By Martin Turčin
Copyright sme
The new season of Slovakia’s top ice-hockey league, the Tipsport Liga, has brought both small and major changes to team jerseys.
This overview shows how clubs approached their colours, patterns, and details — some opting for bold innovations, others sticking to proven classics.
HC Slovan Bratislava
Slovan attracted the most attention ahead of the new season as owner JTRE Sports & Entertainment completely rebranded the club’s visual identity, introducing a new logo that unifies all sports entities in its portfolio. While the team had announced the return of light blue, this only applies to away jerseys — and only until mid-season. The home jersey features dark blue with a white stripe on the sleeves and hem. The dominant feature of both is the new logo, built around the letters S and B. The redesign is meant to “reflect the unity, strength, dynamism, and pride of the club.”
Liptovský Mikuláš
This year’s jersey is a major shift from last season. The all-red design with white and blue sleeve stripes has been replaced by a bold white-and-gold stripe running across the middle. The look strongly resembles that of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, back-to-back Stanley Cup winners.
The so-called “Chamois” (Kamzíci in Slovak) made only minor tweaks. The home jersey remains dark blue, now with a grey stripe at the bottom. Unlike Slovan, the club’s main sponsors appear prominently on the front.
HK Spišská Nová Ves
Changes here are subtle. The colour scheme is unchanged, but the lynx in the team logo has switched from yellow to white with yellow edging. The dark blue home jersey features two yellow stripes.
Vlci Žilina
Žilina’s jersey remains mostly the same, keeping its gradient from dark to light green. The only difference is in the sponsor logos on the shoulders, now rendered in white.
The reigning champions surprised fans with a bold change. After years of black home jerseys and white away versions, the so-called “Steelers” (Oceliari in Slovak) are returning to orange for their home kit. The colour was used occasionally last season, but will now be a staple at Steel Arena.
Celebrating its centenary, Nitra kept its familiar dark blue, light blue, and white combination, as well as the Corgoň logo (a name for burly young man – Ed. note). The update is a depiction of Nitra Castle on the lower part of the jersey, with a special centennial logo on the left shoulder.
After six years, the so-called “Knights” (Rytieri in Slovak) have returned to red home jerseys, replacing blue as the dominant colour. A new feature is the depiction of Zvolen Castle’s walls across the blue and white stripe in the middle. The away jersey is white.
HC MONACObet Banská Bystrica
Zvolen’s main rival also went with red. While the club has used it before, the only tweak this year is moving the wide black stripe from the shoulders to the sleeves. The ram remains the jersey’s centerpiece.
HK Dukla Trenčín
Trenčín stuck with its traditional red-and-yellow design. The highlight is a special centennial logo placed in the lower right corner of the jersey.
HK Dukla Michalovce
Michalovce unveiled a significant redesign. After two years, a fox has returned to the logo — chosen directly by fans. The new set of jerseys is centred on black, complemented by orange and white.
Back in the top league, Prešov kept the red home jerseys from its last stint. Red is accented with black and gold, reflecting the colors of the team logo.
