Alps Hockey League
# Alps Hockey League

The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Central Europe. The league is made up of teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The league was established as a result of a merger between Serie A and the Inter-National League.

## Formation

The Alps Hockey League was founded in spring 2016, and is a joint venture between the Austrian Ice Hockey Association, the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio, and the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. The three national governing bodies have stated that they are keen to ensure that the league is both of a high standard, and financially viable in the long term. In addition, the league has also stated that it is open to teams from other nations, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia.

Regarding players, each team can sign a maximum four foreign-born players. The AlpsHL operates on a points-based system, with each team having 36 points available, of which a maximum of 16 can be spent on foreign players. As a result of this, the league aims to focus on the development of young players from the participating countries.

## Teams

In the 2023–24 season, the AlpsHL will consist of 16 teams, with 7 teams from Austria, 7 from Italy, and 2 from Slovenia.

Austria

* Bregenzerwald
* Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel
* Die Zeller Eisbären
* EC KAC Future Team
* Lustenau
* Red Bull Hockey Juniors
* Steinbach Steel Wings Linz

Italy

* Cortina Hafro
* Fassa Falcons
* Gherdeina valgardena.it
* Hockey Unterland Cavaliers
* Meran/o Pircher
* Rittner Buam SkyAlps
* Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan

Slovenia

* RST-Pellet Celje
* SIJ Acroni Jesenice

### Notes

* ↑ Reserve team of KAC
* ↑ Reserve team of Red Bull Salzburg
* ↑ Reserve team of Steinbach Black Wings Linz

## Alps Hockey League seasons

| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Series |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2016–17 | Ritten | Asiago | 4–1 |
| 2017–18 | Asiago | Ritten | 4–3 |
| 2018–19 | Olimpija | Pustertal Wölfe | 4–3 |
| 2019–20 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020–21 | Olimpija | Asiago | 3–0 |
| 2021–22 | Asiago | Jesenice | 3–2 |
| 2022–23 | Jesenice | Cortina | 4–2 |
