The Professional Hockey League (PHL) (, '' tr: Profesional'na khokeina liha'') was an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

league in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, founded in 2011; ceased in 2013. The country's national title, the Ukrainian Championship, was awarded annually to the league champion following a 4-team, 2-round

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

at the end of the 41-game

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

. Runners-up received silver and bronze medals. This format ended after the 2012–13 season, whereupon the FHU reclaimed administration of the title. The winner of the Ukrainian/PHL Championship was also guaranteed qualification into the

Champions Hockey League The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe. Backgrou ...

season. The PHL is shown on the First National TV channel and the Hockey channel to broadcast regular season and playoff games. Many of the PHL's games are also broadcast online. The league was formed on 25 July 2011, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine, to reflect its fully professional status, apart from its predecessor organisation, the Major League (, ''Vyscha Liha''), which was controlled and operated by the

Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine The Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine (, ''Federatsiya khokeyu Ukrayiny'' (FHU) is the official governing body for ice hockey in Ukraine. It became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation, International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on Ma ...

(FHU) as part of the Ukrainian Hockey Championship, inaugurated in 1992. In obtaining the rights to the Championship, the FHU maintains a supervisory role, and reserves the right to intervene in league matters. Naturally,

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

constitute a large majority of the players in the PHL.

Expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

s account for 25% of the league's players, most of which come from Russia and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, but also

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and the United States.

Seasons

* 2011–12 (winner:

HC Donbass-2 Hockey Club Donbass-2 (; , '' tr. Khokeinyi Klub Donbas-2''), was a Ukrainian Professional Hockey League club based in Donetsk. They were a founding member of the Professional Hockey League of Ukraine, winning the league's first two championships. ...

) *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

(winner:

)

History

Following the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, subsequent dissolution of the

Soviet Championship League The Soviet Hockey Championship () was the highest level ice hockey league in the Soviet Union, running from 1946 to 1992. Before the 1940s the game of ice hockey was not cultivated in Russia, instead the more popular form of hockey was bandy. Foll ...

, and

Ukrainian independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publi ...

, the

established the country's first national league, the

Ukrainian Hockey Championship The Ukrainian Hockey Championship (, '' tr: Chempionat Ukrayiny z Khokeyu'') is an annual ice hockey award and national title, bestowed to the ice hockey organization judged to have the best performing team in Ukraine, founded in 1992. Prior to t ...

, in 1992. The league was known as the Major League (, ''Vyscha Liha'') until 2009–10, when it reverted to its original role as a division of the Ukrainian Championship. Following the 2010–11 season, the league dissolved. The top division, Division A (also known as the Central Division), became the PHL; Division B (the Western Division) became the Western Ukrainian Amateur Hockey League. Following the 2012–13 season, and financial turmoil, the FHU retook control of awarding the Ukrainian Hockey Championship.

Uniforms

League uniforms consist of a

jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, short pants, socks, gloves, and a helmet. Most PHL jerseys display the team's primary logo in the centre of the chest, while some also display secondary logos on the shoulders. Each player in a team's line-up for a game must have a different

number A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

displayed on the back of their jersey, as well as the player's surname above their number on the back of their jersey, which according to league regulations must be written in the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

Bilyi Bars Hockey Club Bilyi Bars Bila Tserkva () is a Ukraine, Ukrainian Professional ice hockey, professional ice hockey team based in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. The club was a founding member of the Professional Hockey League of Ukraine and now playing in the ...

and Kompanion-Naftogaz drew criticism during the 2011–12 season for violating this rule and using the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

instead. While not required, teams typically place their numbers on each upper arm as well. Team

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and alternate captains wear the letters "C" or "K" (), and "A" respectively on the front of their jerseys.

Teams

The PHL was founded with 8 professional teams from across Ukraine. Prior to its inaugural season, the league was initially slated to ice 9 teams, while considering 11 applicants, and aspires to increase to 12 teams in the future. The league has stated intent to expand to

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

, Kalush,

Severodonetsk Sievierodonetsk or Severodonetsk, officially since 2024 Siverskodonetsk, is a city in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located to the northeast of the left bank of the Donets river and approximately to the northwest from the administrativ ...

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

Kryvyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( ; , ), also known as Krivoy Rog ( ), is a city in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kryvyi Rih Raion and its subordinate Kryvyi Rih urban hromada in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The city is part of the Kryvyi Rih Metropo ...

, and Zakarpattia. Of the league's original 8 teams, 4 were based within the

Kyiv region Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special status. However, Kyiv also serves as the ...

Sokil Kyiv Hockey Club Sokil Kyiv (; ), commonly known as Sokil Kyiv, HC Sokil, or HC Sokol Kiev, is a Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Kyiv. While their home arena is located in the city, the team also plays out of Brovary, still within th ...

is the only team in the PHL to have iced a team in every prior Ukrainian league season since its beginnings in 1992. Five of the league's original 8 teams competed in the final Major League season. Following the inaugural season, the league contracted to 7 teams, as Vinnytski Haidamaky lacked the funding and proper infrastructure to continue. Kharkiv's team, Akuly, withdrew as well to make way for Dynamo Kharkiv. Bilyi Bars relocated from Brovary to

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( ; , ) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated on the Ros (river), Ros River in the historical region of right-bank Ukraine. It is the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (which does not include the city of Kyiv) and serves as the ...

, another city still within

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

. Later, during the 2012–13 season,

HC Berkut Berkut Hockey Club (, ''HC Berkut'') was a Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Brovary. While its home arena is in Brovary, within the Kyiv region, it also played in the city of Kyiv. It was a founding member of the Professional H ...

was expelled from the league, Dynamo Kharkiv folded, and

dissolved following their championship at seasons-end. The league has been in discussions to create a junior affiliate league. In 2013–14, it was planned that a new team, Patriot Vinnytsia, will join the league, along with a team playing jointly in

& Kalush. The league has held negotiations to include a team from

Dniprodzerzhynsk Kamianske (, ; ), previously known as Dniprodzerzhynsk from 1936 to 2016, is an industrial city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, and a port on the Dnieper River. It serves as the administrative center of Kamianske Raion and Kamianske urban ...

, and expected immediate expansion to include

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

Druzhkivka Druzhkivka (, ; ) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It was previously a city of regional significance before the status was abolished. Population: As of April 2024, the city's population was over 31,000. Druzhkivka is located near the co ...

, and

; the latter two of which will have new arenas constructed.

Names

PHL team names reflect the general culture of European ice hockey naming conventions. Club names may reflect historical, geographical, cultural, or political affiliations – or simply be the brand name of a club's primary sponsor. Because of the prevalence of the

Russian language in Ukraine Russian language, Russian is the most common first language in the Donbas and Crimea regions of Ukraine and the city of Kharkiv, and the predominant language in large cities in the East Ukraine, eastern and South Ukraine, southern portions of ...

, some teams present their club name and logo solely in the

(specifically, Donbass and Kharkovskiye Akuly). A club's name is usually composed of the prefix "Hockey Club" to describe the team's organizational status and its associated sport. The suffix is generally a proper name or

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

in either the singular or plural form (" White Leopard" or "

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

"), a geographical indicator (

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

), or team sponsor ("Companion", "

Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company

"). Team names have also taken on the North American form of following the city name with a mascot (" Kharkiv Sharks") In both Ukrainian and Russian leagues, misconceptions about the official name of a club are often present following English translation, whereby the "HC" prefix is dropped and the city name is added as a suffix (i.e. HC Sokil is often written as Sokil Kyiv).

List of teams

Ukrainian Championship

The Ukrainian Hockey Championship is an annual

award and national title, bestowed to the ice hockey organisation judged to have the best performing team in Ukraine, founded in 1992. Prior to the formation of the PHL, the

(FHU) administered and handed out the award, allowing both amateur and professional teams to compete in an annual

, then

for the title. On 25 July 2011, the FHU transferred the rights of the event to the PHL. The championship is currently awarded in the PHL following a 4-team playoff at the end of the 41-game regular season. The playoffs are decided in a best-of-seven series. Teams that miss the finals will enter into a best-of-five format playoff to determine final positioning. In addition to the title, winning team is given a cash prize by the league, $1,000,000 USD, shared by all of the players. National finalists receive silver and bronze medals. The winner of the Ukrainian Championship is also guaranteed qualification into the

IIHF Continental Cup The Continental Cup is a second-level ice hockey tournament for European clubs (behind Champions Hockey League), begun in 1997 after the discontinuing of the European Cup. It was intended for teams from countries without representatives in the ...

season.

References

External links

Official Website

Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine
{{Top sport leagues in Ukraine Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ukraine Sports leagues established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ukraine 2013 disestablishments in Ukraine Sports leagues disestablished in 2013