Vålerenga Ishockey
{{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Infobox Pro hockey team Vålerenga Ishockey ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; abbreviated as VIF) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey team based in Oslo, Norway. Vålerenga has been the dominant force in Norwegian hockey since the 1960s, claiming 26 national championships and 29 regular season titles. Their old home arena, located in central-eastern Oslo, was Jordal Amfi, built for the 1952 Winter Olympics. In 2020, Vålerenga moved in to their new arena at Jordal.
The team's interim head coach is former NHL player and club legend, Espen "Shampo" Knutsen, with Joachim Svendsen as his assistant.
History
Early days
Although the parent club Vålerengens Idrettsforening was founded in 1913, the history of Vålerenga Ishockey starts in 1947, when the junior team participated in the national junior championships for the first time. In the 50s, the junior team won the national junior championships five years in a row.
First dynasty (1960–1973)
Vålerenga won their first national championship in 1960, taking over the throne from local rivals Gamlebyen. More championships were won in 1962 and 1963. From 1965 to 1971, Vålerenga won the championship seven times in a row, a feat not repeated in Norwegian hockey since. Notable players from this era include Arne "Mikkel" Mikkelsen, Steinar "Bjølle" Bjølbakk, Tor "Jern-Gustav" Gundersen, and notably, Roy "Sleipern" Jansen. Another title was added in 1973, but this also marked the end of the first dynasty as the club faced a generational change.
A new generation (1982–1994)
Ten years went by before Vålerenga could celebrate another championship, in 1983. A new generation had emerged, and players such as Jim Marthinsen, Roy Johansen, Geir Myhre, Tor Helge "Totto" Eikeland, Bjørn Kolsrud, Arne Billkvam and Jon Magne Karlstad would go on to become club legends. In 1988, Vålerenga won their 15th title. The next season saw the debut of Espen Knutsen, who would later become the first Vålerenga product to play in the National Hockey League.
Recent era
This marked the start of another dynasty for Vålerenga and the club added several more titles in the 1990s. Kent Forsberg became head coach in 1994 and invited his son Peter and Markus Näslund to play a friendly match for the club during the lockout season in the NHL. The 20th national championship was won in 1999. Notable players from this era include Morten Ask, Kenneth Larsen, and Kjell Richard "Ricky" Nygaard, along with Swedish imports such as Johan Brummer, Patric Englund and Niklas Gällstedt. Six more championships were added after 2000, the last being won in 2009. Vålerenga were in talks to join the Kontinental Hockey League in 2014, but the plans didn't go through.<ref name=engakhl99>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Vålerenga's home arena through six decades, Jordal Amfi, was demolished in January 2017 and replaced by new arena, completed in the fall of 2020 after construction delays.<ref name="nyjordal33">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Season-by-season results
This is a partial list of the last ten seasons completed by Vålerenga. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Vålerenga Ishockey seasons.
| Norwegian Champions | Regular Season Champions | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | League | Regular season<ref name="key">Code explanation; GP—Games Played, W—Wins, L—Losses, OTW—Overtime/Shootout wins, OTL—Overtime/Shootout losses, GF—Goals For, GA—Goals Against, Pts—Points</ref> | Postseason | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | |||
| 2013–14 | Eliteserien | 45 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 195 | 95 | 103 | 1st | Lost in Finals, 2–4 (Stavanger) |
| 2014–15 | Eliteserien | 45 | 24 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 182 | 129 | 74 | 5th | Lost in Semi-finals, 0–4 (Stavanger) |
| 2015–16 | Eliteserien | 45 | 21 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 122 | 98 | 77 | 5th | Lost in Semi-finals, 1–4 (Lørenskog) |
| 2016–17 | Eliteserien | 45 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 135 | 111 | 73 | 5th | Lost in Quarter-finals, 2–4 (Frisk Asker) |
| 2017–18 | Eliteserien | 45 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 144 | 132 | 69 | 5th | Lost in Quarter-finals, 1–4 (Lillehammer) |
| 2018–19 | Eliteserien | 48 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 196 | 102 | 108 | 1st | Lost in Semi-finals, 2–4 (Frisk Asker) |
| 2019–20 | Eliteserien | 45 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 125 | 107 | 77 | 3rd | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020–21 | Eliteserien | 25 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 84 | 67 | 50 | 4th | |
| 2021–22 | Eliteserien | 42 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 147 | 102 | 78 | 4th | Lost in Quarter-finals, 2–4 (Storhamar) |
| 2022–23 | Eliteserien | 45 | 25 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 162 | 100 | 94 | 3rd | Lost in Semi-finals, 2–4 (Storhamar) |
| 2023–24 | EliteHockey Ligaen | 45 | 31 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 190 | 121 | 99 | 3rd | Lost in Finals, 1–4 (Storhamar) |
| 2024–25 | EliteHockey Ligaen | ||||||||||
Source:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Head coaches
- Jan Molberg, ?-1953
- Georg Hebæk, 1953-?
- Tor Gundersen, 195?-197?
- Lennart Johansson, 1983-1984
- Lennart Åhlberg, 1984-1987
- Erik Ask, 1987-1990
- Geir Myhre, 1990-1993
- Kent Forsberg, 1994-1995
- Staffan Tholson, 1995-1997
- Roy Johansen, 1997-2001
- Petter Thoresen, 2001-2004
- Knut Jørgen Stubdal, 2004-2006
- Espen Knutsen, 2006-2016
- Roy Johansen, 2016-
Honours
- Norwegian Champions (26): 1960, 1962–3, 1965–71, 1973, 1982, 1985, 1987–8, 1991–3, 1998–9, 2001, 2003, 2005–7, 2009
- Regular Seasons (30): 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–1999, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19
Individual all-time records
Statistics for regular season only.
