Orli Znojmo (in English Znojmo Eagles) is a Czech-based

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team that currently plays in the

2nd Czech Republic Hockey League The 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League (or Czech 2.liga) is the third-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic under the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. It began in 1993. Format From 1993 to 2001 the league was divided into the Western ...

. The club Orli Znojmo is based in

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian ...

and their home arena is Nevoga Arena. From 1999 to 2009, the club competed in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The le ...

. Their biggest success in that league was a third-place finish in 2005–06.

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

players Patrik Eliáš, Martin Havlát and Tomáš Vokoun played for this club during the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

. On 1 April 2009, Orli sold its

license to another South Moravian club,

HC Kometa Brno HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 13 Czechoslovak (and Czech) league ch ...

. After two seasons in the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

, the club announced on 31 May 2011 that they were joining the Austrian-based

Erste Bank Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

History

The club was founded in 1933 originally as TJ Sokol Znojmo and played until the early 1990s, at only a regional level. In 1993, Znojmo entered a sponsorship with Czech-Austrian company Excalibur under Jaroslav Vlasak. With this financial support club moved to become a professional outfit and in 1994 joined the Czech Second League. Renamed SK Agropodnik Znojmo, they competed for the following three seasons in the Second League. From 1996, the club served as an affiliate to Extraliga clubs,

HC Pardubice HC Dynamo Pardubice is a professional ice hockey club that plays in the Czech Extraliga. Its home venue is Enteria arena located in Pardubice. The club was originally named LTC Pardubice, acquiring its current name at the start of the 2015� ...

and HC Dukla Jihlava, in order to further establish junior players experience. In their two seasons in the Czech First League, Znojmo now known as HC Excalibur Znojemští Orli, in reflecting their sponsorship, formed a competitive team and won their first Championship title in 1997–98 before failing to gain promotion in a 4:3 series defeat to

HC Slezan Opava HC Slezan Opava is an ice hockey team in the Second National Hockey League (third-level league) from Opava. The club was founded in 1945. As soon as in 1951, Slezan was promoted to the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League and played there until ...

. After claiming their second consecutive title in the 1998–99 season, Znojmo were victorious in the promotion playoffs against Dukla Jihlava to celebrate their first entry into the

. In the following years, the club was able to hold its own in the Extraliga, but never managed to get past the playoff semi-finals. In 2001 was called again changed their name due to sponsorship to new sponsor in HC JME Znojemští Orli. The club's largest success in the Extraliga came in the achievement of the play-off semi-final in the 2005–06 season. After two seasons in the First League in the spring of 2011, the club applied for inclusion in the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Under the ambition to give the team a new perspective, without having to take the financial risk of promotion in the Extraliga. On 31 May 2011, the EBEL granted the application after the Czech Ice Hockey Association's consent on the condition that the club continues to participate with a team in the first league. This requirement was not later maintained. Following the 2021–22 season, the club announced they will compete in the

next season, having bought the licence of HC Kometa Brno B. They leave the ICE Hockey League owing to economic reasons and the uncertain continuation of the league.

Honours

Domestic

* 3rd place (1): 2005–06

International

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

* Runners-up (1): 2015–16

Pre-season

Tipsport Hockey Cup * Winners (1): 2003 * Runners-up (3): 2002, 2008, 2010

Players

Current roster

Source: hcorli.czSource: eliteprospects.comAs of December 4, 2021.

References

External links

*
Orli Znojmo Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Znojmo Ice hockey teams in the Czech Republic Former Austrian Hockey League teams