Lajos Koutny

Lajos Koutny’s mother was a figure skater, so he learned to skate when he was 4-years-old. He later became familiar with several sports, but finally focused on ice hockey and briefly joined Testvériség in 1955, and later was with BVSC. From 1955-72, he played as a defender for BVSC, and during this time he finished second six times and third ten times in the Hungarian championship. From 1959-69, he earned 62 international caps.

Koutny played for Hungary at seven World Championships, including the 1965 World Cup in Tampere, where they finished fourth in Group B. Through 2022, this is the best Hungarian ranking at the ice hockey World Championships.

Koutny competed at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, where he played in all the Hungarian matches and was selected to carry the Hungarian flag at the Opening Ceremony.

After the end of his sports career, Koutny coached the BVSC senior team, playing in the first division. In 1974, due to serious unsportsmanlike conduct, he was banned from coaching and all sports activities for two years. After that, he did not return to ice hockey, but continued his career as a handball referee. He retired from officiating in 1995 after 276 matches in the Hungarian first division. In 1980, he returned to ice hockey for two seasons and played with the Kontakta team. In 2017 Koutny was elected to the Hungarian Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.