The Bulgarian national ice hockey team (Bulgarian: Национален отбор по хокей на лед на България, Natsionalen otbor po khokeĭ na led na Bŭlgariya) is the national men's ice hockey team of Bulgaria. The team is controlled by the Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As of 2018, Bulgaria is ranked 38th in the IIHF World Ranking and competes in Division III of the Ice Hockey World Championships.
 | |
| Association | Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Tomáš Ceperko |
| Assistants | Svetlin Stoev Ivaylo Velev |
| Captain | Yanaki Gatchev |
| Most games | Stoyan Batchvarov (96) |
| Top scorer | Alexei Yotov (77) |
| Most points | Alexei Yotov (163) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | BUL |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 37  1 (27 May 2024)[1] |
| Highest IIHF | 30 (2003, 2006) |
| Lowest IIHF | 40 (2017, 2021–21) |
| First international | |
Bulgaria  4–2  Yugoslavia(Bucharest, Romania] 17 January 1942) | |
| Biggest win | |
Bulgaria 20–0  Turkey(Pretoria, South Africa; 28 March 1998) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Kazakhstan  31–0 Bulgaria(Poprad, Slovakia; 25 March 1994) Ukraine  31–0 Bulgaria(Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia; 26 March 1994) | |
| Olympics | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1976) |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 52 (first in 1963) |
| Best result | 14th (1970) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 149–268–24 | |
The team has participated once at the Olympic Winter Games. This happened in Innsbruck in 1976, when Bulgaria fell to the Czechoslovak team 14–1 in the first round. After a few more losses the team finished last in the tournament.
Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, hosted the games of Division II, Group B of the 2009 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships. Bulgaria's opponents at the tournament were Belgium, Mexico, Spain, South Africa and South Korea. In 2011, Bulgaria was also in Division II, with Croatia, Romania, China, Ireland and Iceland.
Historically, the team has played in the second highest level four times, with their highest placement being 14th in 1970. However, the only year that they ever earned promotion (by placing 1st or 2nd in Pool C) was in 1975, which also qualified them for the 1976 Olympics. The only year that they won any games in Pool B was 1992 (at that time it was contested between nations ranked 13th to 20th), defeating Japan, China and Yugoslavia.
Goaltender Konstantin Mihailov played in 28 Ice Hockey World Championships with Bulgaria, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2019, as a recipient of the Torriani Award to recognize his international hockey career.[2]
World Championship record
edit
| Year | City | Country | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Stockholm | Sweden | 4th place in Group C (19th) |
| 1967 | Vienna | Austria | Bronze in Group C (19th) |
| 1969 | Skopje | Yugoslavia | 5th place in Group C (19th) |
| 1970 | Bucharest | Romania | 8th place in Group B (14th) |
| 1971 | Several cities | the Netherlands | 5th place in Group C (19th) |
| 1972 | Miercurea Ciuc | Romania | 4th place in Group C (17th) |
| 1973 | six cities | the Netherlands | 4th place in Group C (18th) |
| 1974 | Grenoble, Gap, Lyon | France | Bronze in Group C (17th) |
| 1975 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Silver in Group C (16th) |
| 1976 | Aarau and Biel/Bienne | Switzerland | 8th place in Group B (16th) |
| 1977 | Copenhagen and Hørsholm | Denmark | Bronze in Group C (20th) |
| 1978 | Las Palmas | Spain | 5th place in Group C (21st) |
| 1979 | Barcelona | Spain | 4th place in Group C (22nd) |
| 1981 | Beijing | China | 6th place in Group C (22nd) |
| 1982 | Jaca | Spain | 6th place in Group C (22nd) |
| 1983 | Budapest | Hungary | 6th place in Group C (22nd) |
| 1985 | Megève, Chamonix, Saint-Gervais | France | 6th place in Group C (22nd) |
| 1986 | Puigcerdà | Spain | Bronze in Group C (19th) |
| 1987 | Copenhagen, Herlev, Hørsholm | Denmark | 7th place in Group C (23rd) |
| 1989 | Sydney | Australia | 5th place in Group C (21st) |
| 1990 | Budapest | Hungary | 6th place in Group C (22nd) |
| 1991 | Brøndby Municipality | Denmark | 4th place in Group C (20th) |
| 1992 | Klagenfurt | Austria | 5th place in Group B (17th) |
| 1993 | Eindhoven | the Netherlands | 8th place in Group B (20th) |
| 1994 | Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves | Slovakia | 7th place in Group C1 (27th) |
| 1995 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 9th place in Group C1 (29th) |
| 1996 | Kaunas and Elektrėnai | Lithuania | 6th place in Group D (34th) |
| 1997 | Canillo | Andorra | 7th place in Group D (35th) |
| 1998 | Krugersdorp and Pretoria | South Africa | Gold in Group D (33rd) |
| 1999 | Eindhoven Tilburg | South Africa | 8th place in Group C (32nd) |
| 2000 | Beijing | China | 9th place in Group C (33rd) |
| 2001 | Bucharest | Romania | 4th in Division II Group B (35th) |
| 2002 | Novi Sad | Yugoslavia | 4th in Division II Group B (35th) |
| 2003 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Bronze in Division II Group B (34th) |
| 2004 | Elektrėnai | Lithuania | 4th in Division II Group B (36th) |
| 2005 | Zagreb | Croatia | 4th in Division II Group A (35th) |
| 2006 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Silver in Division II Group A (32nd) |
