Hokejový Klub Dukla Trenčín is a professional Slovak

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 hock ...

club based in

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municip ...

, playing in the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

. The club has won three Slovak league championships (1994, 1997, 2004) and one Czechoslovak league championship (1992). The team is nicknamed ''Vojaci'', meaning "Soldiers" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

History

Czechoslovak era

The club was founded on 19 January 1962, relocating army hockey club from

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava (river), Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a histori ...

to Trenčín. They were members of inaugural season (1963–64) of the 1. SNHL (1st. Slovak National Hockey League). They won the 1965–66 1. SNHL season and promoted to the preliminary round for the

Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League The Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League was the elite ice hockey league in Czechoslovakia from 1936 until 1993, when the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Slovak Extraliga and Czech Extraliga formed from the split. History ...

. There they lost 5 of 6 games against VŽKG Ostrava, VTŽ Chomutov and Spartak Motorlet Praha and did not promote to the First League. Dukla won the 1. SNHL again in 1967–68, 1970–71 and 1976–77. In 1976–77 they were first time successful in the preliminary round and first time in the club history they promoted to the

. Dukla was placed 11th in their first season at the Top level. After five seasons they was relegated from the Top level in the 1981–82 season. However, in the next season they won 1. SNHL and in the preliminary round defeated

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

and promoted to the Top level again. They was placed 6th after their comeback in the 1983–84 season. In 1985–86 there was introduced

playoffs 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 ...

tournament in the Czechoslovak Extraliga. Dukla advanced to the playoffs in 1985–86 and there they lost 1–3 against Tesla Pardubice in the quarterfinals. They advanced to the playoffs again in 1987–88 and there they lost 1–3 in the quarterfinals against their Slovak rival VSŽ Košice. Dukla progressed to the finals against Tesla Pardubice in the 1988–89 season. There they lost 1–3. In the next season they progressed to the finals again where they lost 1–3 against

HC Sparta Praha Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as w ...

. In 1990–91 Dukla lost in the semifinals against

Litvínov Litvínov (; german: Leutensdorf) is a town in Most District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. It is known as an industrial centre. Administrative parts Litvínov is made up of 12 town parts an ...

but they won the bronze medals against VSŽ Košice. The most successful season in the club history is the 1991–92 season when Dukla won the Czechoslovak Extraliga first time. In the quarterfinals they defeated Poldi Kladno 3–2, in the semifinals defeated

3–1 and in the finals they won 3–1 against

Škoda Plzeň Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...

Žigmund Pálffy Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (; born May 5, 1972) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player. Along with his English nickname, he was nicknamed "Žigo" in Slovak. One of the most gifted wingers, Pálffy played in the NHL for 12-years with ...

was scoring leader of Dukla in the regular season (48 Pts) and in the playoffs (26 Pts).

Róbert Švehla Róbert Švehla ( , ; born January 2, 1969) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL for 9 seasons from 1995 until 2003 for the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Career Švehla was drafted 78th overall ...

, defenceman of Dukla, won the

Golden Hockey Stick The Golden Hockey Stick ( cs, Zlatá hokejka) is an award given to the top Czech ice hockey player. It was originally awarded to the top player in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, beginning in the 1968–69 season. After the Czech Republic ...

in the same season. In the last season before split

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Dukla won the bronze medals.

Slovak era

After dissolution of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in 1993, Dukla began playing independent new Slovak Championship which was named the

. Dukla and

HC Košice Hockey Club Košice is a Slovak professional ice hockey club based in Košice that competes in the Slovak Extraliga, the top tier of Slovak ice hockey. It is the most successful hockey club in Slovakia and the former Czechoslovakia, having won th ...

were playoffs finalists in first 4 seasons of the Slovak Extraliga. Dukla won the first Extraliga season in 1993–94, then they lost in the finals in two next seasons and won again in 1996–97. In the 1997–98 season Dukla was eliminated in the semifinals by

HC Slovan Bratislava Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava ( sk, Hokejový klub Slovan Bratislava) is a professional ice hockey club based in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2012, it left the Slovak Extraliga and joined the international Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 2019, ...

