1st Czech Republic Hockey League
Second-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic under the Czech Extraliga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Maxa liga[1] is the second-highest level of professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic, after the Extraliga. It began in 1993 and is run and administered by Czech Ice Hockey Association.
Upcoming season or competition: 2025â26 Czech 1. Liga season | |
| |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country |  Czech Republic |
| Most recent champion | HC Dukla Jihlava (6th title) |
| Promotion to | Czech Extraliga |
| Relegation to | Czech 2.liga |
| Related competitions | Czech Extraliga Czech 2.liga |
| Official website | hokej |
Until 2015, the league was known as the 1st Czech National Hockey League. It was then known as the WSM Liga until 2018,[2] and the Chance Liga until 2024.[3]
Format (2023-24)
In the first phase, every team plays each other four timesâtwice at home and twice awayâwhich makes for a 52-game regular season.
After the 52-game regular season, the first six teams directly qualify for the quarter-finals, while teams which placed 7 to 10 play a round-robin to determine the final two participants in the quarter-finals.
The playoffs end with the finals, with the winning team going on to face the bottom team from the Extraliga in a round-robin. The winner of the round-robin is promoted to Extraliga for the following season.
The last placed team at the end of the regular season is directly relegated to the Second League for the following season. They are replaced by the winner of a 3 team round-robin group between the winners of the East, the Central and the West divisions of the Second League.
Three points are awarded for a win in regulation time and two points for an overtime or shootout victory, while the team defeated in overtime or shootout gets one point.
The level of 1. národnà hokejová liga is slightly lower than the Czech Extraliga, but there are a lot of players moving between those two leagues every season. Each team in this league is allowed to have five imports. The league has no salary cap, with an average salary of USD 2200 per month, but some of the best players reportedly sign contracts for more than USD 5000 per month, plus most of the teams cover accommodation expenses for their players during the season.
Current teams (2023-24)
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Affiliate Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HC BanÃk Sokolov | Sokolov | Zimni stadion Sokolov | 5,000 | independent |
| VHK ROBE VsetÃn | VsetÃn | Zimnà stadion Na LapaÄi | 5,386 | independent |
| HC Slavia Praha | Prague | Zimnà stadion Eden | 4,000 | independent |
| HC Stadion LitomÄÅice | LitomÄÅice | Kalich arena | 1,750 | independent |
| HC ZUBR PÅerov | PÅerov | Zimnà stadion PÅerov | 3,000 | independent |
| HC Frýdek-MÃstek | Frýdek-MÃstek | Hala Polárka | 2,056 | HC OceláÅi TÅinec (ELH) |
| LHK JestÅábi ProstÄjov | ProstÄjov | Zimnà hokejový stadion ProstÄjov | 5,125 | independent |
| HC Dukla Jihlava | Jihlava | CZ LOKO Arena | 6,500 | independent |
| SK Horácká Slavia TÅebÃÄ | TÅebÃÄ | Zimnà stadion mÄsta TÅebÃÄe | 5,000 | independent |
| HC RT TORAX Poruba | Poruba | Zimnà stadion Ostrava - Poruba | 5,000 | independent |
| HC Dynamo Pardubice B | Chrudim | Zimnà stadion Chrudim | 1,744 | HC Dynamo Pardubice (ELH) |
| SC KolÃn | KolÃn | Zimnà stadion KolÃn | 5,500 | Mountfield HK (ELH) |
| Piráti Chomutov | Chomutov | Rocknet Arena | 4,020 | HC LitvÃnov (ELH) |
| Berani Zlin | ZlÃn | Zimnà stadion LuÄka Äajky | 7,000 | independent |
Champions
- 1993â94 VsetÃnská hokejová and HC Slavia Praha
- 1994â95 HC Kometa Brno and TZ TÅinec
- 1995â96 HC PÅerov and HC Opava
- 1996â97 HC Becherovka Karlovy Vary and HC Kralupy nad Vltavou
- 1997â98 HC ZnojemÅ¡tà Orli
- 1998â99 HC ZnojemÅ¡tà Orli
- 1999â2000 HC Dukla Jihlava
- 2000â01 KLH Chomutov
- 2001â02 HC BÃlà TygÅi Liberec
- 2002â03 HC Vagnerplast Kladno
- 2003â04 HC Dukla Jihlava
- 2004â05 HC Äeské BudÄjovice
- 2005â06 HC Slovan Ãstà nad Labem
- 2006â07 HC Slovan Ãstà nad Labem
- 2007â08 BK Mladá Boleslav
- 2008â09 HC Slovan ÃsteÄtà Lvi
- 2009â10 KLH Chomutov
- 2010â11 HC Slovan ÃsteÄtà Lvi
- 2011â12 Piráti Chomutov
- 2012â13 BK Mladá Boleslav and HC Olomouc
- 2013â14 BK Mladá Boleslav and HC Olomouc
- 2014â15 Piráti Chomutov and Motor Äeské BudÄjovice
- 2015â16 HC Dukla Jihlava and HC Slavia Praha
- 2016â17 Motor Äeské BudÄjovice and HC Dukla Jihlava
- 2017â18 Energie Karlovy Vary and RytÃÅi Kladno
- 2018â19 Motor Äeské BudÄjovice and RytÃÅi Kladno
- 2019â20 Motor Äeské BudÄjovice
- 2020â21 RytÃÅi Kladno
- 2021â22 HC Dukla Jihlava
- 2022â23 PSG Berani ZlÃn
- 2023â24 VHK VsetÃn
- 2024â25 HC Dukla Jihlava
- 2025â26 HC Dukla Jihlava