EHC Kloten

Lore & Background

EHC Kloten was founded by seven members led by Emil Hegner on December 3, 1934. Early matches were exhibition games played on the frozen Nägelimoos-Weiher. The team began in the lowest league, earning promotions to Serie B in 1941, Serie A in 1946, and the Swiss League in 1947. In 1962, they joined the National League when it expanded to 10 teams. They won their first championship in 1967 under Czech coach Vladimir Kobera and have remained in the top flight since, becoming the longest-serving team in the NL.

For the 1998-99 season, Russian coach Vladimir Yurzinov introduced a new playing style emphasizing youth development. Although the team was initially unsuccessful, they reached the playoffs for the first time in 2003-04 and again survived in 2004-05. Yurzinov was released in October 2004 but stayed as a youth promoter. His successors, former defenseman Anders Eldebrink and assistant Felix Hollenstein, returned the team to success. The club was known as the Kloten Flyers from 2000 to 2016, when businessman Hans-Ulrich Lehmann bought the organization and reverted the name to EHC Kloten. Pekka Tirkkonen was appointed head coach for the 2016-17 season.

The team had one of the worst attendances in the NL for the 2016-17 season, averaging 5,229 spectators per home game and failing to sell out any regular-season match. On February 1, 2017, they won their first Swiss Cup, defeating Genève-Servette HC in a packed Swiss Arena. After being relegated for the first time in the 2017-18 season, they returned to the NL by winning the Swiss League title in April 2022 against EHC Olten.

Reader's Guide

EHC Kloten's significance lies in its sustained presence at the highest level of Swiss hockey and its exceptional youth development. The club has been the longest-serving team in the National League since its promotion in 1962, never having been relegated until the 2017-18 season. Its youth system is among the best in the country, with junior teams winning 19 championships over 50 years, the latest in the 2005-06 season. This pipeline of talent underpinned the club's golden era of four consecutive Swiss championships from 1993 to 1996, a feat that remains a benchmark in Swiss hockey. The team's resilience is shown by its return to the NL after relegation, winning the Swiss League title in 2022. The 2017 Swiss Cup victory, achieved in a sold-out home arena, marked another milestone. Despite periods of low attendance and coaching changes, including the philosophical shift under Vladimir Yurzinov, the club has maintained its top-tier status and continues to rely on its junior program, which includes partnerships with Bülach, Dielsdorf-Niederhasli, and Winterthur.

Did You Know?

• EHC Kloten was founded on December 3, 1934, by seven members led by Emil Hegner.
• They were known as the Kloten Flyers from 2000 until 2016.
• The club's youth teams have won 19 championships in the last 50 years, the most recent in the 2005-06 season.