EHC Kloten 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 ...

team based in the city of

Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The team plays in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 years. EHC Kloten won four consecutive Swiss championships from 1993 to 1996. They had never been

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

until the 2017–18 season. They returned to the NL following the 2021-22 season. The team was called the Kloten Flyers between 2000 and 2016.

History

EHC Kloten was founded by a group of seven members, led by Emil Hegner, on December 3, 1934. During the first few years, only exhibition matches were played. The home matches were played on the frozen ''Nägelimoos-Weiher''. When EHC Kloten began to participate in the championship, they had to start in the lowest league, as usual. In 1941, they were promoted into the ''Serie B'' and five years later into the ''Serie A''. One year later, in 1947, the EHC Kloten was promoted into the

Swiss League The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, th ...

. In 1962, they joined the

when the league expanded to 10 teams. In 1967, they became the champions for the first time, headed by their Czech coach Vladimir Kobera. The team has remained in the highest Swiss league since their promotion and are the longest-serving team in the NL. For the 1998-99 season the former Russian ice hockey player

Vladimir Yurzinov Vladimir Yurzinov (born February 20, 1940 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a retired ice hockey player who played as a centre in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC Dynamo Moscow. He was inducted as a player into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Ha ...

was asked to become the new coach. He introduced a new playing style and encouraged the development and promotion of young players. Even though many people liked this philosophy, the team remained unsuccessful. During the 2003-2004 season, the team reached the playoffs for the first time in their history. A year later, in the 2004-2005 playoffs, they again managed to remain in the highest league. However, this strategy is paying off today. In October 2004, Yurzinov was released as their coach. He took on a new role as a youth promoter until the end of the season. Yurzinov's successor was former EHC Kloten defenseman

Anders Eldebrink Anders Karl Daniel Eldebrink (born 11 December 1960) is a former ice hockey defenceman in the SEL in the 1970s and 1980s. He also played 165 games for the Swedish national team. Playing career Eldebrink began his career at age 16 in ...

and assistant

Felix Hollenstein Felix Hollenstein (born April 7, 1965) is a former Swiss ice hockey player, who became four times Swiss champion with the EHC Kloten in the Nationalliga A. In his career, Hollenstein played 650 matches in the NLA and 131 for Switzerland men's ...

. The new coaching duo managed to get the team back to success and are still in charge of the team. During the 2008-2009 season, the Flyers swept both HC Geneve-Servette and

EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. It is a member of the National League and plays its home games at the Bossard Arena. History EV Zug won its first championship in the 1997–98 season, and the second one in t ...

in the playoffs before losing the playoff final against

HC Davos Hockey Club Davos is a professional Swiss ice hockey club based in Davos, Switzerland. Davos plays in the National League (NL). The team is usually a strong force in the league and often bolster their roster with Swiss national team players and ...

in seven games. They finished the regular season in 3rd place. The club has a well known junior program. There’s a partnership between the Kloten Flyers and the teams of

Bülach , neighboring_municipalities= Bachenbülach, Eglisau, Embrach, Glattfelden, Hochfelden, Höri, Rorbas, Winkel , twintowns = Santeramo in Colle (Italy) Bülach () is an historic town and a municipality in Switzerland in the canton ...

Dielsdorf Dielsdorf is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, seat of the district of Dielsdorf District, Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Dielsdorf is first mentioned in 861 as ''Theolvesthoruf''. The name means ''est ...

Niederhasli Niederhasli is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Niederhasli is first mentioned in 931 as ''Hasila''. On 10 January 2000, Crossair Flight 498 crashed in Niederhasli after taking off f ...

and

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

. Since the founding of the elite-junior league, the teams have won 19 titles, the latest being in the 2005-06 season. The team's name was reverted from Kloten Flyers to EHC Kloten for the

2016–17 NLA season The 2016–17 National League A season was the tenth ice hockey season of Switzerland's top hockey league, the National League A. Overall, it was the 79th season of Swiss professional hockey. SC Bern went on to win its 15th NLA title as the defen ...

after the club had been taken over by businessman Hans-Ulrich Lehmann, who bought the organization from the owner group Avenir Sports Entertainment.

Pekka Tirkkonen Pekka Tirkkonen (born July 17, 1968) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He most recently served as head coach of EHC Kloten of the National League (NL). Tirkkonen was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 2nd ...

from Finland was appointed new head coach for the 2016–17 season after

Sean Simpson Sean Simpson (born May 4, 1960) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He last served as head coach of Adler Mannheim in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany. As a player, Simpson played two AHL seaso ...

had parted company with the club. The team had one of the worst attendances of the NL for the 2016–17 season, averaging only 5,229 spectators over their 25 regular season home games. It was also the only team which failed to sell out at least one game during the regular season. On February 1, 2017, the team won the first

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

in club history, against Geneve-Servette HC, in a packed Swiss Arena. The team won the

title in April 2022 against

EHC Olten EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National League ...

to gain automatic promotion to the NL.

