KHL Sisak

KHL Sisak
Nickname	The Knights
City	Sisak, Croatia
League	Croatian Ice Hockey League 1992–present Alps Hockey League 2024–present International Hockey League 2021–2024 Yugoslav Hockey League 1938–1991
Founded	1934
Home arena	Ledena dvorana Zibel (capacity: 1,960)
Colours
General manager	Duško Berendika
Head coach	Josh Siembida
Captain	Ivan Puzić
Website	www.khl-sisak.hr
Franchise history
1934–1938	ŠK Slavija
1938–1942	HAŠK
1946–1952	FD Naprijed
1952–1965	SD Segesta
1965–1972	KKHLK Segesta
1972–2008	HK INA
2008–2010	HK Sisak
2010–present	Klub hokeja na ledu Sisak

KHL Sisak is a Croatian professional ice hockey team that plays in the Croatian Ice Hockey League and the Alps Hockey League. They play their home games at Ledena dvorana Zibel, which was renovated in 2018.

History

The first hockey game was played in Sisak in 1930. It was played between the students of the 7'th High School. Over the years they played partial and irregular matches, mostly between students. Then, at the end 1934, the sports society "Slavia" organized a hockey club. The new Sisak club had its first success at the championship of Yugoslavia in 1937. The players were: Vjenceslav Holubek, Vladimir Berghauer, Želimir Golder, Josip Kovačić, Mate Starčević, Oliver Pötzl, Franjo Knebl, Branko Herlinger and Joža Stampf. At that time, Pötzl and Berghauer were members of the national team. In season 1938/39 the club participated in the Yugoslav League Croatian division, with teams from Zagreb, Karlovac, and Varaždin. In 1958 and 1959 Sisak hockey players won the Croatian championship and became members of the Federal League. In 1961 they went on to become Croatian ice hockey champions, formed the club "Segesta", and played their first game against Zagreb's newly formed team Medveščak. Late in 1971 the "Recreational Center Zibel" rink was finished and the first international hockey match in Sisak was played between Medveščak and Tesla Pardubice from Czech Republic.

Hockey has continued to evolve in Yugoslavia; Sisak was sponsored by INA oil company and bore their name. "INA" Sisak repeatedly won first place in the second division of the state championships, and appeared in the first division. Through several years of play, with greater or lesser success, Sisak's young hockey players from the club "INA" became the junior Croatian champions in 1979. In the 1980/81 Croatian league season, the youngest "INA" team won the championship. The club prospered until the war in the '90s, and has come back afterwards, slowly picking up pace as circumstances allowed. New generations took over, keeping the oldest Croatian club alive, now known as ice hockey club "Sisak."

Club identity

KHL Sisak's traditional colours are blue and green. These two colours are consistent with the colours of the flag of Sisak. The club plays home matches in mostly blue uniform, while the away uniform is predominantly white. The badge represents a knight, holding an ice hockey stick. The knight is also one of the city symbols, representing its rich history. KHL Sisak's nickname is Vitezovi (The Knights).

Honours

Croatian Ice Hockey League

• Winners (2): 2021–22, 2023–24
• Runners-up (1): 2022–23

Sponsors

KHL Sisak sponsors include companies such as OTP banka, Renaissance Capital, DELTA MM STEELIX, Maxam Detines and Minoa automobiles.

KHL Sisak in Europe

After winning Croatian Ice Hockey League in 2021/22, KHL Sisak qualified for the first time in the IIHF Continental Cup. The draw placed KHL Sisak in group A together with Tartu Kalev-Välk, HC NSA Sofia, and Skautafélag Akureyrar. In the final group match in Sofia, Sisak secured their historic first qualification for the second round with a win against hosts NSA Sofia.

IIHF Continental Cup

Season	Round	Club	Score	Aggregate
2022–23	First stage (Sofia, Bulgaria)	Tartu Kalev-Välk	2–7	1st place
		Skautafélag Akureyrar	2–6
		HC NSA Sofia	9–6
	Second stage (Angers, France)	SC Miercurea Ciuc	5–0	4th place
		Ducs d'Angers	0–12
		Ferencvárosi TC (ice hockey)	10–2
2024–25	First stage (Sofia, Bulgaria)	SKHL Crvena zvezda	1–7	1st place
		Bulldogs Liège	6–1
		Irbis-Skate Sofia	15–1
	Second stage (Ritten, Italy)	HDD Jesenice	1–3	3rd place
		Ritten Sport	2–10
		Sokil Kyiv	4–2

Players

Current roster

Source: ^{[1] [2]} As of: July 31, 2024

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
29		Vilim Rosandić	G	L	28	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
32		Nikša Slade	G	L	17	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
2		Niko Mikkola (ice hockey player)	D/F	R	27	2024	Oulu, Finland
96		Marko Baždar	D	L	18	2023	Sisak, Croatia
21		Niko Čavlović	D	R	21	2023	Zagreb, Croatia
97		Marko Vukadin	D	L	19	2023	Zagreb, Croatia
18		Tyrone Bronte	F	R	25	2023	Melbourne, Australia
41		Lovro Slovinac	D	L	19	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
16		Carson Brière (ice hockey player)	C/RW	R	25	2024	Haddonfield, New Jersey
24		Ivan Puzić  ( A )	D	L	28	2021	Zagreb, Croatia
91		Bruno Idžan	F	L	18	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
20		Vito Idžan	F	L	21	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
68		Jan Smolec	D	R	27	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
87		Ivor Bujger	F	L	19	2019	Sisak, Croatia
38		Dominic Rene Čanić	C	L	24	2021	Auckland, New Zealand
5		Patrik Dobrić	D/F	L	23	2021	Zagreb, Croatia
15		Vlastimil Dostálek	RW	L	30	2024	Přerov, Czech Republic
88		Tomislav Ličina	LW	R	25	2018	Sisak, Croatia
17		Karlo Marinković	F	L	20	2024	Zagreb, Croatia
27		Nik Malenica	LW/C	L	27	2022	Nanaimo, British Columbia
55		Leo Selitaj	F	L	24	2021	Zagreb, Croatia
4		Ante Bebek	F	L	21	2023	Zagreb, Croatia
7		Filip Polonijo	F	L	20	2023	Zagreb, Croatia

Retired numbers

KHL Sisak has retired one number in their history.

Retired numbers

No.	Player	Position	Retired
22	Darko Lončar	F	1983

References

1. "Team Roster / KHL Sisak". khl-sisak.hr/. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
2. "Team Roster / KHL Sisak". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 19 September 2023.