Portugal men's national ice hockey team

Lore & Background

Ice hockey was played in Portugal from 1996 until 2006 at the Palácio do Gelo shopping center in Viseu. In 2000, the national team played its only games for years, a three-game series against the First Portuguese Canadian Cultural Center (FPCCC) from Toronto. The team was composed of former Portuguese immigrants who played ice hockey in the United States and Canada, as well as former roller hockey players. The FPCCC won the first game 18–6 and the second 21–5; Pedro Regado scored Portugal's first goal at 8:04 of the first period. The third game saw teams mixed, with Portuguese descendants of the FPCCC joining Portugal, resulting in a 15–11 loss. Portugal did not play another organized match until 2015. In January 2015, Portugal returned with two exhibition games against the Čeští lvi in Elvas, winning 6–4 and 6–2. In 2016, they played in Prague, losing 0–2 and 0–3 before winning their first away game 4–3 against the Čeští lvi. In January 2017, Portugal hosted a quadrangular tournament in Elvas, the largest ice hockey competition ever held in the country, with teams from the Czech Republic and France. Later in 2017, under Canadian coach Jim Aldred, Portugal debuted at the inaugural IIHF Development Cup in Andorra, winning bronze. Aldred also led Portugal to a second-place finish at a ten-team tournament in Nijmegen. In 2018, Portugal earned silver at the Development Cup. After two winless cups, Portugal placed second at the 2024 Development Cup, losing 5–1 to Ireland in the final. In July 2023, Aldred established Ice Hockey Club Porto, the first Portuguese team to join the Spanish Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo. Aldred has cited the lack of a standard-sized rink as the primary obstacle to development; a rink is scheduled to open in Trofa in 2025.

Reader's Guide

The Portugal men's national ice hockey team represents a small but persistent ice hockey program in a country without a standard-sized rink. Its history is marked by long gaps in competition—no games between 2000 and 2015—and a reliance on players from the Portuguese diaspora in North America and Europe. The team's most consistent success has come in the IIHF Development Cup, where it has won bronze in 2017 and 2025, and silver in 2018 and 2024. The team's first win came in 2015 against a Czech club side, and its first away win followed in 2016. The establishment of Ice Hockey Club Porto in 2023, joining the Spanish league, signals an effort to develop domestic talent. The team's governing body changed in September 2017 from the Federation of Portuguese Ice Sports to the Federação de Desportos de Inverno de Portugal, which holds associate IIHF membership. Portugal is not ranked in the IIHF World Rankings and does not compete in World Championship events. The team's progress is constrained by infrastructure, with coach Jim Aldred noting the lack of a standard-sized rink as the primary obstacle.

Did You Know?

• Portugal's first international games were played in June 2000 against the First Portuguese Canadian Cultural Center from Toronto.
• Pedro Regado scored Portugal's first ever goal at 8:04 of the first period in the 2000 series.
• Portugal won its first ever game in January 2015, defeating the Čeští lvi 6–4.
• The team has won four IIHF Development Cup medals: bronze in 2017 and 2025, and silver in 2018 and 2024.