Diables Rouges de Valenciennes

History

The exact year the Diables Rouges de Valenciennes first took the ice is a bit hazy, with some sources pointing to 1970 and others to 1971, though the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) officially marks 1971 as their debut. They started out in France’s second division, then known as the Deuxième Série. Not much is recorded from those early days, but the team was forced to pull out of competition before finishing their first season. Two years later, they resurfaced in the third division, only to disappear from the records for the next four years.

By at least 1978, Valenciennes was back in the third division. They earned a promotion to the second division in 1980 and played well enough the following season to enter the relegation round. After failing to climb to the top level, the team took a sharp downturn and ended up in the fourth division, the lowest tier of French hockey, by 1987. They struggled at the bottom for a few years but got a lucky break in 1990 when Amiens’ second team shut down, opening up a spot for them. That timing proved perfect: Valenciennes won their league championship the very next season, which would have earned them a promotion to the second division. However, they couldn’t accept it at the time. They earned another promotion the following year and finally returned to the second division, but their stay lasted just one season—they went winless and dropped back to the third tier.

In 1996, the club declared bankruptcy and was forced down a division despite having one of its best seasons in years. They spent most of the next two decades in the fourth league until 2017, when they were chosen to replace Épinal’s second team. After holding off relegation for several seasons and weathering the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Valenciennes rose to the top of their league in the early 2020s. Despite strong regular-season records, the Red Devils were knocked out in the quarterfinals twice. Fortunately, a spot opened up in FFHG Division 1 in 2023, and the team was able to afford the move back to the second tier.