Turkey, a country located in Western Asia, has a developing history in the sport of ice hockey. This article explores the origins and evolution of ice hockey in Turkey, from its early days to the establishment of professional leagues and national team participation in international competitions.
Ice hockey playing started in Turkey in the beginning of the 1980s at Atatürk ice rink and on the frozen pool of Youth Park in Ankara and Korukent ice rink in Istanbul. By February 1989, the "Buz Pateni Sarayı" (literally "Ice Skating Palace"), country's first Olympic size hockey rink was opened in Ankara, which initiated the ice hockey in Turkey.
Founding of an ice hockey school the same year by Cüneyt Kozan and Fahri Paslı was one of the most basic and important steps in the development of this sport branch in Turkey.
As of January 1990, ice hockey in Turkey operated under the jurisdiction of the Turkish Ski Federation, and the first championship ever was organized among two teams from Ankara and two from Istanbul. Ankara Büyükşehir Belediyesi, İstanbul Paten Klübü, Ankara Atatürk Buz Hokeyi Takımı and İstanbul Boğaziçi Patinaj Klübü participated in the competition and B.B.
The rising interest in ice hockey led to an increasing number of players and teams.
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The Turkish Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1991. It was established as the Turkish Ice Sports Federation. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since May 1, 1991.
Rino Ouellette, a Canadian diplomat in Ankara, who coached two teams consecutively, contributed much to the development of ice hockey sport in Turkey.
A tournament, organized in 1992 (won by Belpa Ankara), laid the ground stone for the establishment of the Turkish Ice Hockey Super League in 1993.
Since 1992-93, a regular Turkish national league is staged. In the first ever edition, six teams competed and B.B. Ankara crowned themselves the champion, by winning all five games. This team has earned the most titles - seven in all. They battled out their last championship in the 2002-03 season.
Polis Akademisi ve Koleji (Police Academy) won five championships and has been the most successful team in recent years. Kocaeli B.B. Kağıt S.K. from İzmit was stopped after reigning from 2004.
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As of March 2013, the total number of ice hockey players is 790 consisting of 310 men's, 320 juniors and 160 women's.
From 1992 on, the federation conducted regularly courses for referees and trainers.
Under increasing competition pressure, the teams were forced to transfer valuable players from countries with ice hockey tradition like Canada, Russia, Ukraine etc.
The TBHF conducts in the 2012-2013 season seven leagues. In the Turkish Ice Hockey Super League, eight teams compete. Turkish Ice Hockey First League comprises five teams.
The TBHF conducts seven ice hockey leagues for men's and women's. The federation organizes also the national teams for men's, men's junior, men's U-18 and women's.
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The Turkish Ice Hockey Super League
The Turkish Ice Hockey Super League (Turkish: Türkiye Buz Hokeyi Süper Ligi, abbreviated TBHSL) is the highest level of professional ice hockey in Turkey.
It is operated under the jurisdiction of the Turkish Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Unlike the National Hockey League, the Super League is not divided into conferences; teams compete in a single division.
Since the beginning of the Turkish Ice Hockey Super League, Ankara teams have earned the most titles.
Currently, Turkish Ice Hockey Super League games are played by teams in four cities including Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Erzurum.
Ice hockey rinks hosting the TBHSL are Silivrikapı Ice Skating Hall (seating capacity: 900) and Zeytinburnu Ice Rink (700) in Istanbul, Ankara Ice Skating Palace (1,150) in Ankara, Bornova Ice Sports Hall (1,751) in İzmir, Palandöken Ice Skating Hall (2,000) and Yakutiye Ice Skating Hall (3,000 and 500) in Erzurum.
Another olympic-sized ice hockey rink is Kocaeli B.B.
Turkish Ice Hockey Super League games are played in two hockey rinks in Turkey. The Bel-Pa Ice Rink in Ankara has a seating capacity of 1,150 spectators and hosts the games of the teams based in Ankara. The Kocaeli Ice Rink in Izmit has the largest seating capacity of any Turkish Ice Hockey Super League arena with its 3,600 seating capacity and it is home to the Kocaeli B.B. Kağıtspor.
Apart from the hockey rinks in Ankara and Izmit, new olympic size hockey rinks were built in Istanbul, Erzurum and Bolu. A new hockey rink in Istanbul, the Silivrikapı Ice Skating Hall opened in September 2008. Another hockey rink is planned for Bolu, but construction has not yet begun. Under the 2011 Winter Universiade held in the city of Erzurum, three rinks were installed.
In the 2008-09 regular season, each team played 10 games. The four best teams at the conclusion of regular season proceed to the play-offs where semifinals and the final are all played.
Games are played over 3 rounds. Higher-ranking teams play the first match at home. Teams are paired up for each round according to regular season results. The highest-ranking team will play against the lowest-ranking and second highest against the second lowest.
League starts at the end of December and finishes in early May. The TBHSL's points system is different from the ice hockey leagues in Europe.
