European University Hockey League

The European University Hockey League (EUHL) is the first European university league in ice hockey, founded in 2013. It is managed by the European University Hockey Association (EUHA). The idea for a university hockey league in Europe came from Jaroslav Straka, with support from Lubomir Sekeras, Frantisek Sadecky, and Peter Spankovic. The initial idea was for a pan-European expansion through the creation of four divisions to save money and time: Eastern (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Hungary), Western (Germany I, France, Belgium, The Netherlands), North (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark) and South (Germany II, Austria II, Switzerland, Slovenia). Presently the EUHL consists of 10 teams from 4 countries, but next year there will be more teams included. The new applicants come from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Hungary, accompanied by American universities and associations from the USA.

Trophy
The winner of the league is awarded the Sekeráš Championship Trophy, named after former Slovak NHL player Ľubomír Sekeráš, who is the co-founder of the league.

Divisions
Four divisions are planned – Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western. The Northern division will contain teams from universities in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark; the Eastern division teams from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, and Hungary; the Southern division teams from Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Austria, and the Western division teams from France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

For the first season in 2013–14, only six teams were involved, forming only one division.

Teams
At the beginning of the first season only five teams were confirmed – three from Slovakia and two from the Czech Republic – even though more universities were interested in joining the league. However, on 13 November 2013 a new participant, VŠEMvs Managers from Bratislava joined the league, thus increasing the number of participants to six.

In the second season the following teams participated: