PSG Zlín is not the most decorated Czech club of all time, but they have been a power of late. Two championships in the last 10 seasons, two straight finals appearances and an impressive group of young players give reason for optimism about the present and future.

by Vojta Jurák

PSG Zlín joined the Champions Hockey League as the champion of the Czech Extraliga. Although the victory in the 2013-14 season was only the club's second so far and it can’t be ranked among the most successful teams in Czech history, Zlín has played a part in the eventful history of Czech hockey.

The Tomáš Baťa connection

The club was founded in 1929, which was a time of great changes and expansion of the whole town of Zlín. Tomáš Baťa, the most famous person in the town’s history, started his shoe factory here and made it a cultural and industrial centre of eastern Moravia during the 1920s and '30s. That also reflected in the hockey team – the original name of the club was SK Baťa Zlín.

The club played its first-ever game on 13 January 1929. SK Baťa Zlín played Sokol Kroměříž and lost 7-2. However, hockey quickly became popular in Zlín and the number of supporters grew every year. Following the 1948 Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, the town was re-named Gottwaldov, and the club changed its accordingly. This lasted until 1990, when the town and team both changed their names back to Zlín.

The traditional team colours are yellow and blue. This combination is typical not only for the hockey club, but also for the whole town. The team's mascot is a ram.

Building tradition

A new arena was a big moment that helped the club a lot. It opened in 1957 and roofed five years later. In 1990, Zlín defenceman Luděk Čajka got injured during a game in Košice and died after 40 days in hospital. Not long after this tragic incident, the arena was re-named after Čajka. Since then, it has been partly renovated, with more work planned in the future. PSG Zlín now has the advantage of a second rink as well – a new training arena was built in 2004.

The club has played the top national league since 1980-81, which ranks it among teams like Sparta Prague, HC Pardubice or Litvínov. Still as Gottwaldov, they won the first bronze medal in 1985. The last 20 years have been the most successful in the team’s history. After losing in the finals four times (1995, 1999, 2005, 2013), Zlín finally won the Cup in 2004, 75 years after the club’s foundation. Ten years later, history repeated itself when the team won the title for the second time in 2014.

Hockey is Zlín’s number one sport and the club has a lot of supporters. Unfortunately, the town isn’t as big as some other Czech cities, so the 7000-seat arena is hardly ever sold out. The fans in Zlín are very loud and not afraid to demonstrate their displeasure. They have great rivalries with Sparta and Kometa Brno presently, but many fans remember the battles against Vsetín in the 1990s, who used to be the best Czech team and a great rival of Zlín.

Small club, great players

Although the club is very important for the region in the first place, many big moments happened here and many great players were actually brought up in Zlín/Gottwaldov. Goaltender Jiří Králík, who won the World Championship with the Czechoslovakian national team in 1985 and played at the Winter Olympics in 1984, comes from the region.

Along with Králík, several other Zlín hockey legends such as Jaroslav Stuchlík, Ladislav Maršík and Miroslav Okál have had their numbers retired. The most recent jersey-retiring ceremony on 9 November 2012 was very moving: PSG Zlín and Russian club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl played an exhibition game in memory of defenceman Karel Rachůnek, who was born in Zlín and died in a plane crash along with the rest of his Lokomotiv team in September 2011.

The best-known player currently on the team is captain Petr Čajánek. This forward spent five seasons in the NHL playing for the St. Louis Blues and three more years in Russia. The triple World Champion and bronze medallist from the 2006 Winter Olympics was very keen on winning the Czech title with Zlín. During his eventful career, he had lost the final series four times before finaly reaching his life-long goal by winning the title with his home club in 2014.

Unique youth philosophy

What makes the club unique within the Czech Extraliga of today is its way of developing its own young players. PSG Zlín relies on homegrown talent a lot - nearly half of the roster from the 2013-14 season was composed of players under 25 years of age. Furthermore, most of the players on the team spent at least part of their childhood in or near Zlín playing for the club.

The most recent results show the success of this philosophy. Not only has the club made two straight finals appearances and won the 2014 national championship, but there are many other talented Zlín products playing around the world, such as Antonín Honejsek with the Espoo Blues, goalie Jakub Sedláček with Dinamo Riga and Petr Zámorský with the New York Rangers. For this reason, fans of PSG Zlín are confident about their team's ability to be successful for years to come.

Team facts

2013/14 individual leaders

Click here for current information about the club.