KHC Dragons

Dragons

Full name	Koninklijke Hockey Club Dragons
Nickname(s)	The Reds, The Dragons
League	Men's Belgian Hockey League Women's Belgian Hockey League
Founded	26 October 1946;78 years ago (1946-10-26)
Home ground	The Mansion of Dragons, Brasschaat
Website	Club website
Home Away

Koninklijke Hockey Club Dragons, also known as KHC Dragons or simply Dragons, is a Belgian professional field hockey club based in Brasschaat, Antwerp Province. The club was founded in 1946. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Since the end of the eighties the club competes in Belgium's first tier, Honour Division.

History

HC Dragons were founded on the 26th of October 1946 at Café Royal in Berchem. With only 11 members the club played recreational hockey in the Belgian lower divisions.

Before moving in 1961 to the present location in Brasschaat the club played on different fields around Antwerp. The club's turning point came in 1981 when Jacques Daems became the president of the club. It was his ambition that the club should be one of the best in Belgium. A few years later the club installed its first artificial turf and promoted in 1988 to the Honour Division. A year later the women's team promoted to the Honour Division as well.

In 1996 the club celebrated its 50th anniversary and changed its name to Koninklijke Hockey Club Dragons (Royal Hockey Club Dragons). Meanwhile, the club installed its second artificial turf and the club won its first silverware when the women's team won in 1994 the Belgian double.

Ather the first successes with the women's team, the men's team won its first championship in 1997. Ever since both Dragons men and women are considered Belgian top teams.

Together with the rise of Belgian hockey, Dragons flourished as well at the European level. After winning its 6th national title in 2010 Dragons participated for the first time in the Euro Hockey League. Beating the reigning UHC Hamburg. One year later Dragons won the Bronze medal and played the EHL final 2013.

Besides the successes, the club kept growing in numbers and added a third artificial turf in 2013. In 2015 Dragons was the host of the World League Semi-Final and added even a fourth field. At the moment KHC Dragons count 1500 members and are the biggest hockey club in Belgium.

Pronunciation

In English communication, the club is often pronounced in an English manner. Officially though, the club has to be pronounced in the French way (drʁagõ) without 's'.

Therefore, the Dragons (De Draken) is a nickname for the players. (sometimes female players are referred to as Dragonettes).

Players

Current squad

Men's squad

As of 2021–22 ^[4]

Head coach: Dennis Dijkshoorn

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 MF   BEL Victor Foubert 2 GK   BEL Loic Van Doren 4 MF   BEL Lucas Putters 5 DF   BEL Max Lootens 7 MF   BEL Robbert Rubens 8 GK   BEL Vincent Schroyen 9 DF   BEL Mathew Cobbaert 10 FW   ARG Nicolás Della Torre 11 FW   BEL Florent Van Aubel

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 DF   BEL Timothy Luyten 13 MF   BEL Simon Gougnard 17 DF   BEL Sebastiaan Geers 19 MF   BEL Félix Denayer (Captain) 20 DF   BEL Robert Snoeck 21 GK   BEL Frédréric Beeckman 22 FW   ARG Lucas Martínez 23 FW   BEL Henri Raes 27 DF   IRE Conor Harte

Women's squad

As of 2021–22 ^[5]

Head coach: Justus Robert

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   BEL Marie Goethals De Mude 2 GK   NED Roos Knijff 3 MF   ARG Rocio Emme 5 DF   BEL Stephanie De Groof (Captain) 7 DF   BEL Ophélie Marien 8 MF   GER Anabel Herzsprung 9 MF   NED Imke Verstraeten 10 FW   NED Fleur Broers 11 MF   NED Valerie Magis

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 MF   BEL Fleur Verboven 14 FW   BEL Manon Simons 15 FW   BEL Abigail Raye 17 MF   BEL Delphine Marien 18 FW   BEL Margaux Struyf 23 MF   ARG Jimena Cedrés 24 DF   BEL Carolien Jakus 25 DF   URU Manuela Vilar del Valle

Notable players

Men's internationals

  Belgium

Thomas Briels Félix Denayer Loïck Luypaert Xavier Reckinger

Jeffrey Thys Florent van Aubel Arthur Van Doren Victor Wegnez

  Ireland

Joe Brennan Stephen Butler Kyle Good Eugene Magee Geoff McCabe

Shane O'Donoghue Graham Shaw Kirk Shimmins Michael Watt

Source: ^{[6] [7]}

Women's internationals

  Belgium

• Louise Cavenaile
• Stephanie De Groof

  Ireland

• Emily Beatty
• Kate Lloyd
• Shirley McCay

  Italy

• Chiara Tiddi

Source: ^[8]

Honours

Men

Belgian Hockey League

• Winners (12): 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21

Euro Hockey League

• Runners-up (1): 2012–13

EuroHockey Club Trophy

• Winners (1): 2001
• Runners-up (1): 1998

EuroHockey Cup Winners Trophy

• Winners (2): 2003, 2005

Belgian Cup

• Winners (3): 1993, 2002, 2005

Belgian Indoor Championship

• Winners (1): 1999

Women

Belgian Hockey League

• Winners (1): 1993–94

EuroHockey Club Trophy

• Winners (1): 2022

Belgian Cup

• Winners (2): 1994, 2005

Belgian Indoor Championship

• Winners (1): 1997

References

1. ":: KHC Dragons ::" . Retrieved 2015-02-01.
2. "KHC Dragons - Twitter" . Retrieved 2015-02-01.
3. "Championnat de Belgique de hockey - Competitions" . Retrieved 2015-02-01.
4. "Club detail Dragons - Men".
5. "Club detail Dragons -Women".
6. "O'Donoghue and Good continue Dragons' Irish connection". ehlhockey.tv. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
7. "Shimmins set to breathe fire with Dragons next season". www.hookhockey.com. 13 June 2018. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
8. "Beatty, Lloyd and Carey set for foreign pastures". www.hookhockey.com. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.