History
The Dutch ice hockey Eredivisie was formed after World War II, with teams in Amsterdam, The Hague and Tilburg. It suspended operations from 1950 to 1964, but has organized a season of competition annually ever since. Over the years the number of teams competing fluctuated between 3 and 10 (currently 8), and the number of games played in the regular season between 4 and 36. The league featured a mix of Dutch, European and overseas players.
For the 2008-2009 Eredivisie season, the Utrecht Dragons and Eindhoven Kemphanen joined the league. In 2009-2010, Utrecht returned to the Eerste Divisie. Prior to the 2010-2011 season, Amstel Tijgers, one of the oldest teams in the league, dropped out, as did Groningen Grizzlies after three seasons, due to poor results on the ice and low revenues. In 2010, a new team, the Zoetermeer Panthers, won the Dutch Cup but dropped out of the first North Sea Cup tournament due to financial problems.
Prior to the 2010-2011 season, the top five Belgian teams competed in an Elite Series. These teams tended to have a smaller budget and fewer imported players than the top Dutch teams. In 2010, the Belgian Elite Series disbanded when two of its teams, HYC Herentals and White Caps Turnhout, joined the Dutch Eredivisie, which was renamed the "North Sea Cup".
For the second season of the North Sea Cup (2011-2012), one newly-formed Dutch team (Amsterdam Capitals) and one former Belgian Elite Series team (Leuven Chiefs) took part in the league. White Caps Turnhout dropped out of the league midway through the season due to a large number of injured and departing players—their games did not count in the final standings. The second season of the North Sea Cup was shortened to a home-and-home round-robin among all the teams of the league, the same format as the Dutch and Belgian Cup tournament.
Read more about this topic: North Sea Cup
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