Israel men's national ice hockey team

Summary

The Israel national ice hockey team (Hebrew: נבחרת ישראל בהוקי קרח) is the national men's ice hockey team of Israel. Since 2015, the team's Captain has been Eliezer Sherbatov. Israel was ranked 35th as of May 2017 by the International Ice Hockey Federation.[4] In 2019, the team won the gold medal in the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B tournament in Mexico City.

Israel
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationIce Hockey Federation of Israel
General managerFelix Kozak
Head coachTy Newberry
AssistantsPavel Levin
Eduard Revniaga
CaptainMichail Kozhevnikov
Most gamesSergei Frenkel (81)[1]
Top scorerDaniel Mazour (48)[2]
Most pointsSergei Frenkel (109)[1]
Team colors     
IIHF codeISR
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Third colours
Ranking
Current IIHF33 Increase 1 (28 May 2023)[3]
Highest IIHF32 (2014)
Lowest IIHF40 (first in 2011)
First international
Spain  23–4  Israel
(Johannesburg, South Africa; 22 March 1992)
Biggest win
Israel  26–2  Greece
(Cape Town, South Africa; 15 April 2011)
Biggest defeat
Latvia  32–0  Israel
(Ljubljana, Slovenia; 15 March 1993)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances28 (first in 1992)
Best result28th (2006)
International record (W–L–T)
67–84–9

Its greatest achievement in its history was winning its division II group in 2005 and being promoted to division I for the first, and thus far only, time. Israel was relegated back to division II a year later.

Ranking edit

Date Rank Movement
2002 34
2003 35   1
2004 36   1
2005 35   1
2006 33   2
2007 34[5]   1
2008 35[6]   1
2009 36[7]   1
Feb 2010 38[8]   2
Apr 2010 39[9]   1
2011 40[10]   1
2012 40[11] ±0
2013 39[12]   1
Feb 2014 33[13]   6
Apr 2014 32[14]   1
2015 33[15]   1
2016 34[16]   1
2017 35[4]   1

World Championships record edit

Eliezer Sherbatov drew international attention when he first played in the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, in Bulgaria, at the age of 13, becoming the youngest player to step on the ice in an under-18 ice hockey world championship.[17][18] He scored 9 points (4 goals + 5 assists) in 5 games, as the team won a bronze medal, Israel's first in hockey in a championship tournament.[18][19][20]

The team was promoted to the IIHF World Championship Division I in 2005 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.[21] The following year the team was relegated again to Division II.[22] In 2010, Israel was relegated to Division III.[23]

However, in 2011 the team finished first in Division III Group B, earning a promotion back to Division II.[24] Israel won all five of its games by a combined score of 57–9, and was promoted to the IIHF Division II WHC to be played in 2012.[18] Sherbatov led the tournament in points, goals, assists, and +/-, earning 26 points (14 goals + 12 assists) in just four games.[25] He was named the best forward of the tournament.[25][26]

At the 2012 IIHF World Championship Division II tournament in Bulgaria, the Israeli team was able to stay in the second division.[26] Beginning in 2015 and still as of 2020, Sherbatov was captain of the national team.[27][25]

In 2019, the team won the gold medal in the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B tournament in Mexico City, Israel's first gold medal in hockey.[28][20] With the win, the team qualified for the World Championships Division 2A.[29] Sherbatov was named Best Forward, and had the best +/- rating, was the top goal scorer, and was the top scorer with 15 points (7 goals + 8 assists) in 5 games.[26]

Year Place Division Division place Group GP W T L GF GA
1992 30th Group C2 4th 5 1 1 3 22 42
1993 31st Group C1 6th 7 2 0 5 30 97
1994 34th Group C2 7th 5 1 0 4 19 36
1995 35th Group C2 6th 6 3 0 3 39 23
1996 35th Group D 7th 7 3 1 3 34 35
1997 33rd Group D 5th 5 2 0 3 22 28
1998 35th Group D 3rd 5 3 0 2 39 19
1999 33rd Group D 2nd 4 3 0 1 21 5
2000 34th Group D 1st 4 3 0 1 31 7
2001 32nd Division II 2nd Group B 5 4 0 1 21 11
2002 34th Division II 3rd Group A 5 3 0 2 14 22
2003 37th Division II 3rd Group B 5 1 2 2 11 19
2004 38th Division II 5th Group A 5 0 1 4 3 28
2005 30th Division II 1st Group B 5 4 1 0 21 11
2006 28th Division I 6th Group A 5 0 0 5 3 47
2007 34th Division II 3rd Group B 4 2 0 2 6 24
2008 36th Division II 4th Group A 5 2 0 3 16 28
2009 38th Division II 5th Group A 5 1 0 4 9 38
2010 39th Division II 6th Group B 5 0 0 5 11 55
2011 41st Division III 1st 5 5 0 0 57 9
2012 39th Division II 5th Group B 5 2 0 3 19 22
2013 35th Division II 1st Group B 5 4 0 1 30 14
2014 34th Division II 6th Group A 5 1 0 4 19 37
2015 39th Division II 5th Group B 5 1 0 4 11 20
2016 37th Division II 3rd Group B 5 2 0 3 22 33
2017 37th Division II 3rd Group B 5 3 0 2 24 14
2018 37th Division II 3rd Group B 5 3 0 2 24 14
2019 35th Division II 1st Group B 5 5 0 0 32 16
2020 Division II Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[30]
2021 Division II Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[30]
2022 31st Division II 5th Group A 4 0 0 4 4 32
2023 33rd Division II 5th Group A 5 1 0 4 14 37
Total 151 65 6 80 628 823