Here is a list of the Turkish Ice Hockey Super League champions:
| Season | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1992-93 | B.B. Ankara |
| ... | ... |
| 2002-03 | B.B. Ankara |
| ... | ... |
The 2016-17 league ended with Zeytinburnu SK leading. League leader played against the 4th ranked team, the runner-up against the third ranked. The clubs played in the 2015-16 season are listed below, alongside their home towns. The 2015-16 league ended with İzmir BB GSK leading. League leader played against the 4th ranked team, the runner-up against the third ranked. Kocaeli BB had to surrender three of its wins when it was discovered that a player was playing with an illegal transfer card.
On March 13, 2010 the Super League All-Star Game will be held in Ankara at the Bel-Pa arena. The game will be televised on TRT and there will be a special guest appearance by Turkish Pop Star Nil Karaibrahimgil.
Foreign Players
Two foreigners played in the Turkish league that season. Canadian Paul Kershaw played for Yükselis and scored 16 points (12+4) in 5 games. The other foreigner was the Swedish goalie Svante Cornell who was the son of an Embassy employee. His goaltending didn't help much because his team Ankara Paten Kulübü finished last.
In 1994 there were no foreigners in the Turkish league.
In 1995 the 36 year old Russian defenseman Sergei Kislitsyn won the scoring championship when he helped Ankara BB win their third Turkish title in a row. He scored 36 goals in 8 games. Kislitsyn played many seasons in the Russian League for Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk.
The import who made the biggest impression in the Turkish League was the Bulgarian international star Stoyan Batchvarov. He scored 185 goals and added 130 assists for 315 points in only 30 games between 1996 and 1998. He scored 101 goals during the 2001 season and played in Turkey until 2007.
International Competitions
The first games that a Turkish team played against international competition were three friendly games between the Istanbul Paten Kulübü and a Junior-B team from the Netherlands (HIJS Den Haag). They played on May 25, 28 and 29, 1990. The Turkish team lost the games by a wide margin. One of the games ended in a 23-1 loss.
The first Turkish club team to play real international games was Ankara BB SK. 1993.
The men's national team made its international debut in 1992, playing in the C2 Pool of the World Championships held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The team was made up by players from Ankara and Istanbul. The Turkish team lost all five games, but gained some valuable experience. Goalies Bilsay Ercan and Yassar Kuvvet quickly became the crowd favorites when they bravely fought between the pipes. They were bombarded in goal,but still enjoyed themselves. Defenseman Ümit Varol was selected as the best Turkish player in the tournament.
The 1992 C Pool Qualification tournament was played in Ankara. It was the first time ever Turkey hosted an international ice hockey tournament. Three teams participated in this qualification group. Turkey,Israel and Greece.
The Turkish team didn't have a chance against Greece, losing 10-2. It was the same story with Israel, who they fell to 14-4.
In late November it was time for another qualification - this time for the 1993 D Pool. Turkey was to play two games against Croatia for the qualification. Nobody expected Turkey to have a chance against the Croats. The Turks lost 24-0 and 34-1. The only Turkish goal scorer was Nevzat Dogan.
They had the same opponents in the 1996 D Pool qualification series. Turkey lost to both Greece and Israel 19-0. The result against Greece was later reversed to a Turkish 5-0 victory because Greece had used ineligible players which meant that they were disqualified. But it wasn't enough for Turkey since they lost to Israel.
At the 1998 D Pool, Turkey played in the same group as Bulgaria, Australia and New Zealand. They lost 20-0 to Bulgaria, 14-1 to Australia but beat New Zealand 4-3. Then in the relegation pool Turkey lost 12-3 to South Africa and 7-4 to Greece.
The best Turkish scorer was Bekir Akgül who scored 5 of the 12 Turkish goals in the tournament and finished with 6 points (5+1) in 5 games. Emir Baran and Yucel Citak both had 2 goals in 5 games. Turkey's best player Ömer Arasan only had one assist.
The Turkish players had problems with the high altitude in Krugersdorp (South Africa) and the thin air up there. Several of the Turkish players had to be given extra oxygen at the end of the games.
Since 1998 Turkey has bounced between the Division II (C Pool) and Division III (D Pool) levels. Turkey won gold on home ice at the Division III World Championship in 2012 (Erzurum) and 2016 (Istanbul). The hosts went undefeated on both occasions.
The women's national team first appeared on the international scene in 2007, playing in Division IV of the IIHF World Women's Championships.
The junior national team first participated in the IIHF World U20 Championships in 1998, finishing in eighth and last place in Pool D. Turkey has exclusively played in the lowest tier of the world juniors (Pool D/Division III), and their best finish was third in Division III in 2003 and 2006.
The national team's head coach is Jim MacEachern form Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada.
The Turkish men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Turkey, and is controlled by the Turkish Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. It is currently ranked 39th in the IIHF World Ranking.
