| Full name | Klub Hokeja na Ledu Medveščak Zagreb |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bears |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Based In | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Arena | Dom Športova (capacity: 6,400) Arena Zagreb (capacity: 15,024) |
| League |
Erste Bank Eishockey Liga
|
| Team Colors | |
| Owner(s) | Damir Gojanović |
| GM | Markoantonio Belinić |
| Head Coach | Marty Raymond |
| Captain | Alan Letang |
| Website | medvescak.com |
KHL Medveščak Zagreb is a Croatian ice hockey team. It is by far the most successful and the most popular ice hockey team in Croatia. The team competes in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, and is currently the only Croatian team in the league. In the 2010-2011 season the Bears attracted over 200,000 spectators on live matches in Dom Športova, increasing League audience by 15%. Every January the club also plays a series of games in the 15,024-seat Arena Zagreb, in addition to the Šalata Winter Classic held at the end of January.
Contents |
The team was established in 1961, from the team SD Zagreb. In its first 10 seasons in the Yugoslav Hockey League, Medveščak solidified as the second most popular team in Zagreb to football team Dinamo, playing their games in an outdoor rink in the upper class neighbourhood of Šalata, with a draw of around 5,000 spectators a game. In 1971 the team moved into an indoor rink in Zagreb called the Dom Športova, with the capacity to hold up to 6,400 fans. Over the first two decades of their existence Medveščak middled in success however never won the Yugoslav championship and by the early 1980s was mired in a financial crisis to almost suffer relegation from the top league in 1985.[1]
The following season in 1986 the club was sponsored by the Gortan Building company, owned by Zdenko Gradecki, to become the de facto owners. With much needed investment, Gradecki transformed the club and recruited heavily, leading with Russian Hall of Famer, Vyacheslav Anisin. By the late 1980s the team became the best in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League, winning three consecutive championships from 1989, culminating with an appearance in the 1991 IIHF European Cup in which they progressed to the second round.
With the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, Gortan Building company along with a host of sponsors plunged into financial crisis and pulled out of their backing of the team. Without funding, the club lost its best players and professional status left to compete as an amateur outfit in the Croatian Ice Hockey League.[2] However, from the late 1990s to late 2000s the team would dominate the league, winning almost every championship. Medveščak strengthened its position in the 2000s in establishing a farm team, KHL Medveščak II. In search of more competitive play in the team also participated in the Slovenian Hockey League from 2007, finishing in second place in their inaugural season. The following season, Medvescak was by far the best team in the Slovenian league (without the best two Slovenian teams which joined Erste Bank Eishockey Liga a year earlier) during the regular season, losing only one game in regulation.
Starting in the 2009–10 season, Medveščak once again moved up in competitive level, joining the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. In marking their moves up the professional ranks the Bears recruited famed North American coach, Ted Sator from fellow EBEL team Alba Volán Székesfehérvár.[3] With a commitment to continue to participate in the Croatian Ice Hockey League playoffs, Medveščak made their Austrian debut in front of a sellout crowd at the Dom Športova in a 6-5 victory against Slovenian member HK Acroni Jesenice on September 11, 2009.[1] The Bears enjoyed over 200,000 spectators throughout the season home games and were rewarded as the last team to qualify for a position in the Playoffs. In their inaugural season, they stunned top seeded Graz 99ers in the Quarterfinals in win in 6 games, before suffering elimination to eventual champions EC Red Bull Salzburg in the semi-finals.
On August 24, 2010, KHL Medveščak formed an official partnership with UNICEF to become the first and only European Hockey team to cooperate with UNICEF, joining prestigious sporting clubs in FC Barcelona, Manchester United F.C. and Boca Juniors from Argentina. The Bears were selected after success in its inaugural season in the EBEL from hosting more than 200,000 spectators watching live matches without a single incident and its support to the campaign organised for emergency relief in Haiti. Under the co-operation between Medveščak and the UNICEF, the Bears will actively work on the campaign to Stop Violence Among Children and will wear an UNICEF sleeve logo and change the club's blue logo color to that of UNICEF's cyan at joint events.[4]
Medvescak sponsors include companies such as: Citroen, Generali, Siemens, Vindija, Pliva, American Express and others.
Updated October 18, 2011.[5]
General Manager: Markoantonio Belinić
Sports Director: Dragutin Ljubić
Equipment Manager: Željko Lončar
Team Doctor: Dr. Igor Borić
Masseur/Physiotherapist: Dario Grgic
Head Coach: Marty Raymond
Assistant Coach: Don MacLean
Assistant Coach: Ivo Ratej Jr.
Goalie Coach: Dave Marlin
|
||||||||