. In the 2000–01 season they played again in the playoffs finals. There they lost 1–3 against HKm Zvolen. Zvolen was opponent in the playoffs finals again in the 2003–04 season. Dukla won 4–2 in the finals and they won third Slovak title in their history. 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 ...

several former Dukla players came back to Trenčín, including

Pavol Demitra Pavol Demitra (; 29 November 1974 – 7 September 2011) was a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He played nineteen seasons of professional hockey, for teams in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League (CSL), National Hockey League (NHL), ...

Marián Hossa Marián Hossa (; born 12 January 1979) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger. Hossa was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round, 12th overall, of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. After spending his first seven NHL seasons wi ...

and

Marián Gáborík Marián Gáborík (; born 14 February 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger. He began his playing career in the Slovak Extraliga with Dukla Trenčín for two seasons before being drafted third overall in the 2000 NHL En ...

. Pavol Demitra played complete regular season and he was a scoring leader of the Extraliga (82 Pts). Despite a star lineup Dukla lost 3–4 in the excited semifinals against

. In the 2006–07 season Dukla played in the final series against

but lost 0–4. In the 2009–10 season Dukla did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 1986–87 season.

NHL alumni

After the fall of the Iron Curtain many players who were born in

or started their youth career in Dukla youth system had success in the

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

and

Zdeno Chára Zdeno Chára (; born 18 March 1977) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals between 1997 a ...

are the most successful players who were born in Trenčín. Gáborík was drafted 3rd overall by

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, becoming the first signed player in the club history. Gáborík's teammate in Minnesota Wild was Ľubomír Sekeráš who played three seasons for the club. Chára, drafted 56th overall by

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in 1996, is the first Slovak and only the second European

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of an NHL team who won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

. Chára is also the first Slovak winner of the

James Norris Memorial Trophy The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top "defenceman, defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is name ...

, given to the best defenseman of a season.

Richard Lintner Richard Lintner (born November 15, 1977) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League and current television presenter. He previously played in the National Hockey Lea ...

was drafted in the same year as Chára, another NHL player who was born in Trenčín.

won Stanley Cup three times with Chicago Blackhawks. The stadium in Trenčín was named after

who died in the

2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash On 7 September 2011, YAK-Service Flight 9633, a Yakovlev Yak-42 air charter, charter flight operated by Yak-Service, YAK-Service carrying players and coaching staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team, crashed on take-off nea ...

Honours

Domestic

* Winners (3): 1993–94, 1996–97, 2003–04 * Runners-up (5): 1994–95, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2017–18 * 3rd place (3): 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2011–12

Czechoslovak Extraliga The Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League was the elite ice hockey league in Czechoslovakia from 1936 until 1993, when the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Slovak Extraliga and Czech Extraliga formed from the split. History ...

* Winners (1): 1991–92 * Runners-up (2): 1988–89, 1989–90 * 3rd place (2): 1990–91, 1992–93 1st. Slovak National Hockey League * Winners (5): 1965–66, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1982–83 * Runners-up (3): 1964–65, 1971–72, 1974–75 * 3rd place (3): 1963–64, 1966–67, 1969–70

Pre-season

Rona Cup * Winners (4): 1994, 2002, 2003, 2007

Tatra Cup The Tatra Cup ( sk, Tatranský pohár) is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Poprad, Slovakia. It is the second oldest club tournament in Europe, after the Spengler Cup. The first installment of the Tatra Cup took place in 1929 in Starý S ...

* Winners (2): 1985, 1996

Players

Current roster

Retired numbers

Notable players

Jerguš Bača Jerguš Bača (born January 4, 1965) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman. Career Bača was drafted in the seventh round, 141st overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He played ten games in the National H ...

* Josef Beránek * Ernest Bokroš * Mojmír Božík *

* Zdeno Cíger * Jozef Daňo *

* Leo Gudas * Eduard Hartmann *

Oto Haščák Oto Haščák (born 31 January 1964) is a Slovak former ice hockey player. He competed in the men's tournaments at the 1988 Winter Olympics, the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially kno ...

