Mafra. Czech News Agency. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
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