Orli Znojmo (in English Znojmo Eagles) is a Czech-based
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team that currently plays in the
2nd Czech Republic Hockey League
The 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League (or Czech 2.liga) is the third-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic under the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. It began in 1993.
Format
From 1993 to 2001 the league was divided into the Western and ...
. The club Orli Znojmo is based in
Znojmo
Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...
and their home arena is
Nevoga Arena.
From 1999 to 2009, the club competed in the
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...
. Their biggest success in that league was a third-place finish in 2005–06.
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
players
Patrik Eliáš
Patrik Eliáš (; born 13 April 1976) is a Czech former professional hockey winger who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils. Eliáš is the franchise's all-time leader in points, goals and assists ...
,
Martin Havlát and
Tomáš Vokoun played for this club 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 ...
. On 1 April 2009, Orli sold its
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...
license to another South Moravian club,
HC Kometa Brno
HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 14 Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League ...
.
After two seasons in the
Czech First League
The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...
, the club announced on 31 May 2011 that they were joining the Austrian-based
Erste Bank Hockey League.
History
The club was founded in 1933 originally as TJ Sokol Znojmo and played until the early 1990s, at only a regional level. In 1993, Znojmo entered a sponsorship with Czech-Austrian company Excalibur under Jaroslav Vlasak. With this financial support club moved to become a professional outfit and in 1994 joined the
Czech Second League. Renamed SK Agropodnik Znojmo, they competed for the following three seasons in the Second League. From 1996, the club served as an affiliate to Extraliga clubs,
HC Pardubice
HC Dynamo Pardubice is a professional ice hockey club that plays in the Czech Extraliga. Its home venue is Enteria arena located in Pardubice. The club was originally named LTC Pardubice, acquiring its current name at the start of the 2015– ...
and
HC Dukla Jihlava
HC Dukla Jihlava, founded in 1956, is an ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. It won the Czechoslovak Extraliga title 12 times: six consecutive championships beginning in 1967, then in 1974, four consecutive championships beginning in 1982, an ...
, in order to further establish junior players experience.
In their two seasons in the Czech First League, Znojmo now known as HC Excalibur Znojemští Orli, in reflecting their sponsorship, formed a competitive team and won their first Championship title in
1997–98 before failing to gain promotion in a 4:3 series defeat to
HC Slezan Opava. After claiming their second consecutive title in the
1998–99 season, Znojmo were victorious in the promotion playoffs against Dukla Jihlava to celebrate their first entry into the
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...
.
In the following years, the club was able to hold its own in the Extraliga, but never managed to get past the playoff semi-finals. In 2001 was called again changed their name due to sponsorship to new sponsor in HC JME Znojemští Orli. The club's largest success in the Extraliga came in the achievement of the play-off semi-final in the
2005–06 season.
After two seasons in the First League in the spring of 2011, the club applied for inclusion in the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Under the ambition to give the team a new perspective, without having to take the
financial risk
Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financi ...
of promotion in the Extraliga. On 31 May 2011, the EBEL granted the application after the Czech Ice Hockey Association's consent on the condition that the club continues to participate with a team in the first league. This requirement was not later maintained.
Following the
2021–22 season, the club announced they will compete in the
2nd Czech Republic Hockey League
The 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League (or Czech 2.liga) is the third-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic under the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. It began in 1993.
Format
From 1993 to 2001 the league was divided into the Western and ...
next season, having bought the licence of
HC Kometa Brno B. They left the
ICE Hockey League owing to economic reasons and the uncertain continuation of the league.
Honours
Domestic
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...
* 3rd place (1):
2005–06
International
Austrian Hockey League
The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), 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 c ...
* Runners-up (1):
2015–16
Pre-season
Tipsport Hockey Cup The Tipsport Hockey Cup is the national ice hockey cup competition in the Czech Republic. It was first played as the Zepter Hockey Cup in 2000. Champions
Titles by team
External linksTipsport Hockey Cupon eurohockey.com
{{Ice hockey in the Cze ...
* Winners (1): 2003
* Runners-up (3): 2002, 2008, 2010
Players
Current roster
Source: hcorli.czSource: eliteprospects.comAs of December 4, 2021.
References
External links
*
Orli Znojmo Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Znojmo
Ice hockey teams in the Czech Republic
Former Austrian Hockey League teams
1933 establishments in Czechoslovakia
Ice hockey clubs established in 1933