KHL MedveÅ¡Äak Zagreb
The KHL Medveščak Zagreb is a Croatian ice hockey club from Zagreb. From the 2013/14 season, the club plays in the Eurasian Continental Hockey League. The club is 17 -fold Croatian champion and belonged from 2006 to 2009 the Slovenian Hockey League and from 2009 to 2013 the Austrian EBEL on.
- 6.1 Average Attendance
History
The club was founded in 1961 and played from the outset in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League. At this time the championship was dominated by the Slovenian Club HK Jesenice, whose pioneering role could only be in the 70s also broken by the Slovenian HDD Olimpija Ljubljana. Medveščak Zagreb played for a long time only a minor role in the competition and at the end of the 80's worked before in the top group. It was not until just before the breakup of Yugoslavia, the team in a row the title of Yugoslav champion won three times and continued this dominance then in Croatian Hockey League continued after it had taken the lead for some time at the beginning of the Croatian league history of local rivals KHL Zagreb.
Medveščak is the current Croatian record holder with a total of twelve won titles. From 1997 to 2007, the team won eleven league titles in a row. Only KHL Mladost Zagreb in 2008 could stop this winning streak. After two years in the Slovenian League you joined in 2009 in the Austrian EBEL, but still occurs with a second team in the Slovenian league.
Change in the Erste Bank Liga
Because of the superiority in the domestic league, the team set in 2007, the request to be allowed to play in the Austrian Hockey League, however, this request was initially not met due to the large distances and concerns about the level of sporting clubs. Following the departure of HC Innsbruck and the resulting lack of a tenth team, the claim was finally granted but in the spring of 2009. Medveščak reinforced the team with experienced transfer card players and got some foreign players with Croatian roots into the team. In the first season it managed the club straight into the playoffs and sat surprising in the quarter- final against the EC Graz 99ers, who had won the regular season sovereign, in six games. However, in the semi-finals the team was defeated, the EC Red Bull Salzburg. The following year, followed by a renewed eighth place in the regular season the Viertelfinalaus against EC KAC. The seasons 2011/12 and 2012/13 were completed after the regular season in second place in the table. The team evolved in time particularly spectacular outdoor games to a crowd puller in the league.
Entry into the KHL
After it had been in 2012 first negotiations about a possible accession of the club for the Continental Hockey League ( KHL ), these negotiations were completed in April and taken the club to the 2013/14 season in the Continental Hockey League. As the new coach of the Canadian Mark French has been committed, and taken a number of players from the American Hockey League and top European leagues to rebuild the squad under contract.
Other competitions
The team has also participated in since 2003 four times a Continental Cup. As a best finish was in 2004/05 the second place in the group stage will be reached.
Furthermore, the team took between 2000 and 2007 a total of seven times in parallel to the respective state leagues held multinational Inter League part, but was able to achieve best result only a semi-final in the 2004/05 season there.
Achievements
- Croatian champion: 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Yugoslav champion in 1989, 1990, 1991
Squad of the 2013/14 season
As of July 30, 2013
Club Record
The following statistics relate to the participation of the Association of the Austrian Hockey League.
Legend: S = Wins, L = Losses in regulation time, NNV = Losses after Overtime or shootout, win % = percentage of the total possible points achieved, TVH = Goal difference
Trainer since 2009
Stadium
The home games of Medveščak Zagreb will be held in the Cathedral Športová in Zagreb, which was built in 1972 and can accommodate 6,300 spectators. Since entering the bears in the Austrian Hockey League the hall is regularly sold out, which contributed significantly, for the first time to raise the number of audience of the EBEL in the premiere season of the club on more than one million.
In the 2009/10 season the team gave two times from the Salata - outdoor arena and completed each one game against EC VSV and Vienna Capitals in the open. 2010/11 was the club in January four encounters in the much larger Arena Zagreb, and was able to attract more than 60,000 spectators.
Average attendance
Source: website of the ÖEHV