# Vålerenga Ishockey

Vålerenga Ishockey (Norwegian pronunciation: ; 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.
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.

## 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason |
| Season | League | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Postseason |
| 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 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 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:

## 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.
* – current active player
Scoring leaders
Points
Player
Seasons
Pos
GP
G
A
Pts
PPG
Arne Billkvam1977–1996RW5312682234910.92
Tobias Lindström2013-C4192282394671.11
Roy Johansen1976-1994C4162282124401.05
Marius Rath1986-2003LW4651812564370.93
Øystein Olsen1990-2008C5002242114350.87
Lars Erik Lund1996–2011D5061302693990.78
Kenneth Larsen1996-2009 2012LW4921492293780.76
Vegar Barlie1990-2007C4911592163750.95
Morten Ask1998–2003, 2005 2010-11, 2012-2019C3911092513600.92
Petter Thoresen1986–1992RW2211841833671.66
Bjørn KolsrudD2791731703431.22
Most league matches
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

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