| HC Kometa Brno | |
|---|---|
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| City | Brno,Czech Republic |
| League | Czech Extraliga |
| Founded | 1953 (1953) |
| Home arena | Winning Group Arena (capacity: 7,700) |
| Colours | Blue, white |
| Owner | Libor Zábranský |
| Head coach | Kamil Pokorný |
| Captain | Jakub Flek |
| Affiliates | SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč |
| Website | www |
HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professionalice hockey team based inBrno,Czech Republic. They play in theCzech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 14Czechoslovak (and Czech) league championship titles. Holding threeEuropean Cup titles, Kometa ranks as the most successful Czech club in international ice hockey. The team HC Kometa Brno has won three Czech Extraliga championships, capturing the title back-to-back in2016–17 and2017–18, and for a third time in2024–25, so therefore, the club is also thecurrent champion (2025) of the Czech Republic.
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The club was founded in 1953 as anarmy 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 toZetor Brno. Shortly after therevolution (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.
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In 1996, the team was relegated fromCzech Extraliga to the second highest ice hockey league, the1st 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 thethird-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 anotherSouth Moravian club,HC Znojemští Orli. This club began to serve as afarm team for Brno.[3]
In March 2012, the team managed to defeatHC Sparta Praha, the winner of the2011–12 Czech Extraliga regular season, in six games, qualifying for the playoff semifinals.[4] In the semifinals, they defeatedHC Plzeň 1929, the runner-up of the regular season, in five games. In the final, Kometa lost the Czech Extraliga championship final toHC Pardubice in six games.[5]
The club's name has been formally Kometa for 31 years. In reality, however, it is much older. It has existed as an informal, yet completely dominant, automatic name used by fans, rivals, the general public, public authorities including those responsible for sports and the media since at least the mid-1960s.Formally used names: ZKL orZetor are synonyms of the same entity, which was the tractor manufacturer ZETOR. This company was an investor in the club between 1962 and 1992. Even at this time, only the name KOMETA was used in public (albeit informally, but without reservation)
Traveling to the opponent's stadium was not easy at all in the early days (in the 1950s). AlthoughCzechoslovakia was not a large country, it was still too small for frequent air connections and, in addition, the otherwise denserailway network, damaged by the war, was not maintained. The road network was even worse. Every trip to the rival's ice was tiring for the team. Only a few fans could afford it. Only over time, the situation improved and was adjusted by the development of the highway network.
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A regularrailway connection runs around the home arena. It is a traditionalrailway siding (to theBrno Exhibition Center), regularly connected to thegeneral railway network. It was rarely used, but it was an extremely attractive rarity, when the railway line runs through the middle of a regular inner-city street-embankment. There was only a short and direct path to realizing the vision of creating a train in the club colors for a very devoted and passionate fan community. And so it happened, the entire train with eight to fifteencarriages was rented and the entire area of the rentedlocomotive was purchased as a parade for the club colors and the entire express was named Kometa Expres. First time beforeChristmas Eve 2017. In the seasons when Kometa was also the champion of the Czech Republic, this train was sent out several times with a large expedition of supporters and crossed theCzech state with a completely extraordinary response and strengthened the cohesion of the club community and the club's fans. Apparently, even in a broad international context, it was a unique step of the club's identity.[6]
As of 19 June 2025.Source: eliteprospects.com[7]
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):1958–59,1966–67,1969–701st. Czech National Hockey League
Winners (1): 1955 Runners-up (1): 1957 Winners (1): 2014 Winners (1): 2008
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| International | |
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| National | |
