The European Women's Hockey League, abbreviated EWHL, is an international ice hockey league. Created as the Elite Women's Hockey League in 2004 by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the EWHL comprises clubs from several countries in Central Europe and one team from Kazakhstan, and is played in parallel to national championships.
Current season, competition or edition: 2024–25 EWHL season | |
 | |
| Formerly | Elite Women's Hockey League, 2005–2019 |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | International Ice Hockey Federation |
| First season | 2004–05 |
| Director | Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation |
| President | Martin Kogler |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Countries | Austria, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovakia |
| Headquarters | Göstingerstraße 111 Graz, Austria |
| Most recent champion(s) |  HC ŠKP Bratislava (2023–24) |
| Most titles |  EHV Sabres (6) |
| Sponsor(s) | Tippmix |
| International cup(s) | EWHL Super Cup |
| Official website | Official website |
History
editThe EWHL was created in 2004 on the same principle as the men's ice hockey Interliga. For its first season, the EWHL featured teams from Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia. Teams from additional countries joined the league during the following seasons, including HC Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia in 2005, KHL Grič Zagreb from Croatia in 2006, and HC Slavia Praha from the Czech Republic in 2007. In the 2008–09 season, the Italian and Hungarian teams gave way to two clubs from Germany, OSC Berlin and ESC Planegg. During the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, the Netherlands national team participated in the EWHL.[1]
Before the 2019–20 season, the Elite Women's Hockey League was renamed, becoming the European Women's Hockey League to reflect its unique position within European women's ice hockey.[2] Also, the Polish women's national team joined the league in 2019, playing as the Silesia Brackens and later under the name Silesian Metropolis Katowice.[3] The Hungarian team KMH Budapest rejoined the league, and MAC Budapest was added.
The EWHL is mostly played in a championship format with home and away matches, with the exception of the 2005–06 season where the teams were distributed in two regional divisions followed by qualifying rounds. For the 2010–11 season, the regular season was followed by a play-off between the four teams at the top of the league table.
Though they joined the league in the 2015–16 season, Kazakh team Aisulu Almaty has played only two EWHL games from their home arena, Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in Almaty, due to the significant travel distance. The 2019–20 season provided the first opportunity for Aisulu to play EWHL matches in front of a home crowd, when they hosted the EHV Sabres for a two game series during 19–20 October 2019.[4]
Since the 2019–20 season, the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation has overseen the league. The league president is Martin Kogler.[5]
In March 2023, a group of eighteen players founded the European Women's Hockey League Players' Association (EWHLPA). The organization's driving purpose is to address players' concerns and advocate for changes on players' behalf, while also playing an active role in the development of the league.[6]
Teams
edit2024–25 season
edit
Source: ÖEHV[8]
Former teams
edit|
Austria Belarus Croatia Czech Republic
|
Denmark Germany Hungary Italy
|
Netherlands Slovakia
Slovenia
|
Championship
editMedals (Clubs)
edit| Club |  Gold
|
 Silver
|
 Bronze
|
Medals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EHV Sabres |
6 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | ŠKP Bratislava[a] |
3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 |  Hokiklub Budapest[b] |
5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 |  EVB Eagles Südtirol[c] |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 |  Slavia Praha |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  ESC Planegg |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 |  HK Pantera Minsk |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | DEC Salzburg Eagles[d] |
0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | MAC Budapest |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 |  HK Terme Maribor |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 |  Aisulu Almaty |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | OSC Berlin |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Neuburg Highlanders |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | HC Eagles Bolzano |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | HC Agordo |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Medals (Nations)
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austria | 6 | 9 | 6 | 21 |
| 2 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Italy | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Czech Republic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Germany | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Belarus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Slovenia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Totals (9 entries) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 60 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ The Netherlands wishing to offer more competitive matches to their top Women players. Source: EWHL Website
- ^ "EWHL-Premiere in Sterzing". EV Bozen Hockey Academy (in German). 8 September 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ Krzywicki, Benjamin (27 June 2019). "Three Polish National Teams to Play In Foreign Leagues". Polish Puck. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ Manninen, Henrik (19 October 2019). "EWHL goes to Central Asia". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "EWHL to move under the HIHF". visegradhockey.hu. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ Kennedy, Ian (17 August 2023). "EWHL Members Form Players' Association". The Hockey News. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ O'Brien, Derek (9 November 2023). "Barbier bringing her knowledge to the next generation". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "European Women's Hockey League: 2023/24 Tabelle". Austrian Ice Hockey Association (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "EWHL League Champion 2022-23: Hokiklub Budapest". European Women's Hockey League. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "EWHL League Champion 2023-24: HC SKP Bratislava". European Women's Hockey League (in English and German). 16 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
External links
edit- Official website
- EWHL News
- European Women's Hockey Journal (in German)