HC Slovan Bratislava

Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava (Slovak: Hokejový klub Slovan Bratislava) is a professional ice hockey club based in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2012, it left the Slovak Extraliga and joined the international Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 2019, it returned to the Tipos Extraliga. The club has won nine Slovak championships (most recently in 2022), one Czechoslovak championship (1979) and one IIHF Continental Cup (2004), making it the second most successful hockey club in Slovak history after their biggest rival HC Košice. The team plays its home games at Ondrej Nepela Arena, also known as Slovnaft Arena. The team is nicknamed Belasí, which means the "sky blues" in English.

HC Slovan Bratislava
NicknameBelasí (the Sky Blues),
Orli (the Eagles)
CityBratislava, Slovakia
LeagueSlovak Extraliga
(1993–2012, 2019–present)
Founded1921 (1921)
Home arenaOndrej Nepela Arena
(capacity 10,055)
ColoursDark blue, white, red
     
PresidentRudolf Hrubý
General managerRostislav Dočekal
Head coachVladimír Růžička
CaptainMichal Sersen
Farm club(s)Modré Krídla Slovan
Websitewww.hcslovan.sk

History

The sports club Slovan Bratislava was founded in 1919 as a football club, then called 1.CsSK Bratislava. In 1921, a hockey section was founded as "CsSK hockey". It played its first game in December 1924 against Wiener EV from Vienna, losing 6–1. In 1948, the name of the club was changed to Slovan Bratislava, which has been kept until today.[1]

For many years following World War II, Slovan was the only Slovak representative in the highest Czechoslovak league, and achieved several second-place finishes in the championship. The only title in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League was achieved under coach Ladislav Horsky in the 1978–79 season. Additionally, the youth teams won several championships.[1]

After the separation of Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993, Slovan played in the Slovak Extraliga and won eight championship titles over 19 years.[1]

In addition to the success achieved in Slovakia, Slovan also performed well internationally, with three Spengler Cup wins in a row in 1972, 1973 and 1974. It is also one of only four clubs to play all four seasons of the European Hockey League, progressing to the playoff stage each year. Another highlight was winning the IIHF Continental Cup in the 2003–04 season. From 2011 to 2013, Slovan participated in the European Trophy international pre-season tournament.[1]

KHL

In March 2012, Slovan filed an application to play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[2] On 21 June 2012, Slovan Bratislava was officially admitted to the KHL, after they fulfilled all necessary conditions. Founded in 1921, they were the oldest KHL team by a large margin, as there were no ice hockey leagues in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics prior to 1946.[3]

2012–13 season
See also: 2012–13 HC Slovan Bratislava season

In May, Slovan signed Rostislav Čada as the new head coach for the first KHL season, who had had a KHL experience from working at Avangard Omsk.[4] After playing two friendly matches against KHL teams and the European Trophy during the summer months, Slovan opened the 2012–13 season with a home game against Ukrainian HC Donbass on 6 September 2012, losing 2–4 in front of a capacity crowd. The first win was achieved 4 days later by defeating Spartak Moscow 2–1 after a shootout. During the NHL lockout between September 2012 and January 2013, the two defenders Ľubomír Višňovský and Andrej Sekera enhanced the team. Slovan ended the season with 78 points as 6th of the Western conference and thus clinched a play-off spot in their first KHL season.[5] In the first play-off round, Slovan played against then-defending champion Dynamo Moscow and lost all four matches.

During the regular season, Slovan had sold out 25 out of its 26 home games with an average attendance of 9,977 spectators, which was the seventh-highest average attendance in Europe that season.[6]

Mascot

Before the start of 2013–14 season, it was announced that the franchise will have a new mascot called Harvy. The mascot's name was determined by fans and its appearance will be of a bald eagle, which is also on HC Slovan's logo.[7]

Rivalries

While competing in the Czechoslovak league, Slovan's main rival was HK Dukla Trenčín. While competing in the Slovak Extraliga, Slovan had various rivals around the country, most notably HC Košice and Trenčin

In Slovan's first two seasons in the KHL, its biggest rival was Lev Prague. The rivalry started when, in their first game, HC Lev's Zdeno Chára body-checked Slovan's team captain Miroslav Šatan, after which Šatan was out of the lineup for the rest of the season.[8] The fairness of this hit was the centre of many discussions. The games between Slovan and Lev were among the most anticipated of the season for both teams.[9] However, Lev Praha folded after the 2013–14 season.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last ten seasons completed by HC Slovan Bratislava. For the full season-by-season history, see List of HC Slovan Bratislava seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime/shootout wins, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, L = Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

