Merkur-Eisstadion Außenansicht nach Umbau 2016

The Moser Medical Graz 99ers are an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

professional ice hockey team from

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

. The club was founded in 1999 after the previous club, EHC Graz, folded prior to the 1998–99 season due to financial difficulties. The Graz99ers started in the 1999–2000 season in the

Austrian National League The Austrian National League (german: Österreichische Eishockey-Nationalliga) was a former second tier ice hockey league in Austria. For the 2012–13 season, it was replaced by the Inter-National League. Decline With the conclusion of the 201 ...

, Austria's second division, where they were crowned instant champions. Since the 2000–01 season they have been playing in the

ICE 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 ...

(IceHL).

History

Hockey was played at Premier League level in Graz mainly from two predecessor clubs. The Hockey department of the

ATSE Graz ATSE Graz is an ice hockey team in Graz, Austria. They play in the Eliteliga, the third level of ice hockey in Austria. History The club was founded in 1947, and won the Austrian Hockey League in 1975 and 1978. The club was merged with UEC Graz ...

(Workers' Gymnastics and Sports Association Eggenberg) was founded in 1947 and won to date the only Graz Hockey club title at the top Austrian League level in the 1974–75 and 1977-78 season. The club was merged early nineties with the UEC Graz, shortly after the EC Graz emerged. In 2008, the Hockey section of was ATSE Graz reactivated on the league level. The new goalie was Ben Bowns. The

EC Graz EC Graz was an Austrian ice hockey team from Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Hockey League and Alpenliga in the 1990s. History The EC Graz (also called "the elephants") emerged in 1990 when the UEC Graz and ATSE Graz were merged. ATSE Graz ...

(also called "the elephant") experienced under President Hannes Kartnig its heyday, finishing three times the runner-up title in the seasons 1991-92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 despite running at a high financial cost. After the departure of Hannes Kartnig, the football club SK Sturm Graz changed, they tried to rescue the EC Graz. When this plan failed, the EHC Graz was established in 1998, only to become bankrupt the same year. ;Establishment and promotion to the Bundesliga In 1999 Jochen Pildner-Steinburg founded the Graz 99ers as the successor club of the EC Graz to offer Hockey League back in the Styrian capital. The team premiered in the second division, the

, finishing after 28 rounds played, in first place in the table. In the semifinals, the team continued after opening game defeat to persevere to a 3: 1 series win against the

EHC Lustenau Eishockey Club Lustenau, commonly referred to as EHC Lustenau or simply Lustenau, is an ice hockey team in Lustenau, Austria. They play in the Inter-National League, the second level of ice hockey in Austria and Slovenia. History The club was fou ...

to meet

EK Zell am See EK or Ek may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Ek Commando Knife Co., US knife manufacturer * Eastern Kentucky Railway (with reporting mark EK), now-defunct railway * Eastman Kodak (formerly with NYSE ticker symbol EK), US-based photogra ...

in the final. The series was decided in four games with Graz taking advantage of the opportunity for promotion to the Austrian Hockey League.

Players

Current roster

Updated 28 August 2020.

Notable alumni

Steve Brûlé Steve Brûlé (born January 15, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He last played competitively with Jonquière Marquis of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. He played in the National Hockey League with the New Jersey D ...

Dave Chyzowski David B. Chyzowski (born July 11, 1971) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger. He was selected second overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders after playing major junior hock ...

Greg Day Greg Day (born February 25, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who most recently played for the Graz 99ers of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). Playing career Day was born in St Clair Beach, Ontario. He spent four seas ...

Scott Fankhouser Scott A. Fankhouser (born July 1, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 23 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers between 1999 and 2001. The rest of his career, which lasted from ...

Jiří Hála Jiří Hála (born 30 June 1972 in České Budějovice) is a former Czech ice hockey player and current sport director at HC Steelers Kapfenberg. Hála moved to Austria in 2000, playing for HC TWK Innsbruck. After two seasons, he spent one season ...

Rob Hisey Rob Hisey (born September 24, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He last played for the Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Hisey played in the OHL, UCHL and ECHL until 2005. Undrafted ...

Tommy Jakobsen Tommy Jakobsen (born 10 December 1970 in Oslo, Norway) is a retired Norwegian ice hockey defenceman. He is the most experienced player on the Norwegian national team going into the 2009 IIHF World Championship with 125 official matches. Jakobse ...

*Ivo Jan *

Rumun Ndur Rumun Ndur (born July 7, 1975) is a Nigerian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Ndur played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Rangers, and the Atlanta Thrashers. Ndur was the first Nigerian ...

Doug Nolan Doug Nolan (born January 5, 1976 in Quincy, Massachusetts) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was formerly on the collegiate coaching staff at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Playing career Nolan was drafted 282nd ...

Steve Passmore Steve Passmore (born January 29, 1973 in Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques as their ninth-round pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He played 93 games in the NHL bet ...

Marcel Rodman Marcel Rodman (September 25, 1981) is a Slovenian former professional ice hockey forward. Playing career Rodman was drafted by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2001, but never played in the NHL. He has played for the Kr ...

Sean Selmser Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (giv ...

Thomas Vanek Thomas Vanek (born 19 January 1984) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played fourteen years in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit R ...

References

External links

Graz99ers official site
Ice hockey teams in Austria Austrian Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1999 1999 establishments in Austria {{Austria-sport-team-stub