| 2007 | Zagreb | Croatia | 5th in Division II Group A (38th) |
| 2008 | Miercurea Ciuc | Romania | 5th in Division II Group A (38th) |
| 2009 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 4th in Division II Group B (36th) |
| 2010 | Naucalpan | Mexico | 4th in Division II Group A (35th) |
| 2011 | Zagreb | Croatia | 5th in Division II Group B (38th) |
| 2012 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Bronze in Division II Group B (37th) |
| 2013 | İzmit | Turkey | 6th in Division II Group B (40th) |
| 2014 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Gold in Division III (41st) |
| 2015 | Cape Town | South Africa | 4th in Division II Group B (38th) |
| 2016 | Mexico City | Mexico | 6th in Division II Group B (40th) |
| 2017 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Silver in Division III (42nd) |
| 2018 | Cape Town | South Africa | Silver in Division III (42nd) |
| 2019 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Gold in Division III (41st) |
| 2020 | Reykjavík | Iceland | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3] |
| 2021 | Reykjavík | Iceland | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[4] |
| 2022 | Reykjavík | Iceland | 4th in Division II Group B (35th) |
| 2023 | Istanbul | Turkey | Bronze in Division II Group B (37th) |
| 2024 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 4th in Division II Group B (38th) |
All-time record
edit- As of 23 April 2023.[5]
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 60 | 57 | +3 |
 Austria |
10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 58 | -40 |
 Belgium |
21 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 123 | 90 | +33 |
 Belarus |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | -12 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 |
 China |
22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 69 | 114 | -45 |
 Chinese Taipei |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | +17 |
 Croatia |
7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 72 | -56 |
 Czechoslovakia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | −13 |
 Denmark |
32 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 88 | 137 | -49 |
 Estonia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 37 | -36 |
 East Germany |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 21 | -17 |
 France |
29 | 9 | 2 | 18 | 89 | 156 | -67 |
 Georgia |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 20 | +23 |
 Great Britain |
8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 36 | +11 |
 Germany |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | -12 |
 Hong Kong |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | +22 |
 Hungary |
47 | 10 | 1 | 36 | 147 | 253 | -106 |
 Iceland |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 17 | -2 |
 Ireland |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 |
 Israel |
11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 50 | -14 |
 Italy |
10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 55 | -33 |
 Japan |
11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 29 | 66 | -37 |
| Kazakhstan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 39 | -38 |
 Lithuania |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | -23 |
 Luxembourg |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 17 | +19 |
 Mexico |
11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 61 | 57 | +4 |
 Netherlands |
17 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 51 | 110 | -59 |
 New Zealand |
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 50 | 41 | +9 |
 North Korea |
16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 76 | 43 | -33 |
 Norway |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 31 | -20 |
 Poland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | -25 |
 Romania |
40 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 91 | 249 | -158 |
 Serbia |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 25 | -22 |
 Serbia and Montenegro |
11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 54 | -23 |
 Slovakia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | -20 |
 Slovenia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 27 | -26 |
 South Africa |
7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 10 | +43 |
 South Korea |
9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 53 | 48 | +5 |
 Spain |
15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 74 | 63 | +11 |
 Switzerland |
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 32 | -23 |
| Turkey |
10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 25 | +51 |
 Turkmenistan |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 |
 United Arab Emirates |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 12 | +1 |
| Ukraine |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | -48 |
 United States |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | −18 |
 Yugoslavia |
21 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 67 | 121 | -54 |
| Total | 441 | 149 | 24 | 268 | 1 642 | 2 437 | -795 |
References
edit- ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ Podnieks, Andrew (6 February 2019). "Hall of Fame Class of 2019 named". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ "Men's Division II, III cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "Ice Hockey in Belgium". National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
