HC Sparta Praha

Hockey team
team= HC Sparta Praha

logosize=
city= Prague, Czech Republic
league= Czech Extraliga
founded= 1903
operated=
arena= Tesla Arena
colours= crimson
coach= František Výborný

HC Sparta Praha (eng: HC Sparta Prague) is a Prague based Czech ice hockey team playing Czech Extraliga.

Milestones

* Founded: The club was originally formed in 1903 as "klub bandy hokeje" but was only officially founded in 1909.

* Greatest successes: National champions in 1952-1953, 1953-1954, 1989-1990, 1992-93, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2005-06 and 2006-07. 2nd place in EHL 1999/00, Spengler Cup victory 1962, 1963, Spengler Cup 2nd place in 2004, Super Six 2nd place in 2008

*Worst results: Czechoslovakia: 8th place (1972/73, 1980/81, 1982/83, 1985/86), Czech Republic: 9th place (1994/95)

Highest national league participation: From the league foundation in 1936 to 1950 and from 1951 up to this day

*International successes: Spengler Cup winner in 1962, 1963, Spengler Cup 2nd place in 2004, 2nd place European League (EHL) 2000, Super Six 2nd place in 2008

*Club colours: Blue, yellow and red. Since the 2001-02 season, club jerseys have been either black and white or grey, but sice 2005-06 season, jerseys are dark red and white.

History

Former names:

* 1948 - Sokol Sparta
* 1949 - Sokol Bratrství Sparta
* 1951 - Sokol Sparta Sokolovo
* 1953 - Spartak Praha Sokolovo
* 1965 - Sparta ČKD Praha
* 1990 - HC Sparta Praha

The Sparta Praha hockey club is one of the most successful and famous clubs in Czechoslovakian and later Czech ice hockey history. It was founded in 1893 as AC Královské Vinohrady. Around one hundred years ago, the Czech Kingdom was going through a period where ancient culture was very popular and because of that, SPARTA appeared in the name of the club. Although the name of the club has had to be changed many times in its history since then, SPARTA has survived for more than one hundred years in the name. Modern Canadian hockey made its debut in 1909 and since then, the club, which was a member of the national league at the time, has been one of its most frequent participants.

Sparta's greatest successes were reached in the years following World War II as it won two national titles in a row - 1952/54 and 1953/54 -- under the name Spartak Sokolovo. The next highly successful period came much more recently, when Sparta won the national league in 1989/90 and in 1992/93. This was a very special moment because the league victory coincided with Sparta's hundredth anniversary, acting as a kind of ultimate birthday gift. Another recent achievement (along with two third place finishes in 1995/96 and 1996/97) was the Sparta's participation in the final group of the European League (EHL) in 1996/97.

After a few years of bad luck and less success, Sparta proved it's high quality in the Czech extraleague in 1999/00 when they were crowned league champions. That victory ended up being one of five championships they would win during seven seasons. In addition to those achievements, Sparta managed to be part of the Top Four in the European League (EHL) again in 1999/2000 and acquired the greatest result in Czech hockey history - second place. Sparta has since then proven itself to be an elite Czech squad over the years as it has managed to reach at least the semi-finals in every extraleague season since the midpoint of the nineties. In 2002, 2006 and 2007 Sparta scored another extraleague victories.

Present

HC Sparta Praha is now a regular competitor at the highest levels of the Czech extraleague and is a playoff performer every year. Each season, Sparta plays a high number of games on home ice, which leads to the continuous advertisement of the club. HC Sparta Praha's home games are played in Tesla Arena which is the second largest hockey stadium in the Czech Republic with a capacity of nearly 14.000 spectators.

External links

* [http://www.hcsparta.cz/ Official site]
* [http://www.hcsparta-fans.cz/ Official FanClub site]