Professional Hockey League try to forget last season

30 May 2013 | Davide Tuniz

After a rough season, Ukranian League reorganizes activities but uncertainties remain

Russian Stepan Ponomarev, played last season for Levy L'viv, well summarized the last season of Ukranian hockey in a recent interview, saying that "Last season PHL was a total mess.". With almost all clubs with ecomonic dificulties, regular season dominator Berkut Kyiv disqualified on the eve of playoffs for irregularities, the contract with statistics company Pointstreak suddenly broken in December, the ambitious Professional Hockey League, estabilished in 2011, lived a nightmare season.

The clubs try now to turn the page and organize a new season, even if many question marks are still present. At the first Clubs meeting the prospects and conditions for the next championship of Ukraine were discusses in the middle of uncertainties about the partecipants. Six clubs from last season confirmed their partecipation: Sokil Kyiv, Companion-Naftogaz Kyiv, Bilyỹ Bars Bila Tserkva, Dynamo Kharkiv and Levy L'viv. Team Patriot Vinnytsya, inactive in last years after a partecipation in defunct Ukranian Second League, should enter in PHL replacing Haydamaky Vinnytsya, while a new team, a combined from Ivano-Frankivsk and Kalush still without a name, will debut next season.

League lost Berkut Kyiv, as expected after the conflict of last season between club and League, and champion Donbas Donets'k 2. Donbas decided to compete in PHL with the farm club Bilyy Bars. It's still unclear if Berkut will have a team next season: in last weeks club investigated the possibility to play in Belarus League, as well as Companion Kyiv

The clubs participant expressed their opinions on possible options for the championship rules, in particular, the number of young players, imports and the amount of entrance fees.Now clubs have taken the time to think.The next meeting's date is still undecided.