Sport Ice Hockey No. of teams 5 Most recent
champion(s) Medveščak II | Founded 1991 Country Croatia
Slovenia | |
Founder Croatian Ice Hockey Federation | ||
The Croatian Ice Hockey League is the top ice hockey league in Croatia. At the end of the season the Croatian Championship is held. The league is operated by the Croatian Ice Hockey Federation.
History
The league was formed in 1991 with the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Until then Croatian teams played in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League. The hockey teams Mladost and Medveščak were playing in the first division, while Sisak and Zagreb were playing in the second division of the Yugoslav league. The former two were much stronger, but as financing went away their best players did not stay with the clubs. This resulted in a more balanced competition, in which KHL Zagreb went on to win three times in a row. Medveščak however managed to remerge as the country's dominant team, as it won the competition for eleven straight seasons.
Due to the very short duration of the season, Croatian teams often play in other leagues, such as the Slohokej Liga, Erste Bank Eishockey Liga and the now defunct Interliga and Panonian League. In the future there may be other clubs in the league, such as Karlovac. However, any expansion will be slow to come due to lack of funds and indoor ice arenas.