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 popula ...

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 ...

. 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 (IceHL).

History

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

(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 f ...

to meet EK Zell am See 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 * Dave Chyzowski * Greg Day *

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 fr ...

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 seaso ...

* Rob Hisey * Tommy Jakobsen *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 *

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 * Sean Selmser * Thomas Vanek

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