Ice Hockey National League (Austria)
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| sport | ice Hockey |
| Association | Austrian Ice Hockey Association |
| Teams | 12 |
| Country countries |
 Austria( Hungary )  |
| Title holder | HC Innsbruck |
| Record champions | EHC Lustenau (7) |
| ↑ EBEL | |
The National League was the second highest of the three national leagues in Austrian ice hockey . On July 14, 2012, a transnational successor was founded in Villach with the INL , thus sealing the end of the National League. In the past, the national league was not played every season. Partly (most recently in the 2000/01 season ) the top two divisions were therefore combined into one.
history
After the founding of the Bundesliga, the Nationalliga emerged over the years from the individual regional leagues, which in the mid-1960s still formed the second-highest division. Then it established itself as a league for the smaller teams that were not eligible for participation in the Bundesliga either for financial reasons or for reasons of infrastructure. The budgets of the second division teams were much lower than in the Bundesliga and ranged between several hundred thousand and around one million euros. The national league clubs tried to keep their league at a financially lower level, not least because of the changeful history of the Bundesliga, during which there were multiple budget explosions and several teams declared bankruptcy. The youth work played a major role, as there was a number of legionnaires in the National League.
As a volunteer relegated from the Bundesliga in the thrust 2009/10 season the HC Innsbruck to the National League. Other former Bundesliga clubs were VEU Feldkirch , EHC Lustenau , EC Dornbirn and EK Zell am See , which went bankrupt in summer 2009 and was re-established as EK Zeller Eisbären . With the 2010/11 season , the traditional Styrian club ATSE Graz was added as a newcomer from the major league .
The 2011/12 season finally brought major changes . With four new EBEL farm teams from Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Vienna, the farm team that had left Salzburg could be more than replaced. Thanks to the participation of the Hungarian club Dab.docler , a foreign team played in the national league for the first time. This started the new season with twelve clubs for the first time, which should also be the last of the National League. The reason for this was a serious decline in participating teams. The EC Dornbirn and HC Innsbruck got into the Erste Bank Liga , while the EBEL -Clubs from Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Vienna withdrew their farm teams to put together the EBEL Young Star League to start. The Austrian Ice Hockey Association then entered into a cooperation with the Slovenian Ice Hockey Association , which was also looking for participants for an ice hockey league after the bankruptcy of HK Jesenice and the failure of the Slohokej League . The INL emerged from this cooperation and was founded on July 14, 2012 as the transnational successor to the National League.
Youth work
The teams of the national league traditionally promoted the youngsters very strongly, which was all the more important because some EBEL clubs cannot do this or only to a very limited extent due to the high expenditure on the fighting teams. There was unofficial cooperation between some teams in the National League and the EBEL , but for a long time the EC Red Bull Salzburg was the only team in the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League to have a real farm team in this league. This only changed with the 2011/12 season , when Salzburg withdrew from the league, but four other EBEL teams entered the league with their farm teams. The other national league clubs had also come to an agreement to give priority to promoting young talent. Above all, the Vorarlberg clubs did a consistently good job in the youth field, and their players regularly found their way into the EBEL .
The Legionnaires' regulation, which only allowed each club to use three transfer card players, had proven itself and was largely retained until last season. The only exceptions to this were the newly added clubs and the last ones of the respective preseason.
Former teams
The following ice hockey teams took part in the National League from 2000. Four of them also play in the successor league INL .
| team | city | Founded | Exit at the end of the following season |
|---|---|---|---|
| EHC Bregenzerwald | Bregenzerwald | 1985 | 2011/12 (participation in the successor league INL ) |
| VEU Feldkirch | Feldkirch | 1927 | 2011/12 (participation in the successor league INL ) |
| EHC Lustenau | Lustenau | 1970 | 2011/12 (participation in the successor league INL ) |
| EK Zeller polar bears | Zell am See | 1928 | 2011/12 (participation in the successor league INL ) |
| EC Dornbirn | Dornbirn | 1992 | 2011/12 (promotion to the EBEL ) |
| HC Innsbruck | innsbruck | 1994 | 2011/12 (promotion to the EBEL ) |
| ATSE Graz | Graz | 2008 | 2011/12 (retreat to amateur sport) |
| Kapfenberg Bulls | Kapfenberg | 2009 | 2011/12 (retreat to amateur sport) |
| EC KAC II | Klagenfurt | 1909 | 2011/12 (participation in the EBEL Young Star League ) |
| EHC Linz II | Linz | 1992 | 2011/12 (participation in the EBEL Young Star League ) |
| Graz 99ers II | Graz | 1999 | 2011/12 (participation in the EBEL Young Star League ) |
| Vienna Capitals II | Vienna | 2000 | 2011/12 (participation in the EBEL Young Star League ) |
| Dab.docler (HUN) | Dunaújváros | 1985 | 2011/12 (return to the Hungarian Ice Hockey League ) |
| EC Red Bulls Salzburg II | Salzburg | 1995 | 2010/11 (withdrawal of the farm team) |
| EV Zeltweg | Zeltweg | 1950 | 2008/09 (voluntary relegation) |
| KSV ice hockey club | Kapfenberg | 2002 | 2008/09 (bankruptcy) |
| EHC Team Vienna | Vienna | 2007 | 2007/08 (deadline for the 2008/09 season missed) |
| Viennese EV | Vienna | 1914 | 2006/07 (dissolution of the professional company) |
| EC Red Bulls Salzburg | Salzburg | 1995 | 2003/04 (promotion to the EBEL ) |
| Graz 99ers | Graz | 1999 | 1999/00 (promotion to the EBEL ) |
