Metal Ligaen
| Metal Ligaen | |
| |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 1954 |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Country(ies) | Denmark |
| Most recent champion(s) | SønderjyskE Ishockey |
| Most championship(s) | Herning (16) |
| Official website | http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/ |
Metal Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The teams are semi-professional with only the best Danish and foreign players being fully professional.
History
It is also known as Superisligaen or Eliteserien, which is the name used in the past and in times where no naming rights agreement is in place. On January 1, 2014 Danish Metal (Dansk Metal) became a sponsor of the Danish ice hockey league, which changed the name to Metal Ligaen, replacing the previous name AL-Bank Ligaen which was named for the sponsorship deal with the Danish bank Arbejdernes Landsbank.
The Danish ice hockey league has become one of the better leagues in Europe, often compared to leagues such as the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan and the DEL2. The league is more of a springboard for foreign players and a place to start their European careers, before traveling to other bigger leagues such as the Swedish Hockey League or DEL. The teams rely mostly on foreign talent, but there is still a lot of skilled professional Danish players. It is mostly the older Danish players, who are full-time professional. Most younger players are semi-professional because of the tight economy in Danish hockey and most of the money is spend on more talented foreign players.
In the past, the league has consisted of as many as 10 teams. Despite the introduction of a salary cap as well as a limit to the number of import players allowed, several teams have struggled financially in recent years. As a result, the Herlev Hornets and the Rungsted Cobras have withdrawn from the league, reducing the number of active teams from 10 to 8. Teams from the second tier league were offered the empty spots, but no team were able to accept the offer, citing financial issues as their main concern.
On June 18, 2016 it was made clear that the foreign player limit of 8, was against EU law and it was therefore removed. The 2016-17 season will be the first time, since 2009, that a Danish icehockey team can have an unlimited amount of foreign players.[1] The salary cap was created to regulating the league. The salary cap of the 2016-17 season, is 6 million DKK.[2]
On June 3, 2017, Metal Ligaen was expanded once again, to an historic number of 11 teams. Hvidovre Fighters, who had previously left the league in 2013 because of bankruptcy, got their submitted papers approved, making them the 11th team of the 2017/18 season
Teams
| Team | City/Area | Founded | Arena | Capacity | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aalborg Pirates [3] | Aalborg | 1967 | Gigantium | 5000 | 2007 |
| Esbjerg Energy [4] | Esbjerg | 1964 | Granly Hockey Arena | 4200 | 1976 |
| Frederikshavn White Hawks [5] | Frederikshavn | 1964 | Scanel Hockey Arena | 4000 | 2015 |
| Herning Blue Fox [6] | Herning | 1947 | KVIK Hockey Arena | 4100 | 1988 |
| Herlev Eagles [7] | Herlev | 1968 | DFDS Seaways Arena | 1740 | 1977 |
| Odense Bulldogs [8] | Odense | 1978 | Bryggeriet Vestfyens Arena | 3280 | 1999 |
| Rungsted Ishockey [9] | Rungsted | 1941 | Hørsholm Skøjtehal | 2460 | 1971 |
| Rødovre Mighty Bulls [10] | Rødovre | 1964 | Rødovre Skøjte Arena | 3600 | 1995 |
| SønderjyskE Ishockey [11] | Vojens | 1963 | SE Arena | 5000 | 2011 |
| Hvidovre Fighters | Hvidovre | 1966 | Allan Villadsen Arena | 2000 | 1979 |
Danish Champions
By club
| Club | Winners | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|
| Herning Blue Fox (earlier known as Herning IK) | 1973, 1977, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 | |
| KSF København | 1956, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1976 | |
| SønderjyskE Ishockey (earlier known as Vojens IK) | 1979, 1980, 1982, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2024 | |
| Esbjerg Energy (earlier known as Esbjerg Oilers and Esbjerg IK) | 1969, 1988, 1993, 1996, 2004, 2016, 2017 | |
| Rødovre Mighty Bulls (earlier known as Rødovre SIK) | 1978, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1999 | |
| Gladsaxe SF | 1967, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1975 | |
| Rungsted Cobras (earlier known as Rungsted IK) | 1955, 1963, 2002, 2019, 2021 | |
| Aalborg Pirates (earlier known as Aalborg IK) | 1981, 2018, 2022, 2023 | |
| Frederikshavn White Hawks (earlier known as Frederikshavn IK) | 1989, 2000 | |
| Herlev Hornets (earlier known as Herlev IK) | 1984 |
References
- ↑ "Farvel til udlændingeloftet i dansk ishockey – Faceoff.dk". http://www.faceoff.dk/i-dag-ryger-udlaendingeloftet/.
- ↑ "Liga-klubber får tildelt egenkapital frem til 2019 – lønloft stadig seks millioner – Faceoff.dk". http://www.faceoff.dk/liga-klubber-faar-tildelt-egenkapital-frem-til-2019-loenloft-stadig-seks-millioner/.
- ↑ "Aalborg Pirates". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6353. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Esbjerg Energy". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6358. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Frederikshavn White Hawks". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6356. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Blue Fox Herning". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6351. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Herlev Eagles". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6354. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Bulldogs Odense". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6350. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Rungsted Ishockey". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6352. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Rødovre Mighty Bulls". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6355. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "SønderjyskE". al-bankligaen.dk. http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/Hold.ASPX?HoldID=6357. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
External links
| Metal Ligaen seasons |
|---|
| 1954–55 - 1955–56 - 1959–60 - 1960–61 - 1961–62 - 1962–63 - 1963–64 - 1964–65 - 1965–66 - 1966–67 - 1967–68 - 1968–69 - 1969–70 - 1970–71 - 1971–72 - 1972–73 - 1973–74 - 1974–75 - 1975–76 - 1976–77 - 1977–78 - 1978–79 - 1979–80 - 1980–81 - 1981–82 - 1982–83 - 1983–84 - 1984–85 - 1985–86 - 1986–87 - 1987–88 - 1988–89 - 1989–90 - 1990–91 - 1991–92 - 1992–93 - 1993–94 - 1994–95 - 1995–96 - 1996–97 - 1997–98 - 1998–99 - 1999–2000 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 - 2021–22 - 2022–23 - 2023–24 |
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