Hokejski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Hockey Club), currently named HK Slovenske železnice Olimpija due to sponsorship reasons, is an

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 from

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia. The club competes 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 ...

and the Slovenian League. Founded in 2004 as a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of HDD Olimpija, the club turned professional in 2017 after HDD Olimpija folded. Olimpija won the Slovenian Championship three times, in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and the

Alps Hockey League The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Central Europe. The league is made up of teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The league was established as a result of a merger between Serie A and the Inter-Natio ...

twice, in 2019 and 2021. Olimpija play their home games at

Tivoli Hall Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli Buildings * Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855 * Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), ...

History

HK Olimpija was founded in 2004 with the primary task of educating young players and promoting ice hockey in

and its surroundings. The history of ice hockey in Ljubljana dates back to 1928, when

SK Ilirija Nogometno društvo Ilirija 1911 is a Slovenian football club from Ljubljana which competes in the Slovenian Second League. The club was founded in June 1911 and is the oldest still active football club in the country. History SK Ilirija (1911� ...

was founded. In 1932, they played the first official ice hockey match in Slovenia. The club changed its name several times before becoming Olimpija in 1962. HDD Olimpija was dissolved in 2017. After the dissolution, HK Olimpija reassembled the professional team. In addition to the men's professional team, the club also has a women's squad. Since the 2016–17 season, they have won six consecutive national titles.

Early years (2004–2017)

Initially, the club focused on developing young players. As a

of HDD Olimpija, they played in the Slovenian League for several seasons, finishing third as their best result in the 2010–11 season.

Successes with a professional team (2017–2021)

In the 2017–18 season, the newly established professional team played its inaugural season in the

and finished as runners-up in the Slovenian League and the

Slovenian Cup Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

. In 2018–19, Olimpija won the "treble" after winning all three competitions in which they participated: the Alps Hockey League, the Slovenian League and the Slovenian Cup. The following season they won the Cup again, while the other two competitions were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In the 2020–21 season, Olimpija defended the AHL title and became the first club to win the competition multiple times. However, they failed to defend the national title, narrowly losing 3–2 in the final against their rivals

HDD Jesenice Hokejsko drsalno društvo Jesenice or simply HDD Jesenice, currently named SIJ Acroni Jesenice due to sponsorship reasons, is a Slovenian professional ice hockey team based in Jesenice. They are members of the Alps Hockey League and the Slovenian ...

Return of ICE Hockey League to Ljubljana (2021–present)

In the 2021–22 season, Olimpija joined the international

, where HDD Olimpija previously played until 2017.

Club identity

Colours and badge

Olimpija's traditional colours in all sports are green and white. These two colours are consistent with the colours of the flag of

. The club plays home matches in mostly green uniforms, while the away kits are predominantly white. The badge represents a dragon, holding an ice hockey stick. The dragon is also the city's symbol, representing power, courage and wisdom. Derived from the city symbols, Olimpija's nicknames are ''Zmaji'' (The Dragons) and ''Zeleno-beli'' (The Green and Whites).

Supporters and rivalries

In addition to fans from Central Slovenia and other parts of the country, Olimpija has two official supporters groups. ''Ledeni zmaji'' (The Ice Dragons) are exclusively fans of the ice hockey club, while the

Green Dragons The Green Dragons, also known simply as "Dragonsi" (''The Dragons''), are supporters of Slovenian football club Olimpija Ljubljana. They are one of two major football ultras groups in Slovenia, the other being their traditional rivals, the Viole ...

mostly attend football matches of NK Olimpija and attend the most important matches and derbies of HK Olimpija. HK Olimpija's main rivals are

. The matches between the two sides are referred to as the "Eternal Derby" ('' sl, Večni derbi''). Both clubs and their predecessors from the same cities have contested over 500 matches against each other.

Arena

The team play their home matches at

, a 7,000 all-seated ice hall in

. The hall opened in 1965 and was most recently renovated in 2020.

Players

Current roster

Updated on 8 February 2023

Honours

Slovenian Championship The Slovenian Hockey League is the highest level ice hockey league in Slovenia. The championship phase is contested after the regular season to determine the national champion. History The Slovenian Hockey League was firstly contested in the 1 ...

::Winners (3): 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23 ::Runners-up (2): 2017–18, 2020–21 *

::Winners (2): 2018–19, 2020–21 *

::Winners (4): 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23 ::Runners-up (1): 2017–18

References

External links

Official website

Hokej.si profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olimpija, HK Ice hockey clubs established in 2004 HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Sports clubs in Ljubljana 2004 establishments in Slovenia Slohokej League teams Slovenian Ice Hockey League teams Austrian Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Slovenia