British ice hockey league champions#2003-Present: Elite League Champions
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The British ice hockey league champions are the winners of the regular season of the highest ice hockey league in the United Kingdom, currently the Elite Ice Hockey League. Previously, the highest league has been the British National League (1954–60), the Premier Division (1983–96) and the Ice Hockey Superleague (1996–2003).
While the regular season winners are recognised as the British League champions, the British champions are regarded as the winners of the end-of-season playoffs, for which the league provides qualification and seeding.
History
Prior to the formation of the British National League, England and Scotland each had their own competitions. The English League was founded in 1931 with the Scottish National League being formed a year later. The majority of English League clubs left to form the English National League in 1935,{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.azhockey.com/En.htm#EL | title=English League | encyclopedia=A to Z Encyclopedia of Ice Hockey | access-date=2008-06-10 }} leading the disbandment of the English League at the end of the 1935–36 season. The Scottish National League and English National League both continued until 1954. In that year the decision was taken to amalgamate the two leagues into one.{{cite book |last = Chambers|first = Michael A. |title= Nottingham Panthers Factual Scrapbook 1939–2007 |date= 2007-09-01 |publisher = Michael A Chambers |isbn= 978-0-9539398-1-7 }} The new competition initially fielded 12 sides in its inaugural season, four from England and eight from Scotland. The Dunfermline Vikings withdrew from the league in early 1955 and at the end of the season six of the seven remaining Scottish sides withdrew, leaving the league with five members. This fell to four following the closure of Harringay Arena in 1958 but increased again to five in 1959 following the admission of Streatham. The league was disbanded following the 1959–60 season.
Following the closure of the British National League, no league competition took place in the United Kingdom for the next six years. Instead clubs, some of which did not have a home rink, participated in rink tournaments.{{cite web|url=http://www.ihjuk.co.uk/history.htm |title=Ice Hockey History |work=Ice Hockey Journalists UK |access-date=2008-06-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509101309/http://www.ihjuk.co.uk/history.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2008 }} In 1966 the Northern League was formed. This league was made up of teams from Scotland and North East England and was the country's only league for four years. The Southern League was established in 1970 and was divided into the English League North and Inter-City League in 1978. The British Hockey League was formed in 1982 with the Premier Division being launched a season later. There has been a British league continuously since then, although there have been three different organisations and the number of teams taking part has varied from twelve in 1993–94, 1994–95 and 2017–18 to five in 2002–03. The current Elite Ice Hockey League was established in 2003.
There has been a British league competition for 47 seasons and 16 teams have won the league championship. The most successful club is the Sheffield Steelers, who have won the championship on ten occasions, followed by the Belfast Giants (8), the Cardiff Devils (6), the now-defunct Durham Wasps (5) and the Coventry Blaze (4). The Nottingham Panthers, the only club to have played in all 47 seasons, have won the title twice (additionally Nottingham were English champions twice before the British National League was formed). The Durham Wasps, Murrayfield Racers, Cardiff Devils, Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze are the only sides to have successfully defended a title.
Champions
=1954–60: British National League=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | |
| rowspan=2 width=105|Season