Olympics edit

Israel has tried to qualify for the Olympics three times. In 1996 they advanced past Greece, and were eliminated by Yugoslavia before the main qualification rounds, in trying to advance to the 1998 Olympics.

For the 2014 Winter Olympics, Israel attempted to qualify, going 0–3 in the pre-qualifier.[31]

For the 2018 Winter Olympics, Israel again attempted to qualify.[32] However, they were unable to, going 1–2 in the pre-qualifier.

Team edit

Roster edit

Roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championship.[33]

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Height Weight Date of birth Club
1 Nir Tichon [cz; de] L 183 cm 75 kg (1993-10-17) 17 October 1993 (age 30)   HC Stadion Cheb [cz]
25 Maxim Kalyayev L 179 cm 79 kg (1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 25)   Rishon Devils [cs; de; fr; he; ru]
Defencemen
# Player Shoots Height Weight Date of birth Club
5 Denis Kozev [de] L 182 cm 86 kg (1998-09-08) 8 September 1998 (age 25)   Maccabi North Stars Metulla [de; he; ru]
4 Evgeni Kozhevnikov [de] L 188 cm 95 kg (1981-10-29) 29 October 1981 (age 42)   HC Bat Yam Chiefs
10 Michail Kozhevnikov [de] L 183 cm 88 kg (1981-10-29) 29 October 1981 (age 42)   HC Bat Yam Chiefs
2 Nir Sigalov L 173 cm 83 kg (2005-04-06) 6 April 2005 (age 18)   HC Rhode Island
Forwards
# Player Shoots Height Weight Date of birth Club
7 Roey Aharonovich [de] L 175 cm 71 kg (1996-07-07) 7 July 1996 (age 27)   Bryn Athyn Lions
14 Itay Ben Tov [de] L 180 cm 83 kg (1994-07-24) 24 July 1994 (age 29)   Maccabi North Stars Metulla [de; he; ru]
12 Timur Galeyev L 174 cm 68 kg (1996-06-20) 20 June 1996 (age 27)   Jerusalem Bears
24 Yuval Halpert [de] L 171 cm 74 kg (2000-09-20) 20 September 2000 (age 23)   Dordrecht Lions
3 Ariel Kapulkin R 176 cm 77 kg (1998-09-19) 19 September 1998 (age 25)   NYU Violets
22 Maxim Khubashvili L 182 cm 76 kg (1997-11-18) 18 November 1997 (age 26)   Rishon Devils [cs; de; fr; he; ru]
16 David Levin L 179 cm 80 kg (1999-09-16) 16 September 1999 (age 24)   Nottingham Panthers
11 Daniel Mazour [de] L 186 cm 86 kg (1992-01-05) 5 January 1992 (age 32)   Monfort Ma'alot
9 Aviv Milner [de] L 183 cm 85 kg (1995-02-23) 23 February 1995 (age 29)   Kfar Saba Kings
15 Yann Raskin R 184 cm 77 kg (2005-06-22) 22 June 2005 (age 18)   Ayr Centennials
23 Ori Segal L 173 cm 78 kg (2004-05-08) 8 May 2004 (age 19)   Walpole Express
17 Ilya Spektor [de] L 171 cm 86 kg (1996-04-10) 10 April 1996 (age 27)   Kfar Saba Kings
6 Itay Vaitz R 185 cm 75 kg (2001-05-22) 22 May 2001 (age 22)   LeKi-75 [fi]
19 Viktor Vorobiev L 182 cm 86 kg (1987-05-24) 24 May 1987 (age 36)   Kfar Saba Kings

Notable players edit

Coaches edit

List of coaches for each tournament[34]

