Rytíři Kladno

Rytíři Kladno (Kladno Knights) is a Czech professional ice hockey team based in the city of Kladno. They are currently a member of the Czech Extraliga. The team president and owner is Jaromír Jágr, a former NHL player, who is currently playing in home games for the team in addition to his ownership and administrative roles. The team plays its home games at ČEZ Stadion.

History
Kladno was a particularly strong team in the late 1970s, when it won four consecutive league titles (1975–1978), and again in 1980. The team's star, Milan Nový, was league MVP in 1977, 1981, and 1982, and won six scoring titles. František Pospíšil was the league MVP in 1971 and 1972. The team was sponsored by the State Security police until the Velvet Revolution of 1989.

Before the 1997-98 season Kladno lost its sponsor, ironworks Huť Poldi. Eventually the Poldi crest disappeared from Kladno jerseys and the successes that this once famous club achieved in previous years also disappeared, perennially finishing last in the league. Primarily the lack of funds did not allow to management improvement of club cadre and the main coach resigned.

Despite the departure of a number of players abroad in 2003, Kladno continued to perform well and celebrated return to the Czech highest-level league. However after the season 2012-13 Kladno performed poorly in the extraliga. Nor the withdrawal of coaches helped, the team reached the highest league again after the 12 years.

Jaromír Jágr played for his hometown Kladno for parts of four seasons, including during the NHL lockouts in 1994, 2004, and 2012. In January 2018, Jágr was assigned to HC Kladno after a partial season with the Calgary Flames. Jágr took over majority ownership from his father in 2011.

During the 2010–2011 season, the team was docked 6 points for having used players who were not correctly registered to the club, an affair which also involved the clubs BK Mladá Boleslav and HC Plzeň.

Summary of league participation

 * 1951–1953: First Ice Hockey League (highest-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1953–1955: Celostátní soutěž (second-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1955–1983: First Ice Hockey League (highest-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1983–1985: 1. ČNHL (second-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1985–1986: First Ice Hockey League (highest-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1986–1987: 1. ČNHL (second-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1987–1993: First Ice Hockey League (highest-level league in Czechoslovakia)
 * 1993–2002: Czech Extraliga (highest-level league in the Czech Republic)
 * 2002–2003: 1st Czech Republic Hockey League (second-level league in the Czech Republic)
 * 2003–2014: Czech Extraliga (highest-level league in the Czech Republic)
 * 2014–2019 : WSM Liga (second-level league in the Czech Republic)
 * 2019–20 : Czech Extraliga (highest-level league in the Czech Republic)
 * 2020–21 : 1st Czech Republic Hockey League
 * 2021–present : Czech Extraliga (highest-level league in the Czech Republic)

Club names
The club began in 1924 as the ice hockey department of SK Kladno, abbreviated HOSK Kladno. When the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized the Czechoslovak government in 1948, private sports clubs were reorganized as tělovýchovných jednot (TJ, lit. 'physical education unities') and obligated to join the Sokol movement; HOSK Kladno was therefore renamed TJ Sokol Kladno. The following year, the club became associated with the United Steelworks (Spojené ocelárny, národní podnik, SONP), a national enterprise which operated the former Poldi (company) steelworks in Kladno, and its name was expanded to TJ Sokol SONP Kladno.

When the Czechoslovak State Committee for Physical Education and Sport (SVTVS) was established in 1953, all sports clubs were designated as Voluntary sports organization (dobrovolné sportovním organizacím, DSO) and nine DSOs were created in affiliation with trade unions. TJ Sokol SONP Kladno was renamed DSO Baník Kladno SONP, as 'Baník' was the name of the DSO affiliated with the union of miners and steelworkers. The club name was shortened to TJ SONP Kladno in 1958 and that name was used for almost twenty years, until it was expanded to TJ Poldi SONP Kladno in 1977.

Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the club returned to private ownership and was called HC Poldi Kladno. The club retained the 'HC Kladno' element of its name for the following two decades, though the full club name changed multiple times for sponsorship reasons. Sponsors included Poldi, which had been re-privatized; Velvana, an automotive chemical manufacturer; Vagnerplast, an acrylic bathtub manufacturer; Rabat, a construction materials supplier; and GEUS Okna, a window manufacturer.

The club has been named Rytíři Kladno since 2011.

Timeline
Source:
 * 1924 – HOSK Kladno (Hokejový odbor sportovního klubu Kladno)
 * 1948 – TJ Sokol Kladno (Tělovýchovná jednota Sokol Kladno)
 * 1949 – TJ Sokol SONP Kladno (Tělovýchovná jednota Sokol Spojené ocelárny, národní podnik Kladno)
 * 1953 – DSO Baník Kladno SONP (Dobrovolná sportovní organizace Baník Kladno Spojené ocelárny, národní podnik)
 * 1958 – TJ SONP Kladno (Tělovýchovná jednota Spojené ocelárny, národní podnik Kladno)
 * 1977 – TJ Poldi SONP Kladno (Tělovýchovná jednota Poldi Spojené ocelárny, národní podnik Kladno)
 * 1989 – HC Poldi Kladno (Hockey Club Poldi Kladno)
 * 1991 – HC Kladno (Hockey Club Kladno)
 * 1994 – HC Poldi Kladno
 * 1996 – HC Kladno
 * 1997 – HC Velvana Kladno (Hockey Club Velvana Kladno)
 * 2000 – HC Vagnerplast Kladno (Hockey Club Vagnerplast Kladno)
 * 2003 – HC Rabat Kladno (Hockey Club Rabat Kladno)
 * 2006 – HC GEUS OKNA Kladno (Hockey Club GEUS OKNA Kladno)
 * 2010 – HC Vagnerplast Kladno
 * 2011 – Rytíři Kladno (a name chosen by new owner Járomir Jágr, along with a logo proeminently featuring a cross in homage to the Eastern Orthodoxy)

NHL alumni

 * 🇨🇿 Patrik Eliáš
 * 🇨🇿 Michael Frolík
 * 🇨🇿 Milan Hnilička
 * 🇨🇿 Ivan Huml
 * 🇨🇿 Jaromír Jágr
 * 🇨🇿 František Kaberle
 * 🇨🇿 Tomáš Kaberle
 * 🇨🇿 Milan Nový
 * 🇨🇿 Pavel Patera
 * 🇨🇿 Michal Pivoňka
 * 🇨🇿 Tomáš Plekanec
 * 🇨🇿 Martin Procházka
 * 🇨🇿 Pavel Skrbek
 * 🇨🇿 Radek Smoleňák
 * 🇨🇿 Petr Tenkrát
 * 🇨🇿 Jiří Tlustý
 * 🇨🇿 Tomáš Vokoun
 * 🇨🇿 Marek Židlický
 * 🇨🇿 Radko Gudas
 * 🇨🇿 Ondřej Pavelec
 * 🇨🇿 Jakub Voráček
 * 🇨🇿 Jiří Sekáč

Domestic
Czech Extraliga
 * 3rd place (1): 1993–94

Czech 1. Liga
 * Winners (2): 2002–03, 2020–21
 * Runners-up (2): 2017–18, 2018–19
 * 3rd place (1): 2016–17

Czechoslovak Extraliga
 * Winners (6): 1958–59, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1979–80
 * Runners-up (1): 1981–82
 * 3rd place (2): 1971–72, 1980–81

1st. Czech National Hockey League
 * Winners (3): 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87

2nd. Czechoslovak Hockey League
 * Winners (1): 1954–55
 * 3rd place (1): 1953–54

International
IIHF European Cup
 * Winners (1): 1976–77
 * Runners-up (3): 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79
 * 3rd place (1): 1980–81