Alps Hockey League

The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Central Europe. The league is made up of teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia.[3] The league was established as a result of a merger between Serie A and the Inter-National League.

Alps Hockey League
SportIce hockey
FoundedMay 21, 2016[1]
Inaugural season2016–17
CEOPeter Schramm[2]
No. of teams18
CountriesAustria (9 teams)
Italy (7 teams)
Slovenia (2 teams)
ContinentEurope
Most recent
champion(s)		Olimpija (1st title)
Most titlesRitten Sport
Asiago
Olimpija
(1 title each)
Related
competitions		Austrian Hockey League
Inter-National League
Serie A
Official websiteOfficial website

Formation

The Alps Hockey League was founded in spring 2016, and is a joint venture between the Austrian Ice Hockey Association, the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio, and the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. The three national governing bodies have stated that they are keen to ensure that the league is both of a high standard, and financially viable in the long term.[2] In addition, the league has also stated that it is open to teams from other nations, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia.[4]

Regarding players, each team can sign a maximum four foreign born players. The AlpsHL operates a points based system similar to that of the EBEL, with each team having 16 points at their disposal.[5] As a result of this, the league aims to focus on the development of young players from the participating countries.[6]

2019–20 teams

In the 2019–20 season, the AlpsHL consisted of 18 teams, nine of which were based in Austria, seven in Italy, and two in Slovenia.[7] Hockey Milano Rossoblu were the league's most recent expansion team, joining in 2018 after replacing HC Neumarkt-Egna who withdrew due to financial difficulties.[8] However, after only one season, they withdrew from the league.[7]

Location of the 2019–20 teams

Austria

Italy

Slovenia

Alps Hockey League seasons
Season Champions Runners-up Series
2016–17 Ritten Sport Asiago Hockey 1935 4–1
2017–18 Asiago Hockey 1935 Ritten Sport 4–3
2018–19 HK Olimpija HC Pustertal Wölfe 4–3
2019–20 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References
  1. "Alps Hockey League, è ufficiale" (in Italian). May 21, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  2. "AHL offiziell vorgestellt - Einschreibefrist endet am 15. Juni" (in German). May 30, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  3. "Red Bulls schicken B-Team in die Alps Hockey League" (in German). June 6, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  4. "Tommaso Teofoli illustra i dettagli dell'Alps Hockey League" (in Italian). June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  5. "Start der neuen Alps Hockey League" (in German). May 30, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  6. "Neue Liga präsentiert" (in German). May 30, 2016. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  7. Petra Mavrič (July 23, 2019). "Olimpija bo branjenje alpske krone začela doma, Jesenice k "neznanki"". siol.net (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  8. "ALPS HOCKEY LEAGUE HEADS INTO THE THIRD SEASON". erstebankliga.at. July 5, 2018. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
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