Vålerenga Ishockey (; abbreviated as VIF) is a Norwegian professional

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 based in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Vålerenga has been the dominant force in Norwegian hockey since the 1960s, claiming 26 national championships and 29 regular season titles. Their old home arena, located in central-eastern

, was Jordal Amfi, built for the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

. In 2020, Vålerenga moved in to their new arena at Jordal. The team's interim head coach is former

NHL 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 ...

player and club legend, Espen "Shampo" Knutsen, with Joachim Svendsen as his assistant.

History

Early days

Although the parent club Vålerengens Idrettsforening was founded in 1913, the history of Vålerenga Ishockey starts in 1947, when the junior team participated in the national junior championships for the first time. In the 50s, the junior team won the national junior championships five years in a row.

First dynasty (1960–1973)

Vålerenga won their first national championship in 1960, taking over the throne from local rivals Gamlebyen. More championships were won in 1962 and 1963. From 1965 to 1971, Vålerenga won the championship seven times in a row, a feat not repeated in Norwegian hockey since. Notable players from this era include Arne "Mikkel" Mikkelsen, Steinar "Bjølle" Bjølbakk, Tor "Jern-Gustav" Gundersen, and notably, Roy "Sleipern" Jansen. Another title was added in 1973, but this also marked the end of the first dynasty as the club faced a generational change.

A new generation (1982–1994)

Ten years went by before Vålerenga could celebrate another championship, in 1983. A new generation had emerged, and players such as Jim Marthinsen, Roy Johansen, Geir Myhre, Tor Helge "Totto" Eikeland, Bjørn Kolsrud, Arne Billkvam and Jon Magne Karlstad would go on to become club legends. In 1988, Vålerenga won their 15th title. The next season saw the debut of Espen Knutsen, who would later become the first Vålerenga product to play in the

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 ...

Recent era

This marked the start of another dynasty for Vålerenga and the club added several more titles in the 1990s. Kent Forsberg became head coach in 1994 and invited his son

Peter 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 su ...

and Markus Näslund to play a friendly match for the club during the lockout season in the

. The 20th national championship was won in 1999. Notable players from this era include

Morten Ask Morten Ask (born May 14, 1980) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey player who last played for Vålerenga Ishockey of the Norwegian GET-ligaen. Playing career Beginning his career in Norway for Vålerenga Ishockey of the GET-ligaen, Ask mo ...

, Kenneth Larsen, and Kjell Richard "Ricky" Nygaard, along with Swedish imports such as Johan Brummer, Patric Englund and Niklas Gällstedt. Six more championships were added after 2000, the last being won in 2009. Vålerenga were in talks to join the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

in 2014, but the plans didn't go through. Vålerenga's home arena through six decades, Jordal Amfi, was demolished in January 2017 and replaced by new arena, completed in the fall of 2020 after construction delays.

Season-by-season results

''This is a partial list of the last ten seasons completed by Vålerenga. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Vålerenga Ishockey seasons.'' Source:

Head coaches

* Jan Molberg, ?-1953 * Georg Hebæk, 1953-? * Tor Gundersen, 195?-197? *

Lennart Johansson Nils Lennart Johansson (5 November 1929 – 4 June 2019) was a Swedish sports official who served as the fifth and, to date, longest-serving president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations. He served in the position from his elec ...

, 1983-1984 * Lennart Åhlberg, 1984-1987 * Erik Ask, 1987-1990 * Geir Myhre, 1990-1993 * Kent Forsberg, 1994-1995 * Staffan Tholson, 1995-1997 * Roy Johansen, 1997-2001 * Petter Thoresen, 2001-2004 * Knut Jørgen Stubdal, 2004-2006 * Espen Knutsen, 2006-2016 * Roy Johansen, 2016-

Honours

* Norwegian Champions (26): 1960, 1962–3, 1965–71, 1973, 1982, 1985, 1987–8, 1991–3, 1998–9, 2001, 2003, 2005–7, 2009 * Regular Seasons (30): 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–1999, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19

Individual all-time records

Statistics for regular season only. * – current active player

Scoring leaders

Most league matches

Last updated: 25 March 2023

Notable players

* Alexander Bonsaksen * Anders Fredriksen * Anders Myrvold * Arne Billkvam * Atle Olsen * Björn Bjurling * Blake Evans * Brede Frettem Csiszar * Brendan Brooks * Brian Ihnacak * Bård Sørlie * Chris Mason * Christian Chartier * Daniel Sørvik *

Einar Bruno Larsen Einar Bruno Larsen (17 November 1939 – 27 July 2021) was a Norwegian footballer and ice hockey player. He played for the Norwegian national ice hockey team, and participated at the Winter Olympics in 1964. He was awarded Gullpucken as best ...

Erik Follestad Johansen Erik Follestad Johansen (born June 22, 1989) is a former Norwegian professional ice hockey defenceman who has played for Vålerenga in Norway's GET-ligaen. He is participating at the 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the Norway men's ...

* Espen "Shampo" Knutsen * Evan Cheverie * Frank Vestreng * Gavin Morgan * Geir Hoff * Geir Myhre * Greg Day * Ilkka Kaarna * Jan-Roar Fagerli * Jim Marthinsen * Jiri Latal *

Johan Åkerman Johan Åkerman (born November 20, 1972) is a retired professional Sweden, Swedish ice hockey player. He is currently a part of the coaching staff in the Linköpings HC organization. References External links

* 1972 births Living peopl ...

* Johan Brummer * Jon-Magne Karlstad *

Justin Donati Justin Donati (born October 17, 1986) is a former professional ice hockey forward, who last played professionally for the Brampton Beast of the ECHL. Justin played with his identical twin brother Tyler Donati on the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of ...

* Jørgen Karterud * Ken Andre Olimb * Kent Nilsson * Lars Erik Lund * Lars Haugen * Marius Rath * Mark McCutcheon * Martin Laumann Ylven * Mathis Olimb * Mathias Trygg * Mats Rosseli Olsen * Mats Trygg *

Mats Zuccarello Mats André Zuccarello Aasen (born 1 September 1987) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Prio ...

Sigurd Thinn Sigurd Thinn (born September 23, 1957) is a former Norwegian ice hockey player. He was born in Oslo, Norway, usually played for Furuset hockey team and was on the Norway men's national ice hockey team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. He also played for ...

* Tommy Marthinsen * Travis Brigley * Per-Ragnar Bergkvist * Petter Thoresen * Patric Englund * Patrick Coulombe * Patrick DesRochers * Regan Kelly * Roy Jansen * Roy Johansen * Scott Hartnell * Serge Boisvert * Sergei Pushkov * Simon Gamache * Sondre Olden * Stig Johansen * Tommy Kiviaho * Tyler Donati * Vegar Barlie * Vladimir Machulda * Øystein Olsen

References

External links

Official website

"Klanen", the organized Vålerenga Supporters Club

"101%", an online fanzine

Updated team rosters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerenga Ishockey Ice hockey teams in Norway Ice hockey clubs established in 1913 1913 establishments in Norway Eliteserien (ice hockey) teams Sport in Oslo Kontinental Hockey League expansion teams