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 KHL Mladost and KHL Medvescak were playing in the first division, while KHL Sisak and KHL 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. KHL Medvescak 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 KHL Karlovac. However, any expansion will be slow to come due to lack of funds and indoor ice arenas.
Teams
Champions
| Club
|
Croatian Championship won
|
Total
|
| KHL Medveščak
|
1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
|
20
|
| KHL Zagreb
|
1992, 1993, 1994, 1996
|
4
|
| KHL Mladost
|
2008
|
1
|
| European Hockey Overview
|
|
|
| Top-Level Leagues
|
|
International
Alps Hockey League - BeNe League - Erste Liga - International Hockey League - Kontinental Hockey League
National
Andorra - Armenia - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Iceland - Italy - Kazakhstan - Latvia - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Romania - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - United Kingdom
|
| Second-Level Leagues
|
| Belarus - Belgium - Bulgaria - Czech Republic - Denmark - England - Finland - France - Germany - Hungary - Iceland - Italy - Kazakhstan - Latvia - Lithuania - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Russia - Slovakia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine
|
| Third-Level Leagues
|
| Austria - Belgium - Czech Republic - Denmark - England - Finland - France - Germany - Hungary - Italy - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Russia - Scotland - Slovakia - Sweden - Switzerland
|
| Fourth-Level and lower Leagues
|
| Austria - Belgium (4, 5) - Czech Republic (4, 5) - Finland (4, 5, 6, 7) - France - Germany (4, 5) - Hungary - Italy - Netherlands (4, 5, 6, 7) - Norway (4, 5, 6, 7) - Poland - Russia (Night League, Amateur Leagues) - Sweden (4, 5, 6, 7, 8), Switzerland (4, 5, 6, 7)
|
| Cup Competitions
|
| Cups
Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Czech Republic - Denmark - East Germany - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany - Hungary - Iceland - Italy - Kazakhstan - Latvia - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Netherlands (Cup, Ron Berteling Schaal) - Norway - Poland - Romania - Scotland - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Soviet Union - Spain - Switzerland - Ukraine - Yugoslavia
Supercups
Belgium - Estonia - Hungary - Italy - Poland - Netherlands - Slovenia - Spain
|
| Defunct Leagues
|
| Soviet Union - Russia - Czechoslovakia - Yugoslavia - West Germany - East Germany - Ireland - Luxembourg - Macedonia - Malta - Portugal - Alpenliga - Interliga - Inter-National League - North Sea Cup - Panonian League - Eastern European - Balkan League (1994-1997) - Baltic League (2001) - Baltic Hockey League (2020) - Carpathian League - Slohokej Liga - Balkan Ice Hockey League - English League - English National League - Scottish National League - British Hockey League - Ice Hockey Superleague - German Championship - Swedish Championship - Klass I - Svenska Serien - Elitserien - Swedish Division I - SM-sarja - Swiss National Championship - Swiss International Championship
|
| Women's Leagues
|
| International leagues
European Women's Hockey League - EWHL Super Cup
National leagues
Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bulgaria - Croatia - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland (1, 2, 3, U20, U18, U16) - France - Germany (1, 2, 3, Cup) - Great Britain (England U16) - Hungary - Iceland - Italy - Kazakhstan - Latvia - Lithuania - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Romania - Russia (U18) - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden (1, 2, 3, 4, U20) - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine
Defunct leagues
Czechoslovakia - Interliga - Low Countries Cup
|
| Junior Leagues
|
| Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia) - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany (East Germany) - Great Britain - Hungary - Iceland - Italy - Kazakhstan - Latvia - Lithuania - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Romania - Russia (Soviet Union) - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - Yugoslavia
|
| University Leagues
|
| European University Hockey League - Czech Republic - Great Britain - Netherlands - Russia (RSHL, MSHL, SHLC, SHLMO, SibSHL, SPSHL) - Sweden
|
Croatia
Maribor