Country Israel First played 1980s | National team Men's national team Clubs Israeli League | |
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Governing body Ice Hockey Federation of Israel | ||
Ice Hockey in Israel is a minor sport. Many Israeli hockey players are members of the Canada Israel Hockey School housed at the Canada Center in Metulla, Israel.
Contents
History
Ice Hockey has been played in Israel since the 1980s. At this time there was a large influx of Russian immigrants to Israel, some of whom were professional ice hockey players. Boris Mindel, one of these immigrants, established a junior program in Canada Center.
Roger Neilson, former coach in the National Hockey League, helped to create summer ice hockey camps in Metulla in 1998.
The Canada Israel Hockey School runs a recreational program at Canada Center that is open to youngsters of all faiths. In 2014, it had an enrollment of 450 Jewish and Arab youngsters. In 2014, forty players were Alawites from Ghajar on the Lebanese border.
Ice Hockey Federation of Israel
The Ice Hockey Federation of Israel is recognized as the governing body of Ice Hockey in Israel by the Ministry of Education's Sports Authority.
Canadian Friends of the Israeli Ice Hockey Association
The Canadian Friends of the Israeli Ice Hockey Association was founded in 1991 by David Lisbona and Larry Markowitz. After meeting Canadian journalist and ex-pat Paul Shindman, Lisbona set up the Canadian Friends of the Israeli Ice Hockey Association in order to provide skates and equipment, and help popularize the sport in Israel.
Israeli League
The Israeli League is the top tier hockey league in Israel. It was founded in 1990.Currently the league consists of 8 teams:
Israel national ice hockey team
The Israel national ice hockey team has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation since 1 May 1991. The men’s team is currently ranked 32nd, and the women’s team is not ranked. As of August 2014 Israel had 653 total players: 270 Male, 374 Junior and 9 females. Additionally they have 5 referees and 2 indoor rinks.
The national team, in the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group B, won the gold metal. As a result, the team was promoted to Division II Group A. In 5 games played they were able to defeat China, Turkey, New Zealand and Bulgaria while suffering their only loss to Mexico.
Maccabiah Games
In 1997, during the 15th Maccabiah Games there was an attempt to include Ice Hockey, however it was unpopular and never became an official sport. Once again in 2013, Ice Hockey joined for the 19th Maccabiah Games as an official sport.
Funding was extremely low for the Ice Hockey team and the sport was nearly removed from the games. Owners of 6 NHL teams (Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning) funded the sports, enabling it to officially join for the first time.
Rinks
Currently there are two main rinks in Israel. Canada Center in Israel is the original and biggest ice hockey arena in Israel. In 2010 it was announced that Israel would be getting their second rink, in Eilat. The Ice Park & Mall Eilatoffers a full ice rink on the main floor, along with other entertainment features, and a full mall on the upper level. Additionally a third, smaller rink, is located in Ma'alot.