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The British ice hockey league champions are the winners of the highest ice hockey league in the United Kingdom, currently the Elite Ice Hockey League. Previously, the highest league has been the British National League (1954–60), the Premier League (1983–96) and the Ice Hockey Superleague (1996–2003).
[edit] History
Prior to the formation of the British National League, England and Scotland each had their own competitions. The English League was founded in 1931 with the Scottish National League being formed a year later. The majority of English League clubs left to form the English National League in 1935,[1] leading the disbandment of the English League at the end of the 1935–36 season. The Scottish National League and English National League both continued until 1954. In that year the decision was taken to amalgamate the two leagues into one.[2] The new competition initially fielded 12 sides in it's inaugural season, four from England and eight from Scotland. The Dunfermline Vikings withdrew from the league in early 1955 and at the end of the season six of the seven remaining Scottish sides withdrew, leaving the league with five members. This fell to four following the closure of Harringay Arena in 1958 but increased again to five in 1959 following the admission of Streatham. The league was disbanded following the 1959–60 season.
Following the closure of the British National League, no league competition took place in the United Kingdom for the next six years. Instead clubs, some of which did not have a home rink, participated in rink tournaments.[3] In 1966 the Northern League was formed. This league was made up of teams from Scotland and North East England and was the country's only league for four years. The Southern League was established in 1970 and was divided into the English League North and Inter-City League in 1978. The British Hockey League was formed in 1982 with the Premier Division being launched a season later. There has been a British league continuously since then, although there have been three different organizations and the number of teams taking part has varied from twelve between 1993 and 1995 to five in 2002–03. The current Elite Ice Hockey League was established in 2003.
In the 31 seasons in which a British league competition has been organized, a total of 39 clubs have taken part[2] (although some clubs, such as the Ice Hockey Superleague's Newcastle franchise, have existed under different names). Of these 16 have won the league championship. The most successful clubs are the Sheffield Steelers and the now-defunct Durham Wasps, who have each won the title on five occasions. The Cardiff Devils have been champions four times, while the Coventry Blaze have won the title three times. Of the other teams currently playing in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the Belfast Giants have been champions twice while the Nottingham Panthers, the only club to have played in all 31 seasons,[2] have won the title once. The Murrayfield Racers, a predecessor of the Edinburgh Capitals, won the championship on two occasions. The Durham Wasps, Murrayfield Racers, Cardiff Devils, Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze are the only sides to have successfully defended a title.
[edit] Champions
[edit] 1954–60: British National League
[edit] 1983–96: Premier Division
[edit] 1996–2003: Ice Hockey Superleague
[edit] 2003–present: Elite Ice Hockey League
[edit] Total titles won
| Club |
Winners |
Runners-up |
Winning Years |
| Sheffield Steelers |
5
|
4
|
1994–95, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 |
| Durham Wasps |
5
|
1
|
1984–85, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92 |
| Cardiff Devils |
4
|
5
|
1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97 |
| Coventry Blaze |
3
|
0
|
2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08 |
| Murrayfield Racers |
2
|
4
|
1986–87, 1987–88 |
| Belfast Giants |
2
|
3
|
2001–02, 2005–06 |
| Nottingham Panthers |
1
|
5
|
1955–56 |
| Wembley Lions |
1
|
2
|
1956–57 |
| Harringay Racers |
1
|
1
|
1954–55 |
| Dundee Rockets |
1
|
1
|
1983–84 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles |
1
|
1
|
1997–98 |
| Manchester Storm |
1
|
1
|
1998–99 |
| Brighton Tigers |
1
|
0
|
1957–58 |
| Paisley Pirates |
1
|
0
|
1958–59 |
| Streatham |
1
|
0
|
1959–60 |
| Bracknell Bees |
1
|
0
|
1999–2000 |
[edit] Total titles won by Home Nation
Each of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom have had at least one team who have been British champions. Teams from England have been league champions on 20 occasions, Scottish sides five times, while Welsh side Cardiff Devils and the Northern Ireland based Belfast Giants are the only sides from their parts of the United Kingdom to win the league.
| Nation |
Number of titles |
Clubs |
 England |
20
|
Durham Wasps (5), Sheffield Steelers (5), Coventry Blaze (3), Nottingham Panthers (1), Bracknell Bees (1), Manchester Storm (1), Streatham (1), Brighton Tigers (1), Wembley Lions (1), Harringay Racers (1) |
 Scotland |
5
|
Murrayfield Racers (2), Ayr Scottish Eagles (1), Dundee Rockets (1), Paisley Pirates (1) |
 Wales |
4
|
Cardiff Devils (4) |
 Northern Ireland |
2
|
Belfast Giants (2) |
[edit] Multiple title winners
British ice hockey has run numerous other competitions in addition to the league. The following teams have won titles in addition to the league championship in a season.[2]
| Teams won all titles available |
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ English League. A to Z Encyclopedia of Ice Hockey. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
- ^ a b c d Chambers, Michael A. (ed.) (2007-09-01). Nottingham Panthers Factual Scrapbook 1939–2007. ISBN 0953939812.
- ^ Ice Hockey History. Ice Hockey Journalists UK. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
- ^ a b c Chambers, Michael A. (ed.) (November 2000). Nottingham Panthers Statistical Guidebook 1946–2000. ISBN 0953939804.
- ^ The primary source for statistics in British ice hockey in the post war period was the Ice Hockey World Annual. This ceased publishing following it's 1956 edition and therefore the top points scorer after that time is not presently known.
- ^ a b Nottingham Panthers History. Panthers History edited by Pete Walch. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
