17 teams enter

17 teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia will contest the sixth Alps Hockey League season. 14 of them were already part of the league last season. EK Die Zeller Eisbären were an established part of the cross-border championship between 2016 and 2020. However, the Salzburg side withdrew before the start of last season in order to make a fresh start under new leadership.

Vienna Capitals Silver have played one season in the Alps Hockey League to date. They opted not to participate last season due to Covid-19. In the coming season, the Silver Caps will field a team together with Moser Medical Graz99ers, with the 99ers making up to five players available per game. Home games will be held in both Vienna and Graz.

Hockey Club Merano are the only entirely new face. The South Tyroleans finished last season in second place in the Italian Hockey League (IHL) and will take HC Pustertal's place with immediate effect as the Italian federation's representative.

Furthermore, EC-KAC II announced that they will play under the name EC-KAC Future Team in future. The format and start date of the 2021/22 season will be announced at a later date.

"It has always been our aim to return to the Alps Hockey League with Vienna Capitals Silver. The past twelve months have been very challenging and uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic. After a year-long break, however, it is now time to go all out again and, on the one hand, offer our emerging talents from our own youth system an ideal platform for further development and, on the other, bridge the gap between youth and professional ice hockey even better than before," said Franz Kalla, General Manager of spusu Vienna Capitals.

AHL Commissioner Michael Suttnig on the coming season: "Naturally, it is a shame for the Alps Hockey League that two strong teams in Ljubljana and Pustertal will no longer be part of the league. We would like to sincerely thank both teams for their excellent cooperation and wish both clubs all the best and every success in the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League. We are delighted to welcome three new clubs in Zell am See, Capitals Silver and Meran for the coming season. We are convinced that they will be an asset to the AHL and that the coming season will be very exciting and evenly matched from a sporting perspective."