Release from 15.06.2023

Jan Urbas looks back on his league past

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A few days ago, Jan Urbas was a guest at his old home arena at the Tivoli in Ljubljana. In an interview, the captain of the Slovenian national team spoke about his time in Klagenfurt and Villach, among other things. The 34-year-old also emphasized the importance of HK SZ Olimpija's participation in the win2day ICE Hockey League for Slovenian ice hockey.

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In 2007, Jan Urbas last played in the Slovenian U20 championship in Ljubljana. Last week, the captain of the Slovenian national team returned to the Tivoli to share his experience at a meeting with young hockey players.



"A lot has changed since I played here. It is great for Slovenia to have one team in the win2day ICE Hockey League. It is definitely good for young players, they can develop and get experience in a good league. And olders guys can come back and represent a team from their home country," the 34-year-old said during his visit.

Urbas knows the league, having been under contract with Carinthian clubs KAC and VSV. At the beginning of the 2014/15 season he played ten games (4G, 1A) for the Klagenfurt side, and then with the Villach Urbas spent a full season (2016/17) - he finished with 46 points (27G, 19A) in 44 games. "I had a good time at both clubs. In Klagenfurt I was only one month, then moved to Sweden. In Villach, unfortunately, we didn't reach the results we wanted, but it was a good experience," recalled the Slovenian, who was on the ice for both teams in Carinthian derbies. "There was a real hype before the games. The games have always been close, there was a great atmosphere."


Jan Urbas quickly advanced to a top performer in Villach.

From Villach, Urbas moved to the Fischtown Penguins in the DEL. In the meantime, he has played more than 300 games for the team from Bremerhaven, but has not lost focus of the win2day ICE Hockey League. "I follow the results. In the 2022 playoffs, I even watched Olimpija's games with my two Slovenian teammates (note: Ziga Jeglic and Miha Verlic)," Urbas said.

In the video, Urbas also talks about the last IIHF Worlds and his seventh season in Bremerhaven: