The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional
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 ...
league based in Central Europe. The
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
is made up of teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The league was established as a result of a merger between
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
and the
Inter-National League
The Inter-National League was an international ice hockey league that was a partnership between the national federations of Austria and Slovenia. It was created as a solution to semi-professional hockey in both Austria and neighboring Slovenia. ...
.
Formation
The Alps Hockey League was founded in spring 2016, and is a joint venture between the
Austrian Ice Hockey Association
The Austrian Ice Hockey Association (german: Österreichischer Eishockeyverband, ÖEHV) is an association of Austrian sports clubs with ice hockey activities.
The highest-level hockey league in Austria is the Austrian Hockey League which is also ...
, the
Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio
The Italian Ice Sports Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio; FISG), is the governing body for ice sports in Italy. It was founded in September 1926 to promote the practice of winter sports on ice and to coordinate events. The F ...
, and the
Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia
The Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia ( sl, Hokejska zveza Slovenije, HZS) is the governing body of ice hockey in Slovenia. Slovenia was one of ten nations to join the International Ice Hockey Federation on May 6, 1992, the largest number of n ...
. The three national governing bodies have stated that they are keen to ensure that the league is both of a high standard, and financially viable in the long term.
In addition, the league has also stated that it is open to teams from other nations, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia.
Regarding players, each team can sign a maximum four foreign-born players. The AlpsHL operates on a points-based system, with each team having 36 points available, of which a maximum of 16 can be spent on foreign players. As a result of this, the league aims to focus on the development of young players from the participating countries.
2022–23 teams
In the 2022–23 season, the AlpsHL consists of 15 teams, with 7 teams from Austria, 7 from Italy, and 1 from Slovenia.
Austria
*
Bregenzerwald
The Bregenz Forest (german: Bregenzerwald, ) is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specific ...
*
Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel
*
Die Zeller Eisbären
* KAC II
*
Lustenau
Lustenau (; gsw, Luschnou) is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the district of Dornbirn. It lies on the river Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlberg's fourth largest town.
Geography
...
* Red Bull Hockey Juniors
* Steel Wings Linz
Italy
*
Cortina Hafro
*
Fassa Falcons
*
Gherdeina valgardena.it
* Hockey Unterland Cavaliers
*
Meran/o Pircher
*
Rittner Buam
*
Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan
Slovenia
*
SIJ Acroni Jesenice
;Notes
Alps Hockey League seasons
References
External links
Official website
{{Ice Hockey Leagues
Sports leagues established in 2016
Alps Hockey League
Ice hockey leagues in Slovenia
Top tier ice hockey leagues in Europe
Multi-national ice hockey leagues in Europe
Professional ice hockey leagues in Austria
Professional ice hockey leagues in Italy
Multi-national professional sports leagues