Radoslav Hecl Radoslav Hecl (born October 11, 1974) is a Slovak former ice hockey defenceman. He played 14 games in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2002–03 season, though the rest of his career, which lasted from 1992 to 2008, ...

Ivan Hlinka Ivan Hlinka (January 26, 1950 – August 16, 2004) was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey history. A big centre, his playing style was comparable to Phil ...

Miroslav Hlinka Miroslav Hlinka (31 August 1972Miroslav Hlinka
, hokej.cz, Retrieved 15. 9. 2014 – 14 September 2014) was a Miloš Holaň Miloš Holaň (born April 22, 1971) is a retired Czech professional ice hockey player and currently the head coach of HC Poruba of the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League, the second tier in the Czech Republic. He played 49 games in the National Ho ...

Marcel Hossa Marcel Hossa (; born 12 October 1981) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey left winger. Hossa previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes, having been drafted by ...

Jiří Hrdina Jiří Hrdina (born January 5, 1958) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He spent 10 seasons in the Czechoslovak First League with Sparta ČKD Praha and HK Dukla Trenčín and five in the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

* Branislav Jánoš * Tomáš Jelínek * Tomáš Kapusta * Ľubomír Kolník * Roman Kontšek *

Tomáš Kopecký Tomáš Kopecký (; born 5 February 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, hav ...

Ján Lašák Ján Lašák (born April 10, 1979) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. Lašák was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2nd round (65th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and spent the ...

* Miroslav Marcinko * Stanislav Medřík *

Andrej Meszároš Andrej Meszároš (; born 13 October 1985) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He is currently a free agent. He previously played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Se ...

* Branislav Mezei * Michel Miklík * Igor Murín * Milan Nedoma * Andrej Nedorost *

* Ján Pardavý * Rastislav Pavlikovský * Róbert Petrovický *

Branko Radivojevič Branko Radivojevič ( sr, Бранко Радивојевић / ; born 24 November 1980) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey forward who began and finished his career playing for HK Dukla Trenčín of the Slovak Extraliga (Slovak). He pl ...

* Radim Raděvič *

Pavel Richter Pavel Richter (born 5 December 1954, in Prague) is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Czechoslovak national team. He won a silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Richter played in the Czechoslovak First I ...

Vladimír Růžička Vladimír Růžička (; born 6 June 1963) is a Czech ice hockey coach and former professional player. Růžička was twice named the top player in the Czechoslovak Elite League, and was on the gold medal team in the Ice Hockey World Championship ...

Miroslav Šatan Miroslav Šatan (; born 22 October 1974) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger, who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), five in the Tipos Extraliga, and three in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Play ...

Andrej Sekera Andrej Sekera (born 8 June 1986) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born and rai ...

* Ľubomír Sekeráš * Peter Slanina * Marián Smerčiak * Roman Stantien * Tomáš Starosta *

Antonín Stavjaňa Antonín Stavjaňa (born 10 February 1963) is a retired professional ice hockey player. Stavjaňa played in the Czechoslovak Extraliga for HC Dukla Trenčín, TJ Gottwaldov and HC Zlín. He then moved to Finland for Jokipojat and in Sweden fo ...

Jozef Stümpel Jozef Stümpel (born 20 July 1972) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Florida Panthers between 1992 and 2008. Internationally Stümpel played ...

Roman Šimíček Roman Šimíček (born November 4, 1971) is a Czech former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota Wild. Career Playing career Šimíček was drafted in the ninth rou ...

Tomáš Tatar Tomáš Tatar (; born 1 December 1990) is a Slovak professional ice hockey left winger for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). Tatar was drafted 60th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Playin ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hc Dukla Trencin Trenčín Trencin, Dukla Trencin, Dukla Ice hockey clubs established in 1962 1962 establishments in Czechoslovakia Sport in Trenčín Region