SeasonGPWOTWOTLLPtsGFGAFinishPlayoffs
2013–1454159426671201606th, Bobrovdid not qualify
2014–1560155832631361887th, Bobrovdid not qualify
2015–16602111424891541483rd, BobrovLost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2016–1760227526851441664th, Bobrovdid not qualify
2017–1856153731581191875th, Bobrovdid not qualify
2018–1962105344331012136th, Tarasovdid not qualify
2019–20552985131081911182nd, ExtraligaNot held due to the coronavirus pandemic
2020–2150266414941461154th, ExtraligaLost in Semifinals, 1–4 (HKM Zvolen)
2021–22503235101041891181st, ExtraligaSlovak Extraliga Champions, 4–2 (HK Nitra)
2022–2350273614931621152nd, ExtraligaLost in Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Dukla Michalovce)

Honours

Domestic

International

Pre-Season

Players

Current roster
See also: HC Slovan Bratislava all-time roster

Source: hcslovan.sk[10]Source: eliteprospects.com[11]As of June 6, 2023.

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
52 Slovakia Samuel Baroš G L 29 2022 Bratislava, Slovakia
73 Slovakia Michal Beňo D L 21 2020 Bratislava, Slovakia
89 Slovakia Adam Bezák RW L 34 2021 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
– United States Chris Brown RW R 32 2023 Flower Mound, Texas, United States
34 Canada Jared Coreau G L 31 2022 Perth, Ontario, Canada
– Canada Brett Findlay C L 31 2023 Echo Bay, Ontario, Canada
88 Slovakia Daniil Fominykh C L 25 2021 Ufa, Russia
48 Slovakia Daniel Gachulinec D R 29 2021 Považská Bystrica, Slovakia
98 Slovakia Andrej Golian D L 22 2021 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
72 Slovakia Luca Krakovský D L 19 2021 Slovakia
70 Slovakia Adam Lukošík C L 21 2020 Prešov, Slovakia
43 Slovakia Patrik Maier D L 26 2020 Bratislava, Slovakia
20 Slovakia Jakub Minárik C L 23 2022 Topoľčany, Slovakia
– Canada Matt Murphy D L 28 2023 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
– Canada Zach O'Brien C R 31 2023 St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
39 United States Liam Pecararo LW L 27 2022 Canton, Massachusetts, United States
– Slovakia Samuel Petráš RW L 28 2023 Bratislava, Slovakia
63 Slovakia Miroslav Preisinger C L 32 2021 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
– Slovakia Ladislav Romančík D R 27 2023 Skalica, Slovakia
– United States Ian Scheid D R 28 2023 Rapids, Minnesota, United States
8 Slovakia Michal Sersen (C) D L 37 2012 Gelnica, Czechoslovakia
49 Slovakia Samuel Takáč (A) LW L 31 2021 Poprad, Czechoslovakia
26 Slovakia Tomáš Török LW L 28 2022 Martin, Slovakia
– Slovakia Alex Výhonský RW L 29 2023 Košice, Slovakia

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten-point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed season.[12]

  •  *  – current Slovan player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Staff

Head coaches

These are the head coaches of HC Slovan Bratislava since they joined the Czechoslovak Extraliga:

Hall of Fame

The following players associated with HC Slovan Bratislava have been inducted in various Halls of Fame:

Hockey Hall of Fame

Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

NameCategoryInducted
Slovakia Peter ŠťastnýPlayer1998

IIHF Hall of Fame

The IIHF Hall of Fame is intended to honor individuals who have made valuable contributions both internationally and in their home countries.[13]

NameCategoryInducted
Czech Republic Václav NedomanskýPlayer1997
Slovakia Vladimír DzurillaPlayer1998
Slovakia Jozef GolonkaPlayer1998
Slovakia Ján StaršíBuilder1999
Slovakia Peter ŠťastnýPlayer2000

References
  1. "História klubu" (in Slovak). hcslovan.sk. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
  2. "The Slovakian candidate". khl.ru. 29 March 2012.
  3. "Slovan získal definitívny súhlas na štart v KHL" (in Slovak). hcslovan.sk. 21 June 2012.
  4. "Rostislav Čada oficiálne novým hlavným trénerom" (in Slovak). HC Slovan. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  5. "Slovan sa dočkal, postúpil do play-off" (in Slovak). SME. 13 January 2013.
  6. THE CALAMITY (25 February 2013). Континентальная Хоккейная Лига. Итоги сезона (in Russian). sports.ru.
  7. "Maskotom Slovana bude orliak Harvy" (in Slovak). Sport.sk. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  8. "Slovan vyhral v derby nad Levom, Chára vyradil Šatana" (in Slovak). WebNoviny.sk. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  9. "LEV and Slovan renew Czecho-Slovakian derby". HC Lev Praha. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  10. "Team Roster / HC Slovan". www.hcslovan.sk. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  11. "Team Roster / HC Slovan". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  12. "HC Slovan Bratislava". EliteProspects.
  13. "IIHF Hall of Fame inducts six new members". National Hockey League. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
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