Hydro Fehérvár AV19 is a Hungarian professional ice hockey team that plays in the Austrian win2day ICE Hockey League. They were founded in 1960 and played from 1978 in the Hungarian Országos Bajnokság I through sorts of affiliations until 2012, claiming the Championship on 13 occasions. They play their home games at Ifjabb Ocskay Gábor Ice Hall in Székesfehérvár. In 2009, the club was renamed after the main sponsor Sapa Profiles Kft Hungary, the Hungarian subsidiary of a Swedish aluminum group. The club did not have a main naming sponsor for a couple of years before 2019, however, in 2019 Hydro Extrusion Hungary Kft, the Hungarian subsidiary of the Norwegian company became the new naming sponsor, thus naming the club Hydro Fehérvár AV19.
| Fehérvár AV19 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Székesfehérvár, Hungary |
| League | Országos Bajnokság I 1978–2012 ICE Hockey League 2007–present |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Home arena | Ifjabb Ocskay Gábor Ice Hall (Capacity: 3,600) |
| Colors | Blue, white |
| General manager | Viktor Szélig |
| Head coach | Kevin Constantine |
| Website | Fehérvár AV19 |
| Franchise history | |
| 1960–1998 | Székesfehérvári Volán SC |
| 1998–2000 | Alba Volán-Riceland |
| 2000–2007 | Alba Volán-FeVita |
| 2007–2009 | Alba Volánbusz Székesfehérvár |
| 2009–2014 | SAPA Fehérvár AV19 |
| 2014–2019 | Fehérvár AV19 |
| 2019- | Hydro Fehérvár AV19 |
| Championships | |
| Hungarian Champions | 13 (1981, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) |
History edit
Székesfehérvári Volán Sports Club was founded in 1960. In 1964–65, the team started playing in outdoor rinks and 10 years later the hockey department came together with the intention of having a professional team. In 1977, the opening of a rink started a new chapter in the history of Hungarian hockey and Volan. At this point, only Budapest and Dunaújváros had suitable structure for hockey. They played their first season in the Hungarian championships in 1977–78, and three years later on the back of Budapest VSC folding and the Sports club benefiting from an influx of BVSC players captured their first Hungarian championship in 1981, becoming the first provincial team to do so.
At the turn of the millennium, Alba Volán-FeVita rose to prominence to become the top team in the nation. This culminated in the series of 10 consecutive championship titles of the Hungarian league from 2003. This turn of domination persuaded the club seek application into the Austrian League for stronger competition. This happened against the background, to better expose the players of the national team in the A-group level. In their first EBEL season in 2007–08, Alba Volánbusz experienced to skill level difference and finished in last place, this was offset however, by the successful Hungarian national team inclusion at the 2008 IIHF World Championships after seventy years back promotion to the highest international division.[1]
Fehérvár AV19' still competed in the Hungarian Championship at first, with the club sourcing a farm team SAPA AV19 Székesfehérvár II in the Championship or the MOL Liga. However, after many years of struggling to field a competitive team in 2012 they were unable to participate in the Hungarian Championship, as they were required to enter their second team in the Erste Bank Junior League. They did not directly inform the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation of their decision. This led to angst, however, the club still participated in the Hungarian Cup.
Achievements edit
Players and personnel edit
Current roster edit
Updated 4 February 2023.[2]
Head coaches edit
József Kertész 1977–1979- Ambrus Kósa 1979–1981
- János Balogh 1981–1983
- Antal Palla 1983–1985
- Gábor Ocskay senior 1985–1988
- Ferenc Lőrincz 1988–1989
- Elek Tamás 1989–1991
Borisz Puskarjov 1996–97- Tibor Kiss 1997–2000
Jan Jasko 2000–2003- Branislav Sajban 2003–2004
Pat Cortina 2004–2006
Karol Dvorak 2006- Jan Jasko 2006–2008
- Lajos Énekes 2008
Ted Sator 2008–2009- Lajos Énekes 2009
Jarmo Tolvanen 2009–2010
Ulf Weinstock 2010–2011- Kevin Primeau 2011–2012
- Jan Neliba 2012–2013
- Marty Raymond 2013–2014
- Rob Pallin 2014–2016
- Tyler Dietrich 2016
- Benoit Laporte 2016–2017
- Hannu Järvenpää 2017–2020
- Antti Karhula 2020–2021
- Kevin Constantine 2021–
Honored members edit
| No. | Player | Position | Career | No. retirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Gábor Ocskay | C | 1993–2009 | 1 April 2009[3] |
| 24 | Krisztián Palkovics | RW | 1993–2012 | 7 September 2012 |
| 25 | Balázs Kangyal | D | 1997–2008 | 27 January 2009 |
References edit
- ^ "Slovenia makes it mark in Austrian playoffs". International Ice Hockey Federation. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ "Fehérvár AV19 Team -Roster". Fehérvár AV19. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "Nation mourns hockey heros death". Budapest Times. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2010.