United Arab Emirates men's national ice hockey team

Medal record
Arab Cup
GCC Gulf Championship
GCC Games
Challenge Cup of Asia

United Arab Emirates
Association	UAE Ice Sports Federation
General manager	Juma Al-Dhaheri
Head coach	David Rich
Assistants	David Ciboch
Captain	Obaid Al-Mehairbi
Most games	Juma Al-Dhaheri (113)
Top scorer	Juma Al-Dhaheri (108)
Most points	Juma Al-Dhaheri (227)
Home stadium	Abu Dhabi Ice Rink
Team colors
IIHF code	UAE
Ranking
Current IIHF	36 3 (27 May 2024)
Highest IIHF	36 (2024)
Lowest IIHF	48 (2019)
First international
	United Arab Emirates 4–0 Thailand; (Changchun, China; 26 January 2007)
Biggest win
	United Arab Emirates 25–0 Bahrain; (Astana, Kazakhstan; 31 January 2011)
Biggest defeat
	Kazakhstan 38–0 United Arab Emirates; (Changchun, China; 27 January 2007)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	10 (first in 2010)
Best result	31st (2024)
Asian Winter Games
Appearances	3 (first in 2007)
Best result	6th (2007)
Arab Cup of Ice Hockey
Appearances	1 (first in 2008)
Best result	1st (2008)
IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia
Appearances	9 (first in 2009)
Best result	1st (2009, 2012, 2017)
Gulf Ice Hockey Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2010)
Best result	1st (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
International record (W–L–T)
	92–39–1

The UAE national ice hockey team (Arabic: منتخب الإمارات العربية المتحدة لهوكي الجليد) is the national men's ice hockey team of the United Arab Emirates. It is operated under the UAE Ice Sports Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).^[2] As of 26 May 2019, the UAE is currently ranked 48th in the IIHF World Ranking and competes in Division III Group A tournament of the World Championships.

History

In June 2008, the UAE took part in the inaugural Arab Cup in Abu Dhabi, also involving the national teams of Algeria, Morocco, and Kuwait. They went on to finish first in the standings and won the gold medal after defeating Kuwait, 4–1. They won the gold in the 2009 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia also in Abu Dhabi.

In 2010, the UAE became the first from an Arab nation to play in the IIHF World Championship when they participated in Division III.^[3] Although the UAE was not ranked in the world rankings until they played against Ireland, Luxembourg, and Greece, and finished last in Group A with a record of four losses. Their new head coach was Teemu Taruvuori of Finland. In May 2010, the UAE participated in the Kuwaiti organized GCC Gulf Championship, finishing first after winning all three of their games.^[4]

Withdrawal from 2011 and 2016 IIHF tournaments

The UAE decided to withdraw from the 2011 Division III tournament in Cape Town, South Africa because they refused to compete against Israel, who was also in the tournament. They also withdrew from the 2016 Division III tournament, with no reason cited.^[5]

Tournament record

World Championships

Year	Host	Result	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L
1930 through 2009		did not enter
2010	Kockelscheuer	46th place (4th in Division III A)	3	0	0	0	3
2011	Cape Town	Withdrew from tournament
2012	Erzurum	did not participate
2013	Cape Town	46th place (6th in Division III)	5	0	0	0	5
2014	Kockelscheuer	45th place (5th in Division III)	5	1	0	1	3
2015	İzmir	46th place (6th in Division III)	6	1	0	1	4
2016	Istanbul	Withdrew from tournament
2017	Sofia	47th place (7th in Division III)	4	0	0	0	4
2018	Sarajevo	49th place (3rd in Division III Q)	3	1	0	0	2
2019	Abu Dhabi	47th place (1st in Division III Q)	5	4	0	0	1
2020 and 2021		Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[6]^[7]
2022	Kockelscheuer	37th place (1st in Division III A)	4	4	0	0	0
2023	Istanbul	35th place (1st in Division II B)	5	5	0	0	0
2024	Belgrade	31st place (3rd in Division II A)	5	3	0	0	2
2025	Melbourne	TBD
Total		11/14	45	19	0	2	24

Asian Winter Games

Year	Host	Result	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L
1986 through 2003		did not enter
2007	Changchun	6th place	4	2	0	0	2
2011	Astana	8th place (3rd in Premier Division)	6	4	0	0	2
2017	Sapporo	7th place (3rd in Division I)	5	3	0	0	2
2025	Harbin
Total		3/3	15	9	0	0	6

Arab Cup/GCC Gulf Championship

Year	Host	Result	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L
Arab Cup (2008)
2008	Abu Dhabi	1st place	5	4	1	0	0
GCC Gulf Championship (2010–2016)
2010	Kuwait City	1st place	3	3	0	0	0
2012	Abu Dhabi	1st place	5	4	1	0	0
2014	Kuwait City	1st place	5	5	0	0	0
2016	Doha	1st place	5	5	0	0	0
GCC Games (2022)
2022	Kuwait City	1st place	3	3	0	0	0
Total		6/6	26	24	2	0	0

Challenge Cup of Asia

Year	Host	Result	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L
2008	Hong Kong	did not participate
2009	Abu Dhabi	1st place	5	5	0	0	0
2010	Taipei City	2nd place	5	3	0	1	1
2011	Kuwait City	2nd place	5	4	0	0	1
2012	Dehradun	1st place	5	5	0	0	0
2013	Bangkok	6th place	5	2	0	1	2
2014	Abu Dhabi	2nd place	5	3	1	0	1
2015	Taipei City	2nd place	4	3	0	0	1
2016	Abu Dhabi	2nd place	4	3	0	0	1
2017	Bangkok	1st place	4	3	1	0	0
2018	Pasay	did not participate
2019	Kuala Lumpur
2020	Singapore
Total		9/13	42	31	2	2	7

