EHC Winterthur

Lore & Background

EHC Winterthur was founded in 1929 and remained an amateur club in the Swiss Regio Leagues until earning promotion to the National League B for the first time in 1961, where Winterthur remained for two seasons before leaving. After relegation from the NLB, the club was merged with the second Winterthur club, EHC Veltheim, to form Rot-Wiess Winterthur on May 30, 1963. As a result, 1963 is also referenced as the club's foundation year.

Rot-Wiess played the following six years in the lower leagues before playing a lone season in the NLB in 1969. On April 22, 1980, the club returned to its original name as EHC Winterthur. In the 2009–10 season, EHC Winterthur won the Swiss amateur champion title, but due to lack of financial backing opted not to participate in the NLB.

EHC continued to play between the Regio leagues, again claiming the Swiss amateur championship at the end of the 2014–15 season, defeating the likes of EHC Wiki-Münsingen and HC Sion-Nendaz. Applying for promotion to the NLB, Winterthur gained its green card with increased financial power and solidified its position within the league through the 2015–16 season.

Reader's Guide

EHC Winterthur's significance lies in its long-standing amateur status and its repeated achievements in Swiss lower-tier hockey. The club was founded in 1929 and, after a merger in 1963 that created Rot-Wiess Winterthur, it returned to its original name in 1980. Its two Swiss amateur championships, in 2010 and 2015, highlight its competitive success at the amateur level, though financial constraints prevented the club from moving up to the professional National League B after the 2010 title. The club's history includes brief stints in the NLB in the early 1960s and again in 1969, demonstrating periodic upward mobility. The 2015 amateur championship led to a successful promotion application, allowing Winterthur to solidify its position in the NLB through the 2015–16 season. As of the 2026–27 season, the team will play in the MyHockey League, the third tier of Swiss hockey, reflecting its continued presence in the national league system. The club's legacy is that of a resilient amateur organization that has navigated mergers, financial limitations, and league changes while maintaining its identity in Winterthur.

Did You Know?

• EHC Winterthur was founded in 1929, but 1963 is also referenced as its foundation year due to a merger with EHC Veltheim.
• The club won the Swiss amateur championship in 2010 but declined promotion to the NLB due to lack of financial backing.
• EHC Winterthur defeated EHC Wiki-Münsingen and HC Sion-Nendaz to win the 2015 Swiss amateur championship.