A meeting that could be considered a milestone in the domestic development of the sport recently took place at the Budapest headquarters of the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation (MJSZ). During the discussions, Dr Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer, President of the MJSZ, and the leadership of the European University Hockey League (EUHL) sat down with representatives of Széchenyi István University of Győr, whose team, Uni Győr ETO HC, recently won the Andersen League, the Hungarian second division.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss opportunities for the development of Hungarian and international university ice hockey. Lubomir Sekeras, President of the EUHL, a former Slovak national team member and NHL professional player, founded the Slovakia-based European University Hockey League over ten years ago, following the American model. In recent years, in addition to Czech, Polish and Székely (Hungarian ethnic group in Romania) teams, Hungarian sides have also been represented in the league. Previously, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics fielded a team, and in the past two years, Széchenyi University’s team, Uni Győr ETO HC, has been a member. In the 2023–24 season, the Győr team reached just short of the playoffs, but this year advanced all the way to the final, where they were only stopped by last year’s champions, UMB Banská Bystrica, in the fifth game.

During the recent Budapest meeting, discussions also touched upon which Hungarian higher education institutions could potentially join the EUHL. Representing Széchenyi University, Dr Tamás Gyömörei, President of the University’s sports club (SZESE) and Head of its Sport and Recreation Centre, together with Péter Boros, Sports Director of Uni Győr ETO HC, confirmed that participation in this league, as shown by the Győr example, would offer great opportunities for young ice hockey players. It also marks an important step forward in sports diplomacy that the EUHL’s end-of-season conference, scheduled for May, is planned to be hosted in Győr.

Dr Tamás Gyömörei, Head of the Sport and Recreation Centre at Széchenyi István University and President of the institution’s sports club (SZESE); Peter Spankovic, Secretary General of the EUHL; Dr Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer, President of the MJSZ; Lubomir Sekeras, President of the EUHL; Frantisek Sadecky, Vice-President of the EUHL; and Péter Boros, Sports Director of Uni Győr ETO HC.