All-time record against other nations

Last match update: 27 April 2024^[8]

Key
	Positive balance (more Wins)
	Neutral balance (Wins = Losses)
	Negative balance (more Losses)

Team	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA
Algeria	2	2	0	0	16	6
Australia	1	1	0	0	5	4
Bahrain	4	4	0	0	60	2
Belgium	1	1	0	0	4	3
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5	4	0	1	27	14
Bulgaria	2	1	0	1	12	13
Chinese Taipei	10	3	0	7	39	39
Croatia	1	0	0	1	1	4
Georgia	4	2	0	2	19	26
Greece	3	1	0	2	6	11
Hong Kong	9	4	1	4	37	27
Iceland	1	1	0	0	7	2
India	1	1	0	0	10	0
Iran	1	1	0	0	9	6
Ireland	2	0	0	2	5	15
Israel	1	1	0	0	10	6
Kazakhstan	1	0	0	1	0	38
Kuwait	17	17	0	0	83	19
Kyrgyzstan	3	0	0	3	8	30
Luxembourg	7	2	0	5	19	48
Macau	3	3	0	0	22	0
Malaysia	6	6	0	0	46	7
Mexico	1	1	0	0	9	4
Mongolia	8	8	0	0	38	12
Morocco	1	1	0	0	9	0
New Zealand	1	1	0	0	7	1
North Korea	4	0	0	4	6	33
Oman	6	6	0	0	47	9
Qatar	4	4	0	0	28	3
Saudi Arabia	2	2	0	0	19	2
Serbia	1	0	0	1	2	5
Singapore	4	4	0	0	30	6
South Africa	2	0	0	2	0	23
Thailand	13	10	0	3	58	39
Turkey	3	2	0	1	21	19
Turkmenistan	2	1	0	1	10	8
Total	132	90	1	41	694	477

Current roster

Roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship Division II.^[9]

Head coach: David Rich

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
3	F	Obaid Al Muharrami	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	70 kg (150 lb)	(1983-01-27) 27 January 1983 (age 41)	Al Ain Theebs
4	F	Eissa Al Mehairbi	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	68 kg (150 lb)	(1999-10-14) 14 October 1999 (age 25)	Abu Dhabi Storms
6	D	Airat Badegyev	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	95 kg (209 lb)	(1992-08-19) 19 August 1992 (age 32)	Dubai White Bears
8	F	Timothy Ramseyer	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(2002-06-27) 27 June 2002 (age 22)	Dubai Mighty Camels
9	D	Nils Remess – A	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	78 kg (172 lb)	(1990-05-19) 19 May 1990 (age 34)	Abu Dhabi Storms
11	F	Ilya Chuikov	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	95 kg (209 lb)	(1998-02-27) 27 February 1998 (age 26)	Abu Dhabi Storms
12	F	Talal Bensammoud	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	89 kg (196 lb)	(2004-01-12) 12 January 2004 (age 20)	Abu Dhabi Storms
13	F	Dmitri Likhachev	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1993-08-09) 9 August 1993 (age 31)	Al Ain Theebs
15	D	Dmitri Shapovalov	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(1993-03-11) 11 March 1993 (age 31)	Al Ain Theebs
16	F	Omar Al Shamsi	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	65 kg (143 lb)	(1974-01-01) 1 January 1974 (age 50)	Al Ain Theebs
17	D	Sergei Kuznetsov	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	(1991-01-05) 5 January 1991 (age 33)	Dubai White Bears
18	F	Artem Klavdiev	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1999-09-26) 26 September 1999 (age 25)	Al Ain Theebs
19	F	Luka Vukoja – A	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	81 kg (179 lb)	(1995-02-14) 14 February 1995 (age 29)	KHL Mladost
20	GK	Maksim Rashchupkin	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(2002-09-21) 21 September 2002 (age 22)	Dubai Mighty Camels
21	F	Butti Al Qubaisi	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	67 kg (148 lb)	(2001-12-06) 6 December 2001 (age 22)	Abu Dhabi Storms
22	F	Dmitri Salvasser	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1999-05-12) 12 May 1999 (age 25)	Dubai Mighty Camels
23	F	Abdulla Al Humaidi	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)	55 kg (121 lb)	(1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 26)	Abu Dhabi Storms
24	F	Omer Al Mehairbi – C	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)	71 kg (157 lb)	(2001-09-06) 6 September 2001 (age 23)	Abu Dhabi Shaheen
25	GK	Abdulrahman Al Hosani	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)	73 kg (161 lb)	(2001-01-03) 3 January 2001 (age 23)	Abu Dhabi Storms

References

^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
^ "UAE ice hockey team 'know we can compete' | The National". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
^ Loonen, Joeri (20 April 2010). "From Abu Dhabi to the Acropolis". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
^ Merk, Martin (8 June 2010). "UAE wins Gulf Championship". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
^ "Men's Div. III begins". IIHF.com. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
^ "Men's Division II, III cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
^ "Ice Hockey in U.A.E." National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
^ "Team Roster UA Emirates". iihf.com. 20 April 2024.

External links

[IIHF_Men's_World_Ranking-1] "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.

[2] "UAE ice hockey team 'know we can compete' | The National". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

[3] Loonen, Joeri (20 April 2010). "From Abu Dhabi to the Acropolis". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 20 April 2010.

[IIHF_GULF2010-4] Merk, Martin (8 June 2010). "UAE wins Gulf Championship". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.

[5] "Men's Div. III begins". IIHF.com. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.

[6] "Men's Division II, III cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 13 March 2020.

[7] "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

[8] "Ice Hockey in U.A.E." National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

[9] "Team Roster UA Emirates". iihf.com. 20 April 2024.

[2]

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]