!rowspan=2 width=160|Winner (number of titles) !rowspan=2 width=160|Runner-up !rowspan=2 width=160|Third !colspan=2|Top points scorer{{cite book |title= Nottingham Panthers Statistical Guidebook 1946–2000 |last = Chambers |first= Michael A. |date=November 2000 |publisher = M.A. Chambers |isbn= 0-9539398-0-4 }} | |
|---|---|
| width=260|Player
!Points | |
| 1954–55
|Harringay Racers (1) |Chick Zamick (Nottingham) | 112 |
| 1955–56
|Nottingham Panthers (1) | rowspan=5 align=center|Statistics not available{{efn|The primary source for statistics in British ice hockey in the post war period was the Ice Hockey World Annual. This ceased publishing following its 1956 edition and therefore the top points scorer after that time is not presently known.}} | |
| 1956–57
|Wembley Lions (1) | |
| 1957–58
|Brighton Tigers (1) | |
| 1958–59
|Paisley Pirates (1) | |
| 1959–60
|Streatham (1) |
=1982–96: Premier Division=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | |
| rowspan=2 width=105|Season
!rowspan=2 width=160|Winner (number of titles) !rowspan=2 width=160|Runner-up !rowspan=2 width=160|Third | |
|---|---|
| width=260|Player
!Points | |
| 1982–83
|Dundee Rockets (1) | | | |
| 1983–84
|Dundee Rockets (2) |Roy Halpin (Dundee) | 175 |
| 1984–85
|Durham Wasps (1) |David Stoyanovich (Fife) | 175 |
| 1985–86
|Durham Wasps (2) |Tim Salmon (Ayr) | 254 |
| 1986–87
|Murrayfield Racers (1) |Rick Fera (Murrayfield) | 242 |
| 1987–88
|Murrayfield Racers (2) |Scott Morrison (Whitley) | 224 |
| 1988–89
|Durham Wasps (3) |Rick Brebant (Durham) | 218 |
| 1989–90
|Cardiff Devils (1) |Steve Moria (Cardiff) | 175 |
| 1990–91
|Durham Wasps (4) |Rick Brebant (Durham) | 209 |
| 1991–92
|Durham Wasps (5) |Rick Brebant (Durham) | 160 |
| 1992–93
|Cardiff Devils (2) |Tony Hand (Murrayfield) | 185 |
| 1993–94
|Cardiff Devils (3) |Tony Hand (Murrayfield) | 222 |
| 1994–95
|Sheffield Steelers (1) |Tony Hand (Murrayfield) | 207 |
| 1995–96
|Sheffield Steelers (2) |Tony Hand (Sheffield) | 135 |
=1996–2003: Ice Hockey Superleague=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | |
| rowspan=2 width=105|Season
!rowspan=2 width=160|Winner (number of titles) !rowspan=2 width=160|Runner-up !rowspan=2 width=160|Third !colspan=2|Top points scorer{{cite book |title= Ice Hockey Annual 2006–07 |editor= Roberts, Stewart |date=October 2006 |publisher= Stewart Roberts |isbn= 0-9536410-7-4 }} | |
|---|---|
| width=260|Player
!Points | |
| 1996–97
|Cardiff Devils (4) |Dale Junkin (Bracknell) | 60 |
| 1997–98
|Ayr Scottish Eagles (1) |Tony Hand (Sheffield) | 39 |
| 1998–99
|Manchester Storm (1) |Paul Adey (Nottingham) | 56 |
| 1999–2000
|Bracknell Bees (1) |Ed Courtenay (Sheffield) | 70 |
| 2000–01
|Sheffield Steelers (3) |Greg Bullock (Manchester) | 60 |
| 2001–02
|Belfast Giants (1) |Kevin Riehl (Belfast) | 56 |
| 2002–03
|Sheffield Steelers (4) |Lee Jinman (Nottingham) | 36 |
=2003–present: Elite Ice Hockey League=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | |
| rowspan=2 width=105|Season
!rowspan=2 width=160|Winner (number of titles) !rowspan=2 width=160|Runner-up !rowspan=2 width=160|Third !colspan=2|Top points scorer{{cite web|url=http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/stats/query.php |title=Player Rankings |work=Elite Ice Hockey League |access-date=2008-07-12 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080603220541/http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/stats/query.php |archive-date=2008-06-03 |url-status=dead }} | |
|---|---|
| width=260|Player
!Points | |
| 2003-04
|Sheffield Steelers (5) |Mark Dutiaume (Sheffield) | 88 |
| 2004–05
|Coventry Blaze (1) |Dan Carlson (Coventry) | 61 |
| 2005–06
|Belfast Giants (2) |Theo Fleury (Belfast) | 81 |
| 2006–07
|Coventry Blaze (2) |Dan Tessier (Sheffield) | 84 |
| 2007–08
|Coventry Blaze (3) |Adam Calder (Coventry) | 104 |
| 2008–09
|Sheffield Steelers (6) |David-Alexandre Beauregard (Manchester) | 107 |
| 2009–10
|Coventry Blaze (4) |Colin Shields (Belfast) | 106 |
| 2010–11
|Sheffield Steelers (7) |Jon Pelle (Cardiff) | 111 |
