HC Kometa Brno

HC Kometa Brno
HC Kometa Brno
City	Brno, Czech Republic
League	Czech Extraliga
Founded	1953
Home arena	Winning Group Arena; (capacity: 7,700)
Colours	Blue, white;
Owner(s)	Libor Zábranský
Head coach	Kamil Pokorný
Captain	Martin Zaťovič
Affiliate	SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč
Website	www.hc-kometa.cz

HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 13 Czechoslovak (and Czech) league championship titles. Holding three European Cup titles, Kometa ranks as the most successful Czech club in international ice hockey. The team HC Kometa Brno has won two Czech championships seasons, capturing the title in both 2016–17 and in 2017–18.

History

The club was founded in 1953 as an army ice hockey club with the name Rudá hvězda Brno ("Red Star"). The majority of players were transferred from two hockey clubs in Brno (TJ Spartak Brno Zbrojovka and TJ Spartak GZ Královo Pole^[1]). In 1962, the club changed its name to ZKL Brno (ZKL is an abbreviation of "Ball Bearing Factory")^[2] and stopped being an army team. In 1976, the name was changed to Zetor Brno. Shortly after the revolution (1994), the club changed its name to HC Kometa Brno. "Kometa" was the team's nickname since the 1950s (as opposed to the official "Red Star") and the team was commonly referred to by this name since its beginning.

In 1996, the team was relegated from Czech Extraliga to the second highest ice hockey league, the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. For many years, the team struggled due to poor financing and multiple changes of owners, facing relegation again in 2001–2002. The club almost ceased to exist, playing in the East division of the third-highest Czech ice hockey league. By the 2003–2004 season, it returned to the first league. In 2004, Kometa played its first playoff series since 1997, reached the semifinals in 2008, and reached the finals in 2009.

On 1 April 2009, Kometa bought the licence for another South Moravian club, HC Znojemští Orli. This club began to serve as a farm team for Brno.^[3]

In March 2012, the team managed to defeat HC Sparta Praha, the winner of the 2011–12 Czech Extraliga regular season, in six games, qualifying for the playoff semifinals.^[4] In the semifinals, they defeated HC Plzeň 1929, the runner-up of the regular season, in five games. In the final, Kometa lost the Czech Extraliga championship final to HC Pardubice in six games.^[5]

Honours

Domestic

Czech Extraliga

Winners (2): 2016–17, 2017–18
Runners-up (2): 2011–12, 2013–14
3rd place (1): 2014–15

Czech 1. Liga

Winners (1): 1994–95
Runners-up (1): 2008–09
3rd place (1): 1993–94

Czechoslovak Extraliga

Winners (11): 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66
Runners-up (4): 1953–54, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71
3rd place (3): 1958–59, 1966–67, 1969–70

1st. Czech National Hockey League

Winners (3): 1980–81, 1988–89, 1990–91
3rd place (1): 1992–93

International

IIHF European Cup

Winners (3): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68

Pre-season

Spengler Cup

Winners (1): 1955
Runners-up (1): 1957

Rona Cup

Winners (1): 2014

Tipsport Hockey Cup

Winners (1): 2008

History of the team name

1953 – Rudá hvězda Brno
1962 – TJ ZKL Brno
1976 – TJ Zetor Brno
1990 – HC Zetor Brno
1993 – HC Královopolská Brno
1994 – HC Kometa Brno
1995 – HC Kometa Brno BVV
1997 – HC Kometa Brno

Players

Current roster

Source: hc-kometa.cz^[6]Source: eliteprospects.com^[7]As of January 25, 2022.


No.	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
88	Kristián Pospíšil	LW	L	28	2022	Zvolen, Slovakia
95	Lukáš Doudera	D	L	26	2021	Kladno, Czech Republic
98	Radovan Pavlík	LW	L	26	2021	Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
38	Adam Zbořil	C	L	29	2021	Brno, Czech Republic
7	Tomáš Bartejs	D	L	32	2016	Třebíč, Czechoslovakia
29	Jan Mlčák	D	L	23	2017	Přerov, Czech Republic
61	Daniel Rákos	LW	L	37	2019	Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
93	Rhett Holland	D	R	31	2020	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
24	Michal Gulaši	D	L	38	2016	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
26	Martin Zaťovič (C)	C	L	39	2016	Přerov, Czechoslovakia
81	Tomáš Vincour	RW	R	33	2016	Brno, Czechoslovakia
92	Petr Holík	C	L	32	2018	Zlín, Czechoslovakia
44	David Ostřížek	LW	L	34	2021	Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia
4	Radek Kučeřík	D	L	22	2020	Kyjov, Czech Republic
8	Marek Ďaloga	D	L	35	2021	Zvolen, Czechoslovakia
16	Luboš Horký	RW	R	26	2016	Znojmo, Czech Republic
25	Vladimír Roth	D	R	34	2021	Prague, Czechoslovakia
72	Andrej Kollár	C	R	24	2021	Nitra, Slovakia
90	Martin Dočekal	LW	L	33	2021	Třebíč, Czechoslovakia
6	Lukáš Cingel	C	L	32	2023	Žilina, Slovakia
65	Tomáš Marcinko	C	R	36	2023	Poprad, Czechoslovakia
9	Jakub Flek	LW	L	31	2022	Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia