It’s Not the NHL But It’ll Do

Background on the MOL League

@Zavodszky

icehockey.hu 

The questions that people ask with a slight surprise is “is there hockey in Hungary?” and once they get the answer of YES the next question is “and is it any good?” Well is not the NHL but nothing really is. For five seasons now the top hockey league in Hungary has been running under the name of MOL League. The MOL petrol company has been the main sponsor of this multinational league. Much like the EBEL (Erste Bank Elite League) in Austria which is made up of teams from five different countries, the MOL league is made up of teams from three countries this season (with an eye to expantion). In the past the number of the teams in the league has fluctuated anywhere from seven to ten. The 2008-09 season was the first year of this multinational league with ten teams and the league could not have pictured of having a better inaugural season. The league had four teams from Romania, two Csikszereda teams, HC Csikszereda, and SC Csikszereda, Steaua Bucharest, and Progym Hargita and six from Hungary with three being located in Budapest, Újpest (ÚTE), Ferencváros (FTC) and the newly former Budapest Stars. Rounding out the league was Dunaújváros Acélbikák (DAB), Miskolc Jegesmedék (MJSE) and Székesfehérvár II (the farm team for a team playing in the EBEL).

That first season was a rather exciting one in which ice hockey fans in Hungary had the opportunity to see teams play in a league that they had not really seen before. That first season was won by HC Csikszereda with a very talented and multi ethnic team.

The next season, 2009-10 the number of participants in the league dropped down to seven teams. The two Csikszereda teams merged to form HSC Csikrszereda, Bucharest and Hargita decided to only play in the Romanian league, on the Hungarian side Székesfehérvár decided to not enter a team since they thought they were streched too thin with playing in the Austrian EBEL as well. However not all was lost, a team from Brossó in Romania was formed to have the seven team league. The league title went to the Budapest Stars who after the regular season had finished third but ended up upsetting the heavily favored team from Dunaújváros. The Stars picked up a number of players down the stretch.

The third season proved that this league was on the right track; all seven teams from the previous season were back along with two teams that had sat out the last season. Bucharest was back but rebranded as the Bucharest Rangers and Székesfehérvár’s farm team was back as well. The nine team league title went to HSC Csikszereda, which still had a number of players from the HC Csikszereda team that had won the first title. Unfortunately signs began to show that financially not all teams were on the same level. ÚTE before the season decided to almost go with a complete amateur team with most of the players either still being students or having a job on the side. The idea was to build up a roster of homegrown talent for a couple of years.

Before the start of the fourth MOL League season there was some shocking new to the Budapest hockey community, the Budapest Stars have decided to stop operating their adult (the youth system was left untouched) and the league would be down to eight teams. The league was won by DAB who that season decided not only to play in the MOL League but also in the Austrian 2^nd division with an eye on the EBEL in the future. In the past DAB had in the most consistent team through out the history of the league but had yet to win the title, this was finally accomplished after a grueling season where they made the playoffs in the Austrian 2^nd division as well.

As we are on the cusp of the start of the playoffs for this years MOL League we can notice that hockey in Budapest is bit on a down slide with both ÚTE and FTC missing the playoffs. However there is some good news in that the league has expanded into a third country, Slovakia. This season the league was down to seven teams, Bucharest again decided to sit out the season and Székesfehérvár thought that they would be stretched too thin with their younger players already playing in the Austrian U20 league. To keep the league at seven, Nové Zamsky Ice Tigers from Slovakia have joined the league and made it to the playoffs. This season the playoffs is a final four with the Ice Tigers playing Csikszereda and with MJSE and DAB making up the other semi final pairing.

Check back for more news on the MOL League playoffs

name	season in mol	mol team	nhl draft	drafted by	nhl matches
John Wilkstrom	2008-09	HC Csik.	1997, 5th rd.	Red Wings	0
Cam Severson	2008-09	Steaua	1997, 8th rd.	Sharks	37
Rod Hinks	2008-09	DAB	1993, 8th rd.	Islanders	0
Peter Polcik	2008-09	Stars	2001, 8th rd	Capitals	0
Kristian Kovac	2008-09	Stars	1999, 4th rd	Avalanche	0
Tamás Gröschl	2008-	Stars,DAB	1999, 9th rd	Oilers	0
Branislav Fabry	2009-10	ÚTE	2003, 2nd rd	Sabres	0
Martin Cizek	2009-10	MJSE	2002, 9th rd.	Sabres	0
Marko Kiprusoff	2010-11	Stars	1994, 3rd rd.	Canadiens	51
Nathan Martz	2010-11	Stars	2000, 5th rd.	Rangers	0
Marko Makinen	2010-11	Stars	1995, 3rd rd.	Sharks	0
Chris Eade	2010-11	FTC	2000, 4th rd.	Panthers	0
Jozef Cierny	2011-12	Brassó	1992, 2nd rd.	Sabres	1
Lubos Velebny	2011-12	DAB	2000, 7th rd.	Leafs	0
Marek Chvatal	2012-13	DAB	2002, 3rd rd.	Devils	0
Konstantin Mikhailov	2012-13	IceTigers	2001, 8th rd	Canucks	0

Names in italic were under contract and played match for teams in the MOL but never dressed for a MOL League match

NHL Draft Pick in Budapest?

@Zavodszky

icehockey.hu

Yes if this would be the 2009-10 hockey season then us the hockey fans in Budapest would have had a chance so see the first pick of the 2012 NHL Draft playing for Reaktor Niznekamsk of the MHL. Nail Yakupov is playing his rookies season in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. During the 2010-11 season Vladimir Tarasenko played for Sibirskie Snaiperi Novosibirsk, who this season as a rookie with the St.Louis Blues has 11 points in 13 games. In case you missed it but every hockey fan has a chance to see someone, one that might become a future NHL star this season in Budapest. The 2012-13 season has been the inaugural season of Patriot Budapest in the MHL, a junior hockey league. The MHL which stands literally for youth hockey league but more known as minor hockey league, is functioning as what the junior leagues are acting as in the U.S. and Canada. 

The MHL is the major junior hockey league in Russia and is the stepping stone to the KHL. Unlike in North America where someone is drafted into one of the three Canadian major junior leagues (QMJHL, OHL, WHL) the MHL signs players who have a chance of being called up to the KHL. Almost all the teams in the league are affiliated with a team in the KHL or VHL (Russian 2nd division) almost like a farm club, the KHL/VHL team can call up a player from the youth team if they feel that that player has out grown the junior league, other times they will call up a player from an actual farm club in the Russian second or third division. Below the MHL there is a second tier, MHL-2, the MHL has a relegation system where at the end of the season two teams go down to MHL-2 and are replaced by two that come up. Since the founding of the KHL the Russian ice hockey federation has been trying to copy the North American system the best it can and theatrically in the end pass up the NHL has the top hockey league in the world. Based off of this logic they are setting up a similar junior system as the one found in North America.

The actual on ice product is quality hockey that at times is rare to see. The league is up there with the rest of the top youth or junior leagues through out Europe just like in Sweden and Finland. Benjámin Nemes, Hungarian All-Star center of Patriot Budapest says that the top teams in the MHL are on the same level as the top teams in the Swedish U20 SuperElit league. The MHL also reflects the style of play that one might have to come to know from Russian players, the flow of the game is a faster pace with more passes. Nemes continues saying that the Russian style is not as restrictive in a style as he experienced in Sweden where everything is played within a structured system.

The MHL has proved that it is an adequate league to be tapped into drafted by the NHL. The last five drafts 35 players have been drafted. Compared to junior leagues in North America and the NCAA (U.S. college league) the MHL has been right in the middle of it. Excluding the OHL which has double digit first round picks and the WHL the MHL has been right behind the WHL and the USHL. Do not be surprised if the MHL closes the gap in years to come
Either way it will be an exciting end to the season for Patriot Budapest, this season could have gone better for the team on the ice. Once the regular season is over they will fight to stay in the MHL and hope to avoid relegation to MHL-2 and to be back better then ever for the 2013-14 MHL season.

Check back in the coming weeks to get a first hand account of the All-Star gala and other news about Patriot Budapest.

Cherno Charges On for Win

@Zavodszky

In case you missed it here is the recap of the Hungary-Romania  icehockey match from last friday. The story can also be found on the English part of icehockey.hu

The national team wins match for new coach.

In what turned out to be a relatively easy win, Hungary put a beating on their neighbors to the east with a 7-0 win over Romania. Hungary took the early lead 1:36 into the first on a goal by András Benk with István Bartalis assisting on the goal. The Huns doubled their lead with Bartalis scoring one for himself from a pass by the 3rd member of their line, Ladislav Sikorcin. The so called “third line” would go on to score 5 out of the 7 goals. With five minutes left in the first period István Sofron received 2 minutes for checking to the head/neck and a misconduct that goes with it. Tamás Pozsgai got 2 minutes for cross checking, luckily the boys managed to kill the penalties.
The second period started off much like the first with the “third” line scoring at 2:33 into the period. Benk put the puck in the back of the net with the help of both Bartalis and Sikorcin. For the rest of the period neither of the red lights lit up behind either goal, however the Hungarians kept up their visits to the penalty box. Bence Szirányi for slashing, Benk for cross checking, and Dániel Kiss for tripping all received two minutes each with Botond Flinta joining in on the fun from the Romanian side for tripping as well.
The third period was the exact opposite of the first except that the Bartalis, Sikorcin, Benk line continued the production; the third period had four Hungarian goals with zero penalty minutes. Bartalis had his second of the game assisted by Viktor Tokaji and Sikorcin to make it 4-0. This was followed less then two minutes later by a János Vas (a: János Hári, Kiss) goal. Balázs Ladányi set up Sofron for the sixth and Benk completing the hat trick to set up the final score on an assist by Bartalis who led all scorers with five points. Miklós Rajna kept the net clean for the shutout.
Check back tomorrow for a review of the Hungary-South Korea match.

