HK Poprad explained

HK Poprad is a professional ice hockey team in the Slovak Extraliga, the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. It plays its games in Poprad, Slovakia. The squad's greatest successes include 2nd place in the Slovak Extraliga in 2006, 2011 and 2021. The team finished in the standings of the 2023-2024 season in 1st place, with a record of 27 wins and 15 losses. The club is nicknamed Kamzíci, which means "Chamoises" in Slovak.

History

HK Poprad, in its current incarnation, was founded in 1935 by the merger of two existing teams. Those teams were "SK Vysoke Tatry" (founded in 1926), and a team called "HC Poprad" (founded in 1929 as "Karpathenverein Poprad", name changed to "HC Poprad" in 1930). The 1935 merged team was named "HC Tatry". They started playing in the original SNHL, a 2nd-tier league, and eventually played as one of the strongest teams in various other 2nd-tier leagues. During this time, they went through various name changes, and won Slovak championships in 1970, 1981,1985, and 1991. The 1991 team, known at the time as "SKP PS Poprad", was admitted into the 1st-tier Extraliga of Czechoslovakia.

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Poprad started playing in the new independent Slovak Championship which was named the Slovak Extraliga. The team underwent more minor name changes until 2010, and since that year, the official team name has been HK Poprad.

In the 1996–97 season Poprad was eliminated in the semifinals by HC Košice. In the next season 1997–98, they played semifinals again against HC Košice and lost 0–3. However, these two seasons were successful because the team won bronze medals. In the 2005–06 season the team reached the most remarkable success, but lost 3–4 in the final series against MsHK Žilina. This success was repeated in the 2010–11 season, when they played against the long-time rival HC Košice and lost 1–4 in the final.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last tenth seasons completed by HK Poprad.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime/shootout wins, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, L = Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	Pts	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
	50	18	3	11	18	68	139	149	6th, Extraliga	Lost in Quarterfinals, 1–4 (HKM Zvolen)
	56	18	6	9	23	75	153	167	7th, Extraliga	Lost in Quarterfinals, 0–4 (HK Nitra)
	56	25	6	4	21	91	159	152	6th, Extraliga	Lost in Quarterfinals, 0–4 (HK Dukla Trenčín)
	57	28	9	3	17	102	168	147	5th, Extraliga	Lost in Semifinals, 2–4 (HC '05 Banská Bystrica)
	55	28	5	5	17	99	170	131	4th, Extraliga
	50	26	7	3	14	95	186	133	3rd, Extraliga	Lost in Finals, 1–4 (HKM Zvolen)
	50	17	7	6	20	71	165	161	6th, Extraliga	Lost in Quarterfinals, 3–4 (HK Nitra)
	50	17	9	3	21	72	151	153	7th, Extraliga	Lost in Wild card round, 0–3 (HK Nitra)
	50	27	5	3	15	94	163	119	1st, Extraliga	Lost in Quarterfinals, 2–4 (HK Nitra)
	54	24	4	6	20	86	178	144	6th, Extraliga	Lost in Quarterfinals, 2–4 (HK Nitra)

Honours

Domestic

Slovak Extraliga

• Runners-up (3): 2005–06, 2010–11, 2020–21
• 3rd place (2): 1996–97, 1997–98

Czechoslovak Extraliga

• 3rd place (1): 1937–38

Slovak Hockey League

• Runners-up (1): 1941–42
• 3rd place (2): 1942–43, 1943–44

1st. Slovak National Hockey League

• Winners (4): 1969–70, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1990–91
• Runners-up (4): 1966–67, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1987–88
• 3rd place (6): 1968–69, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1985–86

Pre-season

Tatra Cup

• Winners (15): 1936/1937, 1937/1938, 1938/1939, 1941/1942, 1946/1947, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2025

Players

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten-point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed regular season.^[3]

• – current Poprad player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Points! Player! Pos! GP! G! A! Pts! P/G

	LW	980	380	486	866	.88
	LW	582	205	253	458	.79
	LW	564	143	278	421	.75
	LW	480	157	225	382	.80
	RW	509	137	243	380	.75
	C	379	81	194	275	.73
	RW	309	106	120	226	.73
	LW	367	100	94	194	.53
	D	686	44	144	188	.27
Samuel Mlynarovič	LW	371	85	99	184	.50

Goals! Player! Pos! G

	LW	380
	LW	205
	LW	157
	LW	143
	RW	137
	RW	106
	LW	100
	RW	95
	LW	95
	RW	89

Assists

Player	Pos	A
	LW	486
	LW	278
	LW	253
	RW	243
	LW	225
	C	194
	D	147
	D	144
	RW	120
Daniel Brejčák	D	110

Franchise playoff scoring leaders

These are the top-ten playoff point-scorers in franchise playoff history. Figures are updated after each completed season.^[4]

• – current Poprad player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Poprad player

Points! Player! Pos! GP! G! A! Pts! P/G

	LW	102	41	31	72	–
	LW	65	23	24	47	–
	RW	81	10	30	40	.49
	LW	43	11	19	30	.70
	RW	43	12	14	26	.60
	LW	40	10	15	25	.63
	RW	34	14	10	24	.71
	C	24	10	12	22	.92
	D	57	1	21	22	.39
Samuel Mlynarovič	LW	51	9	12	21	.41

Goals! Player! Pos! G

	LW	41
	LW	23
	RW	14
	RW	12
	LW	11
	F	11
	RW	10
	LW	10
	C	10
Samuel Mlynarovič	LW	9

Assists

Player	Pos	A
	LW	31
	RW	30
	LW	24
	D	21
	LW	19
	LW	17
	LW	15
	RW	14
	D	13
	C	12

NHL alumni

• Jamie Arniel (2022)
• Ľuboš Bartečko (1993–1994, 2010, 2014–2015)
• Peter Bondra (2004)
• Michal Handzuš (1996)
• Kevin Henderson (2016)
• Miroslav Ihnačák (1992, 2004)
• Brandon Mashinter (2021)
• Ladislav Nagy (2010)
• Andrej Nedorost (2011)
• Radoslav Suchý (1994, 2004–2005, 2010–2016)
• Tomáš Surový (2000)
• Ľubomír Vaic (1993–1994, 2011–2013)
• Kyle Wanvig (2010)
• Viktor Svedberg (2024)
• Adam Cracknell (2025)
• Teemu Pulkkinen (2025)
• Ben Thomas (2025)
• Ivan Vishnevskiy (2021)

See also

• Lev Poprad
• Tatra Cup

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: HK Poprad has eliminated the legendary number 13 . www.hkpoprad.sk .
2. Web site: Poprad to retire Arne Kroták . www.hkpoprad.sk .
3. Web site: HK Poprad Career Leaders – eliteprospects.com . www.eliteprospects.com.
4. Web site: HK Poprad - All Time Playoffs Player Stats – eliteprospects.com . www.eliteprospects.com.