- Template:Color box – current active player
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break
Scoring leaders
| Player | Seasons | Pos | Template:Abbr | Template:Abbr | Template:Abbr | Template:Abbr | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arne Billkvam | 1977–1996 | RW | 531 | 268 | 223 | 491 | 0.92 |
| Tobias Lindström | 2013- | C | 419 | 228 | 239 | 467 | 1.11 |
| Roy Johansen | 1976-1994 | C | 416 | 228 | 212 | 440 | 1.05 |
| Marius Rath | 1986-2003 | LW | 465 | 181 | 256 | 437 | 0.93 |
| Øystein Olsen | 1990-2008 | C | 500 | 224 | 211 | 435 | 0.87 |
| Lars Erik Lund | 1996–2011 | D | 506 | 130 | 269 | 399 | 0.78 |
| Kenneth Larsen | 1996-2009 2012 |
LW | 492 | 149 | 229 | 378 | 0.76 |
| Vegar Barlie | 1990-2007 | C | 491 | 159 | 216 | 375 | 0.95 |
| Morten Ask | 1998–2003, 2005 2010-11, 2012-2019 |
C | 391 | 109 | 251 | 360 | 0.92 |
| Petter Thoresen | 1986–1992 | RW | 221 | 184 | 183 | 367 | 1.66 |
| Bjørn Kolsrud | D | 279 | 173 | 170 | 343 | 1.22 |
Most league matches
| Player | Career | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Brede Frettem Csiszar | 2006-2019 | 503 |
| Jon Magne Karlstad | 1977–1994 | 548 |
| Arne Billkvam | 1977–1996 | 531 |
| Jim Marthinsen | 1975–1994 | 509 |
| Lars Erik Lund | 1996–2011 | 506 |
| Øystein Olsen | 1990–2008 | 500 |
| Kenneth Larsen | 1996-2009 2012 |
492 |
| Roy Jansen | 1966–1984 | 484 |
| Jonas Oppøyen | 2007–2022 | 466 |
| Marius Rath | 1986–2003 | 465 |
| Kjell Rickard Nygård | 1996-2010 | 457 |
Last updated: 25 March 2023
Notable players

- Template:Flagicon Alexander Bonsaksen
- Template:Flagicon Anders Fredriksen
- Template:Flagicon Anders Myrvold
- Template:Flagicon Arne Billkvam
- Template:Flagicon Atle Olsen
- Template:Flagicon Björn Bjurling
- Template:Flagicon Blake Evans
- Template:Flagicon Brede Frettem Csiszar
- Template:Flagicon Brendan Brooks
- Template:Flagicon Brian Ihnacak
- Template:Flagicon Bård Sørlie
- Template:Flagicon Chris Mason
- Template:Flagicon Christian Chartier
- Template:Flagicon Daniel Sørvik
- Template:Flagicon Einar Bruno Larsen
- Template:Flagicon Erik Follestad Johansen
- Template:Flagicon Espen "Shampo" Knutsen
- Template:Flagicon Evan Cheverie
- Template:Flagicon Frank Vestreng
- Template:Flagicon Gavin Morgan
- Template:Flagicon Geir Hoff
- Template:Flagicon Geir Myhre
- Template:Flagicon Greg Day
- Template:Flagicon Ilkka Kaarna
- Template:Flagicon Jan-Roar Fagerli
- Template:Flagicon Jim Marthinsen
- Template:Flagicon Jiri Latal
- Template:Flagicon Johan Åkerman
- Template:Flagicon Johan Brummer
- Template:Flagicon Jon-Magne Karlstad
- Template:Flagicon Justin Donati
- Template:Flagicon Jørgen Karterud
- Template:Flagicon Ken Andre Olimb
- Template:Flagicon Kent Nilsson
- Template:Flagicon Lars Erik Lund
- Template:Flagicon Lars Haugen
- Template:Flagicon Marius Rath
- Template:Flagicon Mark McCutcheon
- Template:Flagicon Martin Laumann Ylven
- Template:Flagicon Mathis Olimb
- Template:Flagicon Mathias Trygg
- Template:Flagicon Mats Rosseli Olsen
- Template:Flagicon Mats Trygg
- Template:Flagicon Mats Zuccarello
- Template:Flagicon Morten Ask
- Template:Flagicon Sigurd Thinn
- Template:Flagicon Tommy Marthinsen
- Template:Flagicon Travis Brigley
- Template:Flagicon Per-Ragnar Bergkvist
- Template:Flagicon Petter Thoresen
- Template:Flagicon Patric Englund
- Template:Flagicon Patrick Coulombe
- Template:Flagicon Patrick DesRochers
- Template:Flagicon Regan Kelly
- Template:Flagicon Roy Jansen
- Template:Flagicon Roy Johansen
- Template:Flagicon Scott Hartnell
- Template:Flagicon Serge Boisvert
- Template:Flagicon Sergei Pushkov
- Template:Flagicon Simon Gamache
- Template:Flagicon Sondre Olden
- Template:Flagicon Stig Johansen
- Template:Flagicon Tommy Kiviaho
- Template:Flagicon Tyler Donati
- Template:Flagicon Vegar Barlie
- Template:Flagicon Vladimir Machulda
- Template:Flagicon Øystein Olsen