Ice hockey in Slovenia

Last updated

Ice hockey in Slovenia
VSV vs HK Jesenice 2006.jpg
CountrySlovenia
Governing body Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia
National team(s) Men's national team;
Women's national team
National competitions

Ice hockey in Slovenia is a popular sport governed by the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia (Hokejska zveza Slovenije). Slovenia is participating in the international ice hockey as an independent nation since 1991, when the country gained independence from SFR Yugoslavia. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

History

Ice hockey came to the territories that are today part of Slovenia in the late twenties, when it was promoted by Stanko Bloudek. First ice hockey match was played by Ilirija and Kamnik on 7. February 1932. Ilirija had no competition in Kingdom of Yugoslavia and they had to wait until new clubs were founded in Zagreb and Karlovac. In 1939 Ilrija squad and three players from Zagreb formed Yugoslavia national ice hockey team, which played on World Ice Hockey Championships in Switzerland. In the same year Yugoslav Ice Hockey League was first played and Ilirija won all the titles until the World War II.

After the war Socialist Yugoslavia was formed and other republics took primacy in yugoslav ice hockey. SR Slovenia was at first represented in yugoslav league only by a team from Ljubljana, later named HK Olimpija, that lost pre-war strength and won its first title only in 1972. Game spread and Ljubljana was soon joined with new teams from Jesenice, Celje, Vevče and Brežice. Specially HK Jesenice became a force in yugoslav ice hockey, they won first league title in 1957 and went on to win 23 titles until 1991. Slovenian players of Jesenice and Olimpija had main role in yugoslav national team, that never managed any major results at international competitions. The biggest success of Yugoslavia was winning Group B at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Zvone Šuvak (Jesenice) is national team all-time top scorer, while Edo Hafner (Jesenice) earned most caps.

After the Independence of Slovenia in 1991 local clubs from yugoslav leagues formed Slovenian Ice Hockey League. In the same year Slovenia national ice hockey team was formed, playing their first official match in Austria in 1992.

Notable players

Anže Kopitar and Jan Muršak are the two slovenians to have played in the NHL.

European Leagues

Rudi Hiti played for HC Alleghe

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HK Acroni Jesenice</span> Ice hockey team in Jesenice, Slovenia

Hokejski klub Acroni Jesenice, commonly referred to as HK Acroni Jesenice or simply Jesenice, was a Slovenian ice hockey team from Jesenice that last played in the Austrian Erste Bank Hockey League and the Slovenian Ice Hockey League. They played their home games at the Podmežakla Hall. Throughout its history, the club was regarded as one of the most successful clubs in Slovenian and Yugoslav ice hockey. In September 2012, the club filed for bankruptcy and was dissolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HDD Olimpija Ljubljana</span> Ice hockey team in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Hokejsko drsalno društvo Olimpija Ljubljana, commonly referred to as HDD Olimpija or simply Olimpija, was a Slovenian professional ice hockey club from Ljubljana. They played their home games at the Tivoli Hall. Olimpija has won 13 Yugoslav championships and 15 Slovenian championships. They won ten consecutive titles between 1995 and 2004.

The Alpenliga was an international professional ice hockey league which existed between 1991 and 1999. It was contested by club teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kristan</span> Slovenian professional goaltender (born 1983)

Robert Kristan is a Slovenian professional goaltender who last played for HK Olimpija in the Alps Hockey League.

Football in Slovenia is governed by the Football Association of Slovenia. Slovenia has been participating in international football as an independent country since 1991, when the country gained independence from SFR Yugoslavia. The Slovenia national football team has qualified for four major tournaments.

Rudolf Hiti is a retired Slovenian ice hockey player and coach. In Slovenia he played for HK Kranjska Gora, HK Acroni Jesenice and HDD Olimpija Ljubljana, winning the Yugoslav league four times. Later he played in Italy, winning the Italian league three times with HC Bolzano, where his #13 jersey was retired. He played at 17 World Championships for Yugoslavia, which is a world record, and two Olympic Games. In 1970 he was close to signing for NHL club Chicago Blackhawks, but an injury on the first friendly game for Blackhawks prevented him from signing the contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KHL Medveščak Zagreb</span> Croatian ice hockey team

KHL Medveščak Admiral, also known as KHL Medveščak Zagreb, is a Croatian professional ice hockey team based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the Medveščak area in central Zagreb, with KHL the abbreviation of the Croatian words for ice hockey club. It is by far the most successful and popular ice hockey team in the country.

