The KHL Sisak wants to go to the AlpsHL. © Donat Rogic

Will a Croatian team join the AlpsHL?

The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is facing big changes this summer. Two veterans are leaving the league, but a team from Croatia could join.

16. February 2024

From: leo/pm

“By the registration deadline on Friday afternoon, 14 currently active clubs had registered for the 2024/25 season in the Alps Hockey League,” the league wrote in a release. This season, 16 teams are still taking part in the international championship. As expected, the EHC Lustenau and the KAC Future Team missed the deadline.

KHL Sisak is the first club from Croatia to apply for membership in the AlpsHL. “The Board of Governors (BOG) will decide on a possible inclusion of the Croatians in the Alps Hockey League in the coming weeks,” the press release states. The club currently plays in Slovenia's second division and is in 5th place. Sisak is around an hour's drive from Croatia's capital Zagreb.

Decision not yet made

“The numerous reports underline that the Alps Hockey League is a stable and attractive league in European ice hockey,” says AHL Managing Director Christian Feichtinger. “Of course it is a shame that Lustenau and Klagenfurt, two teams that have been there since the beginning of this league, have not been named for the coming season. However, the commitment of the other clubs and the positive developments in terms of viewer numbers underline that the AHL continues to be an important and interesting league in the core countries of Austria, Italy and Slovenia. In coordination with the Board of Governors, we will now start detailed planning for the ninth season.”