KHL Medveà ¡ÃÂak Admiral (), also known as KHL Medveà ¡ÃÂak 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 Medveà ¡ÃÂak area in central Zagreb. It is the most successful and popular ice hockey team in the country.
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 Medveà ¡ÃÂak Zagreb II, which gradually took its place in the Croatian League, and which also competed briefly in regional competitions in the 2003âÂÂ04 Panonian League and the 2009âÂÂ10 Slohokej League.
Medveà ¡ÃÂak hosted most of their games at Dom Sportova, and occasionally at Arena Zagreb. In their first KHL season in 2013âÂÂ14, it was the 16th most attended European club, with an average of 7,828 spectators per game, while their attendance during the 2016âÂÂ17 season, 4,554 per game, was 72nd overall in Europe.
The team was established in 1961, as a successor team of the defunct SD Zagreb sports society. In its first ten seasons in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League, Medveà ¡ÃÂak built up a following and became the second most popular sports team in Zagreb, behind only the local association football team Dinamo Zagreb. At the time, Medveà ¡ÃÂak played their home games at an outdoor rink in the upper-class neighbourhood of à  alata, attracting around 5,000 spectators on average. The team and club developed some great players including legends Boris Renaud and Ivo Ratej.
In 1971, the team permanently moved into the indoor rink at the Dom Sportova sports hall, with the capacity of 6,400. However, during the first two decades of their existence, Medveà ¡ÃÂak established itself as a mid-table team, and never managed to win the Yugoslav championship. By the early 1980s the club was mired in financial difficulties and narrowly avoided relegation from the country's top league in 1985.
The following season, in 1986, the club made a sponsorship deal with the locally-based Gortan construction company, which de facto became owner of the club. With much needed investments, the club started aggressively recruiting quality players, beginning with some Canadians including fan-favorites Jim Allison and Mike Coflin who quickly helped the team win and, more importantly, stimulated renewed fan interest in hockey. Crowds went from a few hundred to a regularly sold-out Dom Sportova (6000+ fans) over the next few seasons. After winning their first Yugoslav Cup in the 1987-1988 season with the help of the passionate Canadians, the next few years Gortan recruited some very talented, elite Russian players, including the Russian Hall of Famer Vyacheslav Anisin, the team was transformed into a powerhouse. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, they became the best in Yugoslavia, dominating the national championship and winning three consecutive Yugoslav titles from 1989 to 1991, culminating in an appearance in the 1990âÂÂ91 IIHF European Cup in which they progressed to the second round.
With the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Gortan group, along with a host of club's sponsors, was plunged into a financial crisis, which led to them pulling out of the team. Without generous funding, the club lost its best players and professional status, and was reduced to competing as an amateur outfit in the newly formed Croatian Ice Hockey League. However, the club gradually improved and between the late 1990s and the late 2000s Medveà ¡ÃÂak dominated the league again, winning almost every championship.
Medveà ¡ÃÂak was additionally strengthened in the 2000s by establishing a farm team, KHL Medveà ¡ÃÂak II. It competed in the regional Panonian League in the 2003âÂÂ04 season, and later joined the Croatian league in 2004.
In search of more competitive opponents to play, the team also took part in the Slovenian Hockey League from 2007 to 2009, finishing second place in their inaugural regular season. The following season, Medveà ¡ÃÂak was by far the best team in the Slovenian league (after the two best Slovenian clubs had joined the Austrian Hockey League a year earlier) during the regular season.
Starting in the 2009âÂÂ10 season, Medveà ¡ÃÂak once again moved up in competitive level, joining the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga which featured six Austrian clubs, two from Slovenia and one from Hungary and Croatia each. To mark their move up the professional ranks, the Bears recruited an American coach, Ted Sator, from fellow EBEL team Alba Volán Székesfehérvár. With a commitment to continue to participate in the Croatian league playoffs, Medveà ¡ÃÂak made their Austrian debut in front of a sellout crowd at the Dom Sportova in a 6âÂÂ5 victory against Slovenian member HK Acroni Jesenice on 11 September 2009. The Bears drew over 200,000 spectators throughout the season's home games, and were rewarded for their efforts as the last team to qualify for a spot in the playoffs. In their inaugural season, they stunned top seeded Graz 99ers in the quarter-finals to knock them out in six games, before being eliminated by eventual champions EC Red Bull Salzburg in the semi-finals.