The Yugoslav Ice Hockey League was the top ice hockey league in the old Yugoslavia.

The 2008–09 Slovenian Hockey League season was the 18th season of the Slovenian Ice Hockey League. The competition was mostly made up of teams from Slovenia, but there were also two teams from Croatia.

Sport in Slovenia consists of a wide range of team and individual sports. The most popular team sports are football, basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, and handball. While the most popular individual sports are skiing, ski jumping, athletics, cycling, and tennis. Slovenia has competed at fifteen Olympic Games since its inaugural appearance at the 1992 Winter Olympics and is also known for its extreme sport athletes, such as ultramarathon swimmer Martin Strel and extreme skier Davo Karničar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005)</span> Football club

Nogometni klub Olimpija Ljubljana, commonly referred to as NK Olimpija Ljubljana or simply Olimpija, was a Slovenian association football club based in Ljubljana. The club was founded in 1945 as NK Enotnost and adopted the name Olimpija in 1962.

Klemen "Klem" Mohorič is a retired Slovenian professional ice hockey goaltender. He spent the majority of his career with the HDD Olimpija Ljubljana of the Slovenian Ice Hockey Championship.

The 1973–74 Yugoslav Ice Hockey League season was the 32nd season of the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Yugoslavia. 14 teams participated in the league, and Olimpija have won the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ND Ilirija 1911</span> Slovenian football club

Nogometno društvo Ilirija 1911 is a Slovenian football club based in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital, that competes in the Slovenian Second League, the second tier of football in the country. The club was founded in June 1911 and is the oldest still active football club in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorazd Hiti</span> Ice hockey player

Gorazd Hiti is a retired Slovenian professional ice hockey player.

Murajica Pajič is a retired Slovenian ice hockey player.

Toni Tislar is a retired Slovenian professional ice hockey player.

The Slovenian Ice Hockey Cup is the national ice hockey cup in Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HK Olimpija</span> Slovenian ice hockey club

Hokejski klub Olimpija Ljubljana is a professional ice hockey club from Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the ICE Hockey League and the Slovenian Championship. Founded in 2004 as a farm team of HDD Olimpija, the club turned professional in 2017 after HDD Olimpija folded. Olimpija won the Slovenian Championship four times, in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and the Alps Hockey League twice, in 2019 and 2021. They play their home games at Tivoli Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HDD Jesenice</span> Slovenian ice hockey team

Hokejsko drsalno društvo Jesenice or simply HDD Jesenice, currently named SIJ Acroni Jesenice due to sponsorship reasons, is a Slovenian ice hockey team based in Jesenice. They are members of the Alps Hockey League and the Slovenian Ice Hockey League. HDD Jesenice was founded in 2014. The club replaced a temporary team called Team Jesenice, which was established in 2013. HDD Jesenice previously competed in the Inter-National League from 2014 to 2016, before the league merged into the Alps Hockey League. The club won their first Slovenian Championship in the 2014–15 season and as a result qualified for the 2015–16 IIHF Continental Cup. Their home arena is Podmežakla Hall.

References

  1. ↑ Greg Wyshynski (2014-02-18). "Slovenia's miracle on ice continues; Swedes up next for 'Slovenderella'". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  2. ↑ "Slovenia hockey becoming feel-good story of 2014 Winter Olympic ice hockey with quarter-final berth | The National". Thenational.ae. 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  3. ↑ "Slovenia's ice hockey team secure Olympic berth". Sloveniatimes.com. 2016-09-05. Archived from the original on 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  4. ↑ "Devoted Coach and Gifted Son Lead Slovenia to Hockey Heights". The New York Times . Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  5. ↑ "Ice hockey: Slovenia extend magical run into quarters | SBS News". Sbs.com.au. 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  6. ↑ "STA: Slovenia's ice hockey team secure Olympic berth". English.sta.si. 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  7. ↑ "News". Slovenia.si. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
Icehockeylayout.svg

This ice hockey article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.