Spengler Cup

History

Many participating teams are club teams, rather than national teams, where a club team might have players from many nations on the roster. The first tournament was won in 1923 by the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, composed of Canadians studying at the University of Oxford.

The first 24 tournaments were dominated by host HC Davos (7 wins, 12 runners-up) and the Czechoslovak club team LTC Prague (7 wins, 2 runners-up). The LTC Prague team was shut down by the Czechoslovak communist authorities after players defected at the 1948 Spengler Cup tournament. Between 1965 and 1983, the tournament was dominated by various Czechoslovak and Soviet teams. Since joining the tournament in 1984, Team Canada has been the dominant participant, with 16 wins and 10 runners-up. Team Canada is made up of Canadians predominantly playing in Europe, as the tournament occurs during the NHL and AHL seasons, though active NHL stars Joe Thornton and Rick Nash played for HC Davos during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.

From its inception until 1978, the tournament was played on an outdoor rink. The outdoor rink still exists outside the indoor arena, and is one of the largest outdoor rinks in the world. Starting in 1978, all tournament games have been played indoors.

The Spengler Cup was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the tournament was scheduled to return in 2021, Team Canada withdrew from the competition due to problems scheduling a quarantine isolation period before the start of play, and HC Ambrì-Piotta withdrew from the competition due to COVID-19 cases among the club's players. The 2021 event was ultimately cancelled on 25 December due to COVID cases within HC Davos.

Sponsorship

The Spengler Cup is the second-largest sporting event in Switzerland, after tennis' Swiss Indoors in Basel. The tournament had a budget of CHF 11 million in 2016. About 40% of the total tournament budget amount comes from corporate sponsors. Since 1985, UBS has been the main sponsor and presenting partner of the Spengler Cup. Other current major sponsors are Würth, Schenker Storen, Škoda, Calanda, and Hostpoint.ch – each of whom, along with UBS, are the main tournament sponsor of one of the six teams each year.

International broadcasts

Bringing international hockey to North American television in the early 2000s, Paul Graham produced coverage of the Spengler Cup during his career in television production.