In a publicity stunt, Medveà ¡ÃÂak hosted its first two home games of the 2012âÂÂ13 EBEL season in September 2012 at the ancient Roman Pula Arena. The first game ended in a 3âÂÂ2 defeat to HDD Olimpija Ljubljana, and the second game was against Vienna Capitals which resulted in a 4âÂÂ1 win.
On 29 April 2013, the club board announced that Medveà ¡ÃÂak would move to the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2013âÂÂ14 season. This led to huge changes in both playing and coaching staff, with almost the entire squad replaced. The team was upgraded with lots of players with NHL experience, while Canadian Mark French became the club's new head coach.
On 6 September 2013, the Bears opened their debut season in the KHL with an impressive 7âÂÂ1 win over Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow. On 25 January 2014, Medveà ¡ÃÂak defeated Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1âÂÂ0 at Arena Zagreb and qualified for the KHL playoffs in their very first KHL season. In the first round of the playoffs, Medveà ¡ÃÂak played against later finalist Lev Prague, losing all four games.
Medveà ¡ÃÂak failed to qualify for the playoffs for the next two seasons. In the 2014âÂÂ15 season, Medveà ¡ÃÂak took part in the 2014 Spengler Cup in Switzerland, losing all three games. The KHL is considered the best hockey league in Europe and before running into financial challenges, Medveà ¡ÃÂak iced competitive teams and the roster included some excellent players, including former NHL Rocket Richard trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo.
On 13 January 2016, Russian fans threw two bananas on the ice after HC Spartak Moscow lost 4âÂÂ1 in a KHL match at home to Medveà ¡ÃÂak Zagreb, targeting Medveà ¡ÃÂak's player Edwin Hedberg. Hedberg himself admitted he had encountered such behaviour for the first time, adding that "things like this shouldn't happen but unfortunately they do", while Medveà ¡ÃÂak's head coach, Gordie Dwyer, said that he was upset with the incident, and that "this obviously has no place in sport". Later, Spartak Moscow issued an official apology to both Medveà ¡ÃÂak and Hedberg, affirming that video cameras at Sokolniki Arena had helped identify two offenders who would be banned from attending games. The cameras also recorded racist hooting from the stands during a game incident involving Hedberg in the 35th minute of the match. The Kontinental Hockey League eventually fined Spartak Moscow 700,000 rubles ($9,135) for the racist incident and issued a "serious warning" to the club, adding that "breaches linked to the incitement of racial, ethnic, or international discord are unacceptable".
After a difficult 2016âÂÂ17 KHL season, in which the club dealt with financial issues, it was announced they would be rejoining the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga for the 2017 season. In August 2019, they decided to participate with renamed team (KHL Medveà ¡ÃÂak Mladi) in national league, due to financial difficulties.
On 24 August 2010, KHL Medveà ¡ÃÂak formed an official partnership with UNICEF, becoming the first European hockey team to cooperate with UNICEF, joining prestigious sports clubs such as FC Barcelona, Manchester United F.C. and Boca Juniors. The Bears were selected after the success they had in their inaugural season in the EBEL league, hosting more than 200,000 spectators watching live matches without a single incident, and also for its support for the relief campaign for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Under the cooperation between Medveà ¡ÃÂak and UNICEF, the Bears actively worked on the campaign to Stop Violence Among Children, and wore a UNICEF sleeve logo and change the club's blue logo color to that of UNICEF's cyan at joint events.
Medveà ¡ÃÂak's sponsors included companies such as Podravka, Citroen, Generali, Lidl, Carlsberg Croatia and others.
G - games played, W - win, OPW - overtime or penalties win, OPL - overtime or penalties loss, L - loss, G+ - goals for, Gâ - goals against
Croatian Ice Hockey Championship: 22