Yugoslav league (1961–1990) The team was established in 1961, as a successor team of the defunct SD Zagreb sports society. In its first ten seasons in the
Yugoslav Ice Hockey League, Medveščak built up a following and became the second most popular sports team in Zagreb, behind only the local association football team
Dinamo Zagreb. At the time, Medveščak played their home games at an outdoor rink in the upper-class neighbourhood of
Šalata, attracting around 5,000 spectators on average. The team and club developed some great players including legends Boris Renaud and Ivo Ratej. In 1971, the team permanently moved into the indoor rink at the
Dom Sportova sports hall, with the capacity of 6,400. However, during the first two decades of their existence, Medveščak established itself as a mid-table team, and never managed to win the Yugoslav championship. By the early 1980s the club was mired in financial difficulties and narrowly avoided relegation from the country's top league in 1985. The following season, in 1986, the club made a sponsorship deal with the locally-based Gortan construction company, which
de facto became owner of the club. With much needed investments, the club started aggressively recruiting quality players, beginning with some Canadians including fan-favorites Jim Allison and Mike Coflin who quickly helped the team win and, more importantly, stimulated renewed fan interest in hockey. Crowds went from a few hundred to a regularly sold-out Dom Sportova (6000+ fans) over the next few seasons. After winning their first Yugoslav Cup in the 1987-1988 season with the help of the passionate Canadians, the next few years Gortan recruited some very talented, elite Russian players, including the Russian Hall of Famer
Vyacheslav Anisin, the team was transformed into a powerhouse. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, they became the best in Yugoslavia, dominating the national championship and winning three consecutive Yugoslav titles from 1989 to 1991, culminating in an appearance in the
1990–91 IIHF European Cup in which they progressed to the second round.
Croatian league (1991–present) With the
dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Gortan group, along with a host of club's sponsors, was plunged into a financial crisis, which led to them pulling out of the team. Without generous funding, the club lost its best players and professional status, and was reduced to competing as an amateur outfit in the newly formed
Croatian Ice Hockey League. However, the club gradually improved and between the late 1990s and the late 2000s Medveščak dominated the league again, winning almost every championship. Medveščak was additionally strengthened in the 2000s by establishing a
farm team,
KHL Medveščak II. It competed in the regional
Panonian League in the 2003–04 season, and later joined the Croatian league in 2004. In search of more competitive opponents to play, the team also took part in the
Slovenian Hockey League from 2007 to 2009, finishing second place in their inaugural regular season. The following season, Medveščak was by far the best team in the Slovenian league (after the two best Slovenian clubs had joined the
Austrian Hockey League a year earlier) during the regular season.
Austrian league (2009–2013) Starting in the
2009–10 season, Medveščak once again moved up in competitive level, joining the Austrian
Erste Bank Eishockey Liga which featured six Austrian clubs, two from Slovenia and one from Hungary and Croatia each. To mark their move up the professional ranks, the Bears recruited an American coach,
Ted Sator, from fellow EBEL team
Alba Volán Székesfehérvár. With a commitment to continue to participate in the Croatian league playoffs, Medveščak made their Austrian debut in front of a sellout crowd at the Dom Sportova in a 6–5 victory against Slovenian member
HK Acroni Jesenice on 11 September 2009. On 25 January 2014, Medveščak defeated
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1–0 at
Arena Zagreb and qualified for the KHL playoffs in their very first KHL season. In the first round of the playoffs, Medveščak played against later finalist
Lev Prague, losing all four games. Medveščak failed to qualify for the playoffs for the next two seasons. In the 2014–15 season, Medveščak took part in the
2014 Spengler Cup in Switzerland, losing all three games. The KHL is considered the best hockey league in Europe and before running into financial challenges, Medveščak iced competitive teams and the roster included some excellent players, including former NHL
Rocket Richard trophy winner
Jonathan Cheechoo. On 13 January 2016, Russian fans threw two bananas on the ice after
HC Spartak Moscow lost 4–1 in a KHL match at home to Medveščak Zagreb, targeting Medveščak's player
Edwin Hedberg. Hedberg himself admitted he had encountered such behaviour for the first time, adding that "things like this shouldn't happen but unfortunately they do", Later, Spartak Moscow issued an official apology to both Medveščak and Hedberg, affirming that video cameras at
Sokolniki Arena had helped identify two offenders who would be banned from attending games.
Return to Austrian League (2017–2019) After a difficult
2016–17 KHL season, in which the club dealt with financial issues, it was announced they would be rejoining the
Erste Bank Eishockey Liga for the 2017 season. In August 2019, they decided to participate with renamed team (
KHL Medveščak Mladi) in national league, due to financial difficulties. ==UNICEF partnership==