Let’s Meet Cherno, the New Coach

@Zavodszky

As I mentioned in my previous post I have been writing for the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federatio, this is the article I wrote about a week ago before Hungary played in a 4 team tournament in Poland. Just a review what has happened since November.

The National Team Prepares Under a New Coach.

After playing an Olympic qualifying tournament on home ice that ended in disappointment to say the least the ice warriors are back at it again. A lot has happened since that November 11th shootout loss to the Netherlands. Just to give a recap, after the qualifying tournament the Hungarian Ice hockey Federation set out to find a new head coach for the national team. The short list was made up of 5 gentlemen, Luciano Basile, Rich Chernomaz, Bob Leslie, Stephan Lundh, and Lance Nethery. All five of these men have qualities that put them on the short list for the post. Leslie, Nethery and Chernomaz at point or another during their coach career have been in charge of a team in the top German (DEL) flight while Basile was familiar with Hungarian hockey when he was with Briancon and coaching Balázs Ladányi, Dr. Viktor Szélig and Bence Szirányi. Basile also has gained international experience at the helm of the Spanish national team, with Lundh and Nethery being the skipper of the Swedish and Swiss teams respectively in the past. In the end the federation thought that Chernomaz was the best choice to take the Hunagrian team back to the elite level of international hockey.

Rich Chernomaz not only has coached at a high level but also played at a high level as an 80kg 180cm right winger. Cherno spent his junior years playing in the WHL and would be drafted by the Colorado Rockies (known today as the New Jersey Devils) in the 2nd round of the 1981 NHL draft. He played 51 games in the NHL, 360 in the AHL and 442 in the IHL before moving on to play in Germany. Taking a look at his coaching CV he has gained valuable experience in the DEL.
Mr. Chernomaz’s first challenge will be to find out what Hungarian players fit where into his system. After a short training camp he will be making his coaching debut on Thursday February 7th in Tychy Poland verses Romania. Rounding out this 4 team friendly tournament will be matches against South Korea on Friday and the host nation, Poland on Saturday. None of the three matches are guaranteed cake walks when you consider that he will be bringing in some new players to the squad, however there will be some familiar faces behind the bench in assistants Diego Scandella and Balázs Kangyal.

One of the most noticeable aspects of the training camp roster at first glance is how young the goalies are. Of the five net minders on the training camp roster no one is above the age of 22. On the blue line the roster is almost completely reversed with a couple of players in their early 20s you can also see the usual veterans as well as someone who is 40+. With regards to the forwards you have the usual mix of international experienced players from Fehérvár, with the youthful future sprinkled in as well.

We will have more in the coming days, weeks and months as the national team prepares not only for the upcoming tournament but for the world championships as well.

Szabolcs Závodszky
Twitter: @Zavodszky

The final roster for the Euro Ice Hockey Challenge:

G
Bence Bálizs (Fehérvár)
Dávid Gyenes (Miskolc)
Miklós Rajna (Fehérvár)
D
Balázs Gőz (Miskolc)
Ádám Hegyi (Miskolc)
Péter Hetényi (Fehérvár)
Dániel Kiss (Dunaújváros)
Balázs Láda (Miskolc)
Attila Orbán (Fehérvár)
Tamás Pozsgai (Fehérvár)
Viktor Szélig (Briancon)
Bence Szirányi (Miskolc)
Viktor Tokaji (Fehérvár)
FW
István Bartalis (Troja/Ljungby)
András Benk (Fehérvár)
Nikandrosz Galanisz (Dunaújváros)
Roland Hajós (Fehérvár)
János Hári (Modo)
Csaba Kovács (Fehérvár)
Balázs Ladányi (Bolzano)
Bálint Magosi (Fehérvár)
Attila Pavuk (Dunaújváros)
Ladislav Sikorcin (Fehérvár)
István Sofron (Fehérvár)
Balázs Somogyi (Dunaújváros)
Dávid Szappanos (Dunaújváros)
János Vas (Dijon)
Márton Vas (Fehérvár)

Guess Who's Back

Rally Cap is Back but a bit different

@Zavodszky

After some timeoff I am back to the blog, however most of my posts will be about Hungarian ice hockey. Both the men's and women's national teams as well as the youth teams. I will also be covering the MOL League, EBEL as well as any Hungarians playing abroad.

The reason for this is that the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation has hired me to write for them in English to spruce up the English part of the website, icehockey.hu (click on the British flag for English language), feel free to check it on a regular basis. This was all because of the post I wrote just before last years world championships by the tittle Hungarian Hockey: Its a real Paprika. 

Check back regularly for your Hungarian hockey news and other sports thoughts as well. Send me a tweet for opinions or questions.