| Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League | |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Founded: | 2002 |
| Founder: | BH Ice Hockey Federation |
| Inaugural: | 2002–03 |
| Teams: | Various |
| Country: | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Venue: | Zetra Olympic Hall |
| Most Champs: | HK Vukovi (3) |
| Website: | http://www.hsbih.ba |
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League (BHL) is the top league for ice hockey in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is organized by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Ice Hockey Federation.
Hockey developed slowly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of it being concentrated in Sarajevo. By the later 1980s, one team, HK Bosna, made it to the Yugoslav Hockey League. With the end of Yugoslavia came the end of hockey in the country, for some time. War and economic difficulties prevented the organization/formation of a league for some time. The first season of the league was held in 2002–03, with four teams. After the season three teams simply were not able to remain active. With their demise, the league went into a hiatus for six years until the 2009–10 season.[1] The league is strictly amateur at this time with a low/developmental level of play with no body checking.
All hockey games in BiH are played out in the country's biggest city and capital, Sarajevo, at Olympic Hall Zetra. A second rink at Skenderija that fell in disrepair was not ready in time for the 2009 season. Reconstruction started in February 2010.[2] Currently, no other city has a regulation sized ice-rink. For the start of the 2011–12 season it was announced that HK Bosna and left the league to play in the newly formed Open Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an international league with teams from Bulgaria, Greece, and the Republic of Macedonia.[3] The league also changed its abbreviation from "BHL" to "BHHL" and HK Ilidža 2010 changed its name to HK Ajkule Ilidža 2010.[4]
The 2002–03 season had four teams competing — HK Bosna, HK Ilidža 2010, HK Jahorina, and HK Šampion. However following the end of the season both HK Jahorina and HK Šampion folded and the league went on hiatus.[5] When the league returned in for the 2009–10 season two new teams, HK Stari Grad and HK Alfa, joined the league with HK Bosna.[6] The 2010–11 season has four teams competing in Sarajevo with the three teams competing from the previous season and the return of HK Ilidža 2010.[7] The 2011–12 season was reduced to three teams after HK Bosna left the league, returning in later seasons.[3]
| Team | City | Home stadium | Founded | Joined | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2009 | Played under the name of HK Medvjedi for the 2011–12 season. | |||
| 2002 | Did not compete in the 2009–10 season. Formally known as HK Ilidža 2010. | ||||
| 1980 | 2002 | Did not compete in the 2011–12 season, currently merged with national junior team. | |||
| 2002 | 2009 | Played under the name of HK Vukovi for the 2011–12 season. | |||
| 2013 | 2013 | ||||
| Team | City | Founded | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Competed only in the 2002–03 season before folding. | |||
| 2002 | Competed only in the 2002–03 season before folding. |
| Club | Titles | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| HK Stari Grad | 2010, 2013, 2014 | |
| HK Bosna | 2003, 2011 | |
| HK Ajkule Ilidža 2010 | 2012, 2016 | |
| Blue Bulls Sarajevo | 2015 | |