Croatia



Croatia is a nation in southeastern Europe. It was a part of the former nation of Yugoslavia. It borders Slovenia to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast.

It has a population of about 4,500,000 and the capital is Zagreb.

The first hockey team in Yugoslavia was formed in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1906. The first official hockey games also took place in Zagreb ten years later. The Yugoslav Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1930, and clubs from Zagreb were among the best in Yugoslavia for many years. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Croatian Ice Hockey Federation was created in 1991 and the first Croatian national championship staged a year later.

Croatia became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1992 and two years later, the Croatian national team made its debut in the C2 Pool of the World Championships.

In 2001-02, four teams played for the national championship and the title was taken by Medvescak Zagreb. The national championship has been played ever since.

Croatia has not competed in the Olympics. At the World Championships, the country has played in Divisions II and III. The country's junior teams have competed at the World Junior Championships. And the women's team has competed at the world championships as well.

Prior to World War II
In November 9, 1935 the Association for Skating and Ice Hockey was founded in Zagreb, although ice hockey in Croatia had been inherent for some 30 years, considering that dr Franjo Bučar, the father of Croatian sport, had founded skating section in 1894.

First game on natural ice was played in the winter of 1916 between HAŠK (Croatian Academic Sport Club) and PHŠD (First Croatian Sport Society). In 1922, Zagreb Winter Sub-federation was founded which included skating, ice hockey and alpine skiing.

The first game by Canadian rules was played in February 3, 1924 between HAŠK and ZKD (Zagreb Skating Society) on ice next to the former Esplanade Hotel, which HAŠK won with 4:1.

The real uplift of the Croatian ice hockey was in 1930 when 3 clubs were founded, but as sections within the major sports companies: Marathon, Concordia and Karlovačko Športsko Udruženje. Other clubs were Sisak founded in 1931 as a part of Slavija Sports Society and KHL Varaždin founded in 1935.

In the late 1930s hockey teams from Croatia participated in the Yugoslav Hockey League. Initially the best clubs from various republics were promoted to the playoffs. Croatia hence had its own division in this league with clubs from Zagreb, Sisak, Karlovac and Varaždin.

After World War II
A period of years after the Second World War is considered as the most prosperous for Croatian ice hockey and is associated with the name of Dragutin Friedrich. In 1946 he founded KHL Mladost which was a champion of SFR Yugoslavia in 1947 and 1949.

In 1947, SD Zagreb was founded and the club won the championship of Yugoslavia in 1956. In the early 1960s due to the crisis and the lack of funds for this sport, KHL Zagreb and the new KHL Medveščak Zagreb merged and the new club continued to work under the name KHL Medveščak. The same club got the first artificial ice in Croatia in Šalata.

After that in 1966 Zagreb got the organization of a World Championship, group B. Due to completion of Dom Sportova in 1972 players got second artificial ice and in 1984 Croatian Ice Hockey Federation became independent.

In 1986, KHL Zagreb was established.

Then, with significant economic support, KHL Medveščak won the championship of Yugoslavia in 1989, 1990 and 1991 and Yugoslav cup in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Post 1991
With disintegration of Yugoslavia Croatian Ice Hockey League was established and since it 1991 operates under its present name. In 1992 Croatian Ice Hockey Federation became a member of IIHF.

National Teams

 * Croatia men's national ice hockey team
 * Croatia men's national junior ice hockey team
 * Croatia men's national U-18 ice hockey team
 * Croatia women's national ice hockey team

League
Croatian Ice Hockey League