Georgia men's national ice hockey team

Lore & Background

Ice hockey was introduced to Georgia in the 1960s as part of a Soviet policy to spread winter sports. A trainer from Moscow, Valentin Zakharov, was sent to Georgia to train youth, but due to the lack of a rink in Tbilisi, most training was dry-land. Georgia played its first game in 1962 during the Winter Spartakiad in Sverdlovsk, winning against the Kirghiz SSR and Armenian SSR. Zakharov left in 1966, and hockey effectively ended until 1978, when one of his students, Nodar Donadze, revived it by establishing a club in Tbilisi. This led to one player, goaltender Kote Bakhutashvili, being invited to CSKA Moscow's youth team in the late 1980s, but hockey ended again in 1987. An ice rink built in Tbilisi was later demolished. In 2004, two of Donadze's students, Denis Davidov and Lasha Tsagareishvili, founded the Georgian Ice Hockey Federation. A national league began in 2007. Shortly after Georgia joined the IIHF in 2009, Davidov, Tsagareishvili, and four others (including the president of the Armenian Ice Hockey Federation) died in a car accident in Turkey, delaying national team plans. Georgia played its first international matches in 2010, exhibition losses to South Africa and Armenia. The team debuted in the World Championship in 2012, failing to qualify for Division III. In 2013 they were placed in Division III and lost all games. Their first win came in 2015 against Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2016, all matches were nullified due to ineligible players. Georgia won at that level in 2018 and earned a promotion to Division II Group B, where they currently play.

Reader's Guide

The Georgian men's national ice hockey team's significance lies in its emergence from a long history of sporadic development. Despite ice hockey being introduced in the 1960s, it never gained popularity and was abandoned multiple times. The modern era began with the founding of the Georgian Ice Hockey Federation in 2004 and a domestic league in 2007. Joining the IIHF in 2009 marked a turning point, though tragedy struck with the deaths of key founders. The team's first competitive matches came in 2012, and they recorded their first win in 2015. A major achievement was winning Division III in 2018, earning promotion to Division II Group B, where they currently play. This success was linked to naturalizing players with Russian or Ukrainian surnames. As of 2025, Georgia is ranked 45th in the World Ranking and 9th in the Asian Ranking. The team also won the Division II title in 2025. Their legacy is one of perseverance, building from a sport with little local infrastructure to a competitive national team.

Did You Know?

• Georgia first played ice hockey in 1962 during the Winter Spartakiad in Sverdlovsk.
• The Georgian Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 2004 by two students of Nodar Donadze.
• Georgia's first international match was in 2010, losing 8–1 to South Africa and 22–1 to Armenia.