EHC Freiburg

Lore & Background

The club was created as EHC Freiburg in 1984. In 2003, they became champion of the 2nd Bundesliga and earned the right to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in the 2003–04 season. The organization was spun off to Die wölfe Eishockeyveranstaltungs GmbH and was renamed Wölfe Freiburg, while the other teams of the club remained at EHC Freiburg e.V. Wölfe Freiburg finished in last place in its only DEL season and was relegated back to the 2nd Bundesliga.

Wölfe Freiburg then bounced between the 2nd Bundesliga and the Oberliga for several seasons. In 2006, Die wölfe Eishockeyveranstaltungs GmbH declared bankruptcy and Wölfe Freiburg GmbH was established the following year. The team was relegated down to the Regionalliga, the fourth tier of ice hockey in Germany, after Wölfe Freiburg GmbH went bankrupt in the spring of 2011. For 2011–12, the team was once again dubbed as EHC Freiburg (while keeping the Wölfe emblem) and won all 21 of its regular season games, en route to the Regionalliga championship and a promotion once again to the Oberliga. In the Season 2014–2015 the team became champion of the Oberliga and played the following season in the DEL 2.

In May 2019, it was announced that Peter Russell had left the Glasgow Clan, and would be joining EHC Freiburg in the DEL2, taking over from Jan Melichar.

Reader's Guide

EHC Freiburg's significance lies in its turbulent history of financial instability and competitive resilience. The club's only DEL season in 2003–04 ended in last place and immediate relegation, highlighting the difficulty of sustaining top-tier status. Its repeated bankruptcies—first in 2006 and again in 2011—forced the team to drop to the Regionalliga, the fourth tier, before rebuilding under the original EHC Freiburg name. The club's ability to win championships at lower levels, such as the Regionalliga title in 2011–12 with a perfect 21–0 record and the Oberliga championship in 2014–15, demonstrates a pattern of recovery and promotion. The 2019 coaching change from Jan Melichar to Peter Russell, who came from the Glasgow Clan, marks a recent attempt to stabilize in the DEL 2. The club's legacy is one of persistence through financial and competitive challenges, maintaining a presence in German professional hockey despite multiple setbacks.

Did You Know?

• EHC Freiburg was created in 1984.
• The team won the 2nd Bundesliga championship in 2003 and played one season in the DEL in 2003–04, finishing last.
• The club went bankrupt twice: once in 2006 and again in spring 2011.
• In the 2011–12 Regionalliga season, EHC Freiburg won all 21 regular season games.

From Soviet Rinks to German Dominance

Oleg Znarok's playing journey spanned over two decades and multiple continents. He first stepped onto the ice for Traktor Chelyabinsk during the 1979–80 campaign, making intermittent appearances before logging 18 games in 1981–82. His first senior goal came against the legendary Vladislav Tretiak. From 1983 to 1991, he anchored Dinamo Riga's attack, transforming from a modest three-assist season into a breakout 27-point year in 1984–85. His career peak arrived in 1990–91 with 51 points in just 44 games. Across his Soviet career he tallied 221 points in 361 appearances. After brief stints in the AHL and Czech Extraliga, Znarok found his true calling in Germany's second division. His 1992–93 season with EV Landsberg was extraordinary: 220 points in 66 games. Over a nine-year German career spanning EV Landsberg, EHC Freiburg, and Heilbronner EC, he accumulated 1,069 points in 461 regular-season games, retiring after the 2001–02 campaign.

A Prolific Coaching Career on the World Stage

Znarok's transition from player to coach produced some of the most decorated results in modern ice hockey. At the club level, he guided HC MVD to a Gagarin Cup final appearance in 2009–10, falling in a grueling seven-game series. His most celebrated club tenure came with Dynamo Moscow, where he delivered consecutive KHL titles in 2011–12 and 2012–13, followed by a Continental Cup in 2013–14. On the international stage, Znarok assumed the Russian national team helm after the 2014 Winter Olympics disappointment and immediately delivered a perfect 10–0 record to a gold medal at the 2014 IIHF World Championships. He followed with silver in 2015 and bronze in both 2016 and 2017, plus a fourth-place finish at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The crowning achievement came at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where Russia captured gold. He also coached the Latvian national team across five senior World Championships, two U-20 tournaments, and one U-18 event. By 2022, he served as head coach of Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL while consulting for Russia's senior squad.

Family, Romance, and a Missed Opportunity

Znarok's personal story is as compelling as his on-ice résumé. Born in Ust-Katav in 1963 to a footballer father named Valeri, young Oleg first discovered hockey when his grandfather took him and his younger brother to a local skating rink. He met his future wife Ilona in the stands at a hockey game; she had no particular interest in sports and was simply supporting friends. After spotting her again at a post-match restaurant gathering, he mustered the courage to approach her, and they have remained together ever since. Their two daughters, Valeria and Alisa, have carved out careers in marketing and modeling respectively, with Alisa married to hockey player Artemi Panarin. In the family home attic, Ilona has curated a growing collection of her husband's medals, awards, and jerseys. Among these treasures sits an unsigned Boston Bruins contract that Znarok declined in the early 1990s. Unable to read English and lacking a translator, he assumed the salary figure was unacceptably low. It was only roughly a decade later that he learned the number represented a monthly rather than annual payment.

Youthful Promise and International Debut

Znarok's early international experiences foreshadowed a career that would touch multiple nations and leagues. As a teenager at Traktor Chelyabinsk, he shared the ice with future star Vyachislav Bykov, who would later coach Russia to back-to-back world titles. In 1981, the young Znarok was summoned to the Soviet under-18 squad, where he claimed a European championship with 16 points across five games. His senior international exposure began in 1989, when Dinamo Riga represented the Soviet side in the Super Series against NHL clubs; he scored once in three appearances. The following year, as a member of the broader Dynamo sports society, he was loaned to Dynamo Moscow's North American tour, netting two goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres over four games. That same year, a call-up to the Soviet national team for the Japan Cup yielded 8 points in a short tournament. These early forays on the world stage, combined with his Soviet league experience, laid the groundwork for his later decades of coaching success across Russia, Latvia, and the KHL.