Period Name
1992–1993   Gideon Lee
1994   Marshall Uretsky
1995     Semyon Yakubovich
1996–1997   Nikolai Epshtein
1998     Lev Sudat
1999–2000   Sergei Matin
2001–2004   Boris Mindel
2005–2009   Jean Perron
2010   Boris Mindel
2011   Sergei Belo
2012–2014   Jean Perron
2015–2017   Derek Eisler
2018     Semyon Yakubovich
2019–2021     Bobby Holík
2022–present   Ty Newberry

All-time record against other nations edit

As of 30 April 2022

Team GP W T L GF GA
  Australia 12 5 0 7 44 58
  Belgium 15 6 1 8 46 60
  Bulgaria 11 6 2 3 50 36
  China 9 1 0 8 25 58
  Croatia 5 0 0 5 5 36
  Estonia 5 0 0 5 9 79
  France 1 0 0 1 0 9
  Georgia 1 1 0 0 7 2
  Germany 1 0 0 1 2 11
  Great Britain 1 0 0 1 0 12
  Greece 5 4 1 0 59 13
  Hungary 1 0 0 1 0 8
  Iceland 10 6 0 4 44 29
  Ireland 1 1 0 0 7 1
  Japan 1 0 0 1 1 7
  Kyrgyzstan 1 1 0 0 5 4
  Latvia 1 0 0 1 0 32
  Lithuania 1 0 0 1 2 7
  Luxembourg 4 2 2 0 26 9
  Mexico 11 6 0 5 42 46
  Mongolia 1 1 0 0 5 0
  Netherlands 1 0 0 1 0 7
  New Zealand 8 3 0 5 36 31
  North Korea 8 5 2 1 45 31
  Romania 4 0 0 4 2 55
  Serbia 7 2 0 5 19 39
  South Africa 8 7 0 1 46 21
  South Korea 4 0 1 3 11 23
  Spain 8 1 1 6 15 68
  Turkey 8 8 0 0 78 11
  Ukraine 1 0 0 1 0 29
Total 155 66 9 80 631 832

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Sergei Frenkel profile". eliteprospects.com.
  2. ^ "Daniel Mazour profile". eliteprospects.com.
  3. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "2017 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  5. ^ "2007 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  6. ^ "2008 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  7. ^ "2009 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  8. ^ "2010 Men's World Ranking (after Olympics)". IIHF.
  9. ^ "2010 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  10. ^ "2011 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  11. ^ "2012 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  12. ^ "2013 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  13. ^ "2014 Men's World Ranking (February)". IIHF.
  14. ^ "2014 Men's World Ranking (April)". IIHF.
  15. ^ "2015 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  16. ^ "2016 Men's World Ranking". IIHF.
  17. ^ Alex Di Pietro. "Sherbatov a Montréal Junior". The Suburban. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  18. ^ a b c Sammy Hudes (22 July 2011). "Israeli hockey player shocks world; (Video) Eliezer Sherbatov scores unbelievable, made-for-YouTube goal". Ynet.
  19. ^ Mike G. Morreale (18 July 2011). "Sherbatov scored amazing D-III Worlds goal". National Hockey League.
  20. ^ a b Marty Klinkenberg (21 August 2020). "Israeli-Canadian Eliezer Sherbatov on his Jewish heritage and playing hockey in Poland". The Globe and Mail.
  21. ^ "2005 IIHF World Championship Div II Group A". IIHF.
  22. ^ "Final rankings" (PDF). IIHF.
  23. ^ 2010 IIHF World Championship DIV II Group B
  24. ^ 2011 IIHF World Championship DIV III
  25. ^ a b c Murray Greig (24 August 2020). "Israeli's Auschwitz switch causes stir". China Daily.
  26. ^ a b c "Eli Sherbatov profile – Ели Шербатов Профиль". Eurohockey.com.
  27. ^ Cramer, Philissa (9 August 2020). "Captain of Israel's hockey team signs to play in Oswiecim, otherwise known as Auschwitz". Cleveland Jewish News.
  28. ^ Joshua Halickman (3 May 2019). "Gold-medal celebration on ice for Israel hockey". The Jerusalem Post.
  29. ^ Abigail Klein Leichman (5 May 2019). "Israeli national ice-hockey team wins gold medal". ISRAEL21c.
  30. ^ a b "Men's Division II, III cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  31. ^ "Here are the 32 hockey teams asking to be a part of 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics". Yahoo! Sport.
  32. ^ "Error page". IIHF.
  33. ^ "2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships Division II, Group A – Team Israel Roster. (Men)". IIHF. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  34. ^ "Team Staff History For Israel". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

External links edit

  • IIHF profile