| 2011–12
|Belfast Giants (3) |Jade Galbraith (Braehead) | 101 |
| 2012–13
|Nottingham Panthers (2) |David Ling (Nottingham) | 95 |
| 2013–14
|Belfast Giants (4) |Ryan Ginand (Coventry) | 85 |
| 2014–15
|Sheffield Steelers (8) |Mathieu Roy (Sheffield) | 79 |
| 2015–16
|Sheffield Steelers (9) |Mathew Sisca (Manchester) | 75 |
| 2016–17
|Cardiff Devils (5) |Matt Beca (Braehead) | 75 |
| 2017–18
|Cardiff Devils (6) |Mike Hammond (Manchester) | 83 |
| 2018–19
|Belfast Giants (5) |Darcy Murphy (Belfast) | 79 |
| 2019–20
|align=center colspan=3 |Season abandoned due to coronavirus pandemic. No championship awarded. |Sam Herr (Nottingham) | 59 |
| 2020–21
|align=center colspan=3 |Season cancelled entirely due to coronavirus pandemic. No championship awarded. |N/A | N/A |
| 2021–22
|Belfast Giants (6) |J.J. Piccinich (Belfast) | 80 |
| 2022–23
|Belfast Giants (7) |Scott Conway (Belfast) | 90 |
| 2023–24
|Sheffield Steelers (10) |Mitchell Balmas (Sheffield) | 66 |
| 2024–25
|Belfast Giants (8) |Alexis D'Aoust (Manchester) |68 |
Total titles won
Teams in bold are current Elite Ice Hockey League members. Teams in italics are teams which play outside of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The remaining teams are defunct, although Dundee, Edinburgh (home of the Murrayfield Racers) and Manchester still have their own ice hockey teams.
| class="wikitable" |
| Club
! Winners ! Runners-up ! Winning Years |
|---|
| Sheffield Steelers
|{{center|10}} |{{center|8}} | 1994–95, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2023–24 |
| Belfast Giants
|{{center|8}} |{{center|6}} | 2001–02, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022-23, 2024-25 |
| Cardiff Devils
|{{center|6}} |{{center|8}} | 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 2016–17, 2017–18 |
| Durham Wasps
|{{center|5}} |{{center|2}} | 1984–85, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92 |
| Coventry Blaze
|{{center|4}} |{{center|1}} | 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10 |
| Nottingham Panthers
|{{center|2}} |{{center|5}} | 1955–56, 2012–13 |
| Murrayfield Racers
|{{center|2}} |{{center|4}} | 1986–87, 1987–88 |
| Dundee Rockets
|{{center|2}} |{{center|1}} | 1982-83, 1983–84 |
| Wembley Lions
|{{center|1}} |{{center|2}} | 1956–57 |
| Harringay Racers
|{{center|1}} |{{center|1}} | 1954–55 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles
|{{center|1}} |{{center|1}} | 1997–98 |
| Manchester Storm
|{{center|1}} |{{center|1}} | 1998–99 |
| Brighton Tigers
|{{center|1}} |{{center|0}} | 1957–58 |
| Paisley Pirates
|{{center|1}} |{{center|0}} | 1958–59 |
| Streatham
|{{center|1}} |{{center|0}} | 1959–60 |
| Bracknell Bees
|{{center|1}} |{{center|0}} |1999–2000 |
Total titles won by Home Nation
Each of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom have had at least one team who have been British champions. 10 different teams from England have been league champions on 27 occasions, while 4 Scottish sides have won five times between them, while Welsh side Cardiff Devils (6) and the Northern Ireland based Belfast Giants (8) are the only sides from their parts of the United Kingdom to win the league. In 46 completed seasons, English sides have won 27 titles, while the Celtic nations combined have won 19.
| class="wikitable" |
| Nation
! Number of titles ! Clubs |
|---|
| {{flagicon|ENG}} England
| {{center|27}} | Sheffield Steelers (10), Durham Wasps (5), Coventry Blaze (4), Nottingham Panthers (2), Bracknell Bees (1), Manchester Storm (1), Streatham (1), Brighton Tigers (1), Wembley Lions (1), Harringay Racers (1) |
| {{flagicon|NIR}} Northern Ireland
| {{center|8}} | Belfast Giants (8) |
| {{flagicon|WAL}} Wales
| {{center|6}} | Cardiff Devils (6) |
| {{flagicon|SCO}} Scotland
| {{center|5}} | Murrayfield Racers (2), Ayr Scottish Eagles (1), Dundee Rockets (1), Paisley Pirates (1) |
Notes
{{noteslist}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
{{British ice hockey}}
{{British Ice Hockey seasons}}
Category:Ice hockey in the United Kingdom
Category:Ice Hockey Superleague