The Czech Extraliga (Czech:Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak Extraliga following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, and is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. In 2008 the IIHF ranked Extraliga third among the top 7 European teams for seeding purposes in the 2008-2009 Champions Hockey League season. Many Extraliga players leave every year on transfers to the North American NHL and Eurasian KHL.