"The time has come when you have to say that the story on the ice has ended. Twenty beautiful years are behind me. Today I'm announcing that my hockey career is over," Razingar said at an emotional press conference in Lesce on Wednesday.

Born in 1979, Razingar was introduced to ice hockey in his native Jesenice and he spent a majority of his career in the local club Acroni. He also played professionally in the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and minor US hockey leagues.

He participated at several IIHF World Championships as a member of the Slovenian national team, and also played for Slovenia in the country's first Olympic appearance in 2014 in Russia's Sochi.

Razingar had been the captain of the national team since 2009 and became in 2012 its leader in the number of appearances (212).

He said he was not completely walking away from ice hockey, where he might take up a managerial or coaching position in the future, but for the time being he would spend more time with his family.