KHL Medveščak Zagreb
KHL Medveščak Admiral (Croatian: Klub hokeja na ledu Medveščak Admiral), also known as KHL Medveščak Zagreb, is a Croatian professional ice hockey team based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the Medveščak area in central Zagreb, with KHL the abbreviation of the Croatian words for ice hockey club. It is by far the most successful and popular ice hockey team in the country.
| Medveščak | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Medv(j)edi (The bears) |
| City | Zagreb, Croatia |
| League |
|
| Founded | 1961 (as KHL Medveščak) |
| Home arena | Admiral Ice Dome Dvorana Velesajam (capacity: 500) Dom Sportova (capacity: 5,000) Arena Zagreb (capacity: 15,500) |
| Colours | |
| President | Dalibor Lebarović |
| Head coach | Danijel Kolombo |
| Website | https://medvescak.com/ |
| Franchise history | |
| KHL Medveščak Admiral | |
From 1961 to 1991 the club was member of the Yugoslav League, before joining the Croatian League amid the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 2007 they also played in the Slovenian League for two seasons, and then the Austrian League from 2009 to 2013. From 2013 until 2017 they played in the Kontinental Hockey League, before returning to the EBEL. They have also participated in multiple editions of the IIHF Continental Cup.
In 2003 they formed a farm team, KHL Medveščak Zagreb II, which gradually took its place in the Croatian League, and which also competed briefly in regional competitions in the 2003–04 Panonian League and the 2009–10 Slohokej League.
Medveščak hosted most of their games at Dom Sportova, and occasionally at Arena Zagreb. In their first KHL season in 2013–14, it was the 16th most attended European club, with an average of 7,828 spectators per game, while their attendance during the 2016–17 season, 4,554 per game, was 72nd overall in Europe.