The Eredivisie ("Honour Division") was, during its existence, the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition organized by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond (NIJB; English: "Dutch Ice Hockey Federation"). Formed in 1945 and playing continuously since 1964, the league mainly featured Dutch teams, although in some seasons certain Belgian teams competed. The league featured a mix of Dutch, European and overseas players. The winner of the Eredivisie was crowned the Dutch National Champion and represented the Netherlands in the IIHF Continental Cup. In 2015, with most of its teams facing financial problems and its top team, Tilburg Trappers, joining the German Oberliga, the Eredivise was suspended with the remaining teams joining the BeNe League.

From 2015, the Eerste Divisie became the highest league organised by the NIJB, as a second tier below the BeNe League (now CEHL). Since 2020 this second tier league is called Eredivisie.

Teams The league had many different teams during its existence. The financial viability of teams and availability of an arena often determined which cities participated in any given year. The teams in its final year of competition were:

Team City Arena Eindhoven Kemphanen Eindhoven IJssportcentrum Eindhoven (cap. 1,700) HYS The Hague The Hague de Uithof (cap. 2,610) Geleen Eaters Sittard-Geleen Glanerbrook (cap. 1,200) Friesland Flyers Heerenveen Thialf (cap. 3,500) Destil Trappers Tilburg IJssportcentrum Tilburg (cap. 2,500) HYC Herentals Herentals Bloso IJsbaan (cap. 1,200) Dordrecht Lions Dordrecht Sportboulevard Dordrecht (cap. 700)

Format

The league's format changed from year to year depending on the number of teams and the format of the Dutch Cup Tournament. As an example, in the 2013-14 year, the league had a 36-game regular season, followed by a best-of five semi-finals amongst the top five qualifiers and a best-of-five final for the Dutch championship.

History

Formation

The Dutch ice hockey Eredivisie was formed after World War II, with teams in Amsterdam, The Hague and Tilburg. It suspended operations from 1950 to 1964, but has organized a season of competition annually ever since. Over the years the number of teams competing fluctuated between 3 and 10 (currently 7), and the number of games played in the regular season between 4 and 36.

Recent History

For the 2008-2009 Eredivisie season, the Utrecht Dragons and Eindhoven Kemphanen joined the league. In 2009-2010, Utrecht returned to the Eerste Divisie. Prior to the 2010-2011 season, Amstel Tijgers, one of the oldest teams in the league, dropped out, as did Groningen Grizzlies after three seasons, due to poor results on the ice and low revenues. In 2010, a new team, the Zoetermeer Panthers, won the Dutch Cup but dropped out of the first North Sea Cup tournament due to financial problems.

For two seasons, 2010–11 and 2011–12, the league's regular season consisted of a tournament with several Belgian teams called the North Sea Cup. The two countries maintained distinct national cups and national championship playoffs during these years. The Belgian teams, namely HYC Herentals, Turnhout White Caps, and Leuven Chiefs, struggled on and off the ice in the new league, with smaller budgets and fewer imported players than their Dutch counterparts. By the end of the second North Sea Cup season, Leuven and Turnhout had dropped out of the league. The North Sea Cup was disbanded in the summer of 2012 when the lone remaining Belgian team, HYC Herentals, was admitted as a full member of the Dutch Eredivisie.

For 2013-14, the Amsterdam G's, which replaced the Amstel Tijgers for 2011-2012 and 2013-2013, ceased operations after financial problems and back-to-back last place finishes, while the Dordrecht Lions began play in the Eredivisie. However, financial strains on several clubs and a wide disparity between the quality of the teams took a toll on competition and attendance. In 2015, the consistently strongest team of the league, Tilburg Trappers, joined the German Oberliga. This prompted the remaining teams of the Eredivisie to join with the top amateur teams in the Netherlands and Belgium to form the BeNe League, to provide greater financial stability and more balanced competition.