Honors

Champions

* NL Championship ''(5)'': 1967, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 *

''(1)'': 2017 *

''(1)'': 2022

Runners-up

* NL Championship ''(6)'': 1972, 1987, 1988, 2009, 2011, 2014

Players

Current roster

Honored members

NHL alumni

* Dmitri Afanasenkov *

Bruce Affleck Robert Bruce Affleck (born May 5, 1954) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League in the 1970s. Currently he serves as an executive for the St. Louis Blues, the team with which he s ...

* Jonas Andersson * Peter Andersson * Mark Bell *

Patrice Brisebois Joseph Jean-Guy Patrice Brisebois (born January 27, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, playing nearly 900 games with the former and 1,009 games overall. Brisebois was re ...

Aris Brimanis Āris Aldis Brīmanis (born March 14, 1972) is a Latvian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman from Shaker Heights, Ohio who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career At junior level, Brimanis played f ...

* Severin Blindenbacher *

Rod Brind'Amour Roderic Jean Brind'Amour (born August 9, 1970) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Brind'Amour played 20 seasons in the National Ho ...

Curtis Brown Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. Background Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Caroli ...

* Greg Brown *

Brandon Convery Brandon William Convery (born February 4, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played briefly in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Los Angeles Kings. He played center and shot right-handed ...

* Tony Currie * Don Dietrich *

Micki DuPont Micki DuPont (born April 15, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Eisbären Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Normally playing a ...

Murray Eaves Murray James Eaves (born May 10, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 57 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings. He now coaches Bantam Tier 1 hockey and lacross ...

* Brian Felsner *

Martin Gerber Martin Gerber (born 3 September 1974) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (232nd overall) by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He played in the National Hockey League (N ...

Alexandre Giroux Alexandre Giroux (born June 16, 1981) is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently playing for the Thetford Assurancia of the Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. He previously played in the National League (NL) with HC Ambrì-Pio ...

* Erik Gustafsson *

Kari Haakana Kari Haakana (born November 8, 1973 in Outokumpu, Finland) is a former ice hockey defenceman. He spent the majority of his career in Scandinavia, with brief stints in Germany and with the Edmonton Oilers. Biography As a youth, Haakana played in ...

Jeff Halpern Jeffrey Craig Halpern (born May 3, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Washington Capitals twice, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Phoenix Co ...

Radek Hamr Radek Hamr (born June 15, 1974) is a Czech ice hockey agent and former professional player, who had a short career in the National Hockey League, playing 11 games with the Ottawa Senators between 1992 and 1994. He subsequently played hockey in th ...

Timo Helbling Timo Helbling (born July 21, 1981) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National League (NL) for HC Davos, Kloten Flyers, HC Lugano, HC Fribourg-Gottéron, SC Bern, EV Zug, SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, Oulun Kärpä ...

Chris Herperger Christopher Herperger (born February 24, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, and Atlanta Thrashers between 1999 and 2003. Following that h ...

Bob Hess Robert George Hess (born May 19, 1955 in Middleton, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Hartford Whalers. Between 1982 and 19 ...

Glenn Hicks Glenn Ryan Hicks (born August 28, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played 69 games in the World Hockey Association with the Winnipeg Jets during the 1978–79 season and 108 games in the National Hockey League wi ...

Jaroslav Hlinka Jaroslav Hlinka (born November 10, 1976 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche. He is currently the Sports manager for his longtime club, HC ...

Peter Ihnacak Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

Calle Johansson Carl Christian "Calle" Johansson (born 14 February 1967) is a Swedish former assistant coach with the Washington Capitals and former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1987 and 2004, mo ...

* Bernie Johnston *

Olli Jokinen Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for the Ne ...

* Marko Kiprusoff * Chad Kolarik *

Chris Kontos Christopher T. Kontos (born December 10, 1963) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Kontos is best known for his nine goals in 11 playoff games while he was a member of the Los Angeles Kings and his franchise opening ni ...

* Kamil Kreps *

Scott Lachance Scott Joseph Lachance (born October 22, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who last played for the Lowell Devils of the American Hockey League. Biography Lachance was born in Charlottesville, Virginia and raised in Bri ...