Other Leagues

In the Netherlands, below the Eredivisie was the Eerste Divisie (First Division), the country's top amateur ice hockey league. There was no relegation or promotion between the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Some cities (such as Tilburg and The Hague) had hockey clubs operating a professional team in the Eredivisie and a separate amateur team in the Eerste Divisie. All other Dutch hockey leagues are recreational leagues. Dutch Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie teams competed against each other for the Dutch Cup, a tournament that was played before and during the Eredivisie regular season.

In Belgium, the Belgian National League operated as the league with the top Belgian teams, apart from HYC Herentals which played in the Eredivisie. Herentals competed in the Belgian Cup tournament but in the Dutch national championship tournament.

Upon the demise of the Eredivisie, the remaining Eredivisie teams merged with the Eerste Divisie and Belgian National League teams to form the BeNe League.

Champions

Dutch Eredivisie national champions since 1946: Season Winner 1945–46 H.H.IJ.C. Den Haag 1946–47 T.IJ.S.C. Tilburg 1947–48 H.H.IJ.C. Den Haag 1948–49 Not Played 1949–50 IJsvogels Amsterdam 1950–64 Not Played 1964–65 H.IJ.S. Hoky Den Haag 1965–66 H.IJ.S. Hoky Den Haag 1966–67 H.IJ.S. Hoky Den Haag 1967–68 H.IJ.S. Hoky Den Haag 1968–69 H.IJ.S. Hoky Den Haag 1969–70 S.IJ. Den Bosch 1970–71 Tilburg Trappers 1971–72 Tilburg Trappers 1972–73 Tilburg Trappers 1973–74 Tilburg Trappers 1974–75 Tilburg Trappers 1975–76 Tilburg Trappers 1976–77 Feenstra Verwarming Heerenveen 1977–78 Feenstra Verwarming Heerenveen 1978–79 Feenstra Flyers Heerenveen 1979–80 Feenstra Flyers Heerenveen 1980–81 Feenstra Flyers Heerenveen 1981–82 Feenstra Flyers Heerenveen 1982–83 Feenstra Flyers Heerenveen 1983–84 Vissers Nijmegen 1984–85 Deko Builders Amsterdam 1985–86 Lada GIJS Groningen 1986–87 IJ.H.C. Rotterdam Panda's 1987–88 Spitman Nijmegen 1988–89 Gunco Panda's Rotterdam 1989–90 Gunco Panda's Rotterdam 1990–91 Peter Langhout Reizen Utrecht 1991–92 Pro Badge Utrecht 1992–93 Flame Guards Nijmegen 1993–94 Couwenberg Trappers Tilburg 1994–95 Couwenberg Trappers Tilburg 1995–96 CVT Keuken Trappers Tilburg 1996–97 Fulda Tigers Nijmegen 1997–98 Van Heumen Tigers Nijmegen 1998–99 Agio Huys Tigers Nijmegen 1999–2000 Agio Huys Tigers Nijmegen 2000–01 Diamant Trappers Tilburg 2001–02 Boretti Tigers Amsterdam 2002–03 Boretti Tigers Amsterdam 2003–04 Amsterdam Bulldogs 2004–05 Amsterdam Bulldogs 2005–06 Hatulek Emperors Nijmegen 2006–07 Destil Trappers Tilburg 2007–08 Destil Trappers Tilburg 2008–09 HYS The Hague 2009–10 Romijnders Devils Nijmegen 2010–11 HYS The Hague 2011–12 Ruijters Eaters Geleen 2012–13 HYS The Hague 2013–14 Destil Trappers 2014–15 Destil Trappers 2015–16 Friesland Flyers 2016–17 Friesland Flyers 2017–18 HYS The Hague

Notable ex NHL players

Karl Dykhuis Yutaka Fukufuji Alexander Selivanov Zarley Zalapski Jason Lafreniere Roger Kortko Jeff Paul Rick Boh John Wensink Jaroslav Sevcik Dale Henry Paul Houck Dan Bourbonnais Jozef Cierny Michel Galarneau Mark Pederson Dale Weise Mark Botell

Notable ex NHL coaches Fred Shero Lou Vairo

References

External links Official website Year-by-year team standings in the Eredivisie since 1946