Brooks Laich Evan Brooks Laich (; born June 23, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played over 750 National Hockey League (NHL) games across four teams: the Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Los Ange ...

Gary Lupul Gary John Lupul (April 20, 1959 – July 18, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League.Rick MacLeish Richard George MacLeish (January 3, 1950 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit ...

Kris Manery Kris Franklin Manery (born September 24, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 250 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipe ...

Bill McDougall William Henry McDougall (born August 10, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is best known for his record-setting scoring performance during the 1992–1993 AHL playoffs, in which he set the AHL records for goals, assis ...

Bob Mongrain Robert Julien Mongrain (born August 31, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings between 1979 and 1986. The rest of his career, which lasted fr ...

* Peter Mueller *

Brady Murray Braden Murray (born August 17, 1984) is a Canadian born- American former professional ice hockey forward. He last played for HC Lugano of the Swiss National League A (NLA). He was selected 152nd overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Ang ...

Kent Nilsson Kent Åke "Kenta" Nilsson (born 31 August 1956) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Winnipeg Jets, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta and Calgary Flames, ...

Niklas Nordgren Niklas Nordgren (born June 28, 1979) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward who began and finished his career playing for Modo Hockey in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career Nordgren was drafted by the Carolina Hurric ...

Mark Olver Mark Olver (born January 1, 1988) is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey centre currently playing under contract to Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He previously played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Ava ...

* Chris O'Sullivan *

Lasse Pirjetä Lasse Pirjetä (born April 4, 1974) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He represented several teams in the Finnish SM-liiga, Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL. ...

* Domenico Pittis * Vojtech Polak *

Jame Pollock Jame Pollock (born June 16, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Pollock was born in Quebec City, Quebec, but grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. Playing career Pollock was drafted in the fourth round, 106th overall, ...

Paul Ranger Paul D. Ranger (born September 12, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an assistant coach with the UOIT Ridgebacks. He has spent the majority of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

Shawn Rivers Shawn Hamilton Rivers (born January 30, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played four games in the National Hockey League with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 1992–93 season, scoring two assists. Prior to hi ...

Deron Quint Deron Timothy Quint (born March 12, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. His playing experience included spending time in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Columbus B ...

Tommi Santala Tommi Santala (born June 27, 1979 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HIFK of the Liiga. Playing career Santala started his pro career in Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga in the 1998–99 ...

James Sheppard James Sheppard (born April 25, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota Wild, San Jose ...

* Gordon Sherven *

Tommy Sjödin Tommy Sören Sjödin (born August 13, 1965) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman, who played 106 NHL games during two seasons, five years for clubs in the Swiss Nationalliga A and fifteen seasons with Brynäs IF in the Swedish ...

Tobias Stephan Tobias Stephan (born 21 January 1984) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). He formerly played for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League, Genève-Servette HC and EV Zu ...

David Tanabe David Michael Tanabe (born July 19, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Tanabe was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. After being forced into early retirem ...

Chris Tancill Christopher William Tancill (born February 7, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Biography Tancill was born in Livonia, Michigan. As a youth, he played in the 1981 Queb ...

Claude Verret Claude Verret (born April 20, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted in the eighth round, 163rd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. Biography Verret was born in Lachine, Quebec, but grew ...

Roman Wick Roman Wick (born December 30, 1985) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey player. Wick played for EHC Kloten and ZSC Lions in the National League (NL) and for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the fifth ...

Brian Willsie Brian R. Willsie (born March 16, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Willsie was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the 6th round (146th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft and played almost 400 games in the Natio ...

* Ron Wilson *

Ross Yates Ross Richard Yates (born June 18, 1959) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and a former American Hockey League (AHL) head coach. Biography As a youth, Yates played in the 1970, 1971 and 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hock ...

Notable coaches

*Vladimir Kobera, champion 1967 *

Conny Evensson Jan Olle Conny Evensson (born 17 April 1945) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player and coach. He is currently an advisor in leadership subjects for Frölunda HC. Evensson is one of the most successful ice hockey coaches in Sweden. ...

, champion 1993, 1994 *

Alpo Suhonen Alpo Suhonen (born 17 June 1948) is a Finnish former ice hockey coach. He and Ivan Hlinka of the Pittsburgh Penguins were the first European-born NHL head coaches in 52 years. Coaching career Suhonen worked for the Finnish ice hockey federati ...

, champion 1995, 1996

References

External links

Official Website of the Kloten Flyers Unity Kloten
{{DEFAULTSORT:EHC Kloten Ice hockey teams in Switzerland Kloten Ice hockey clubs established in 1934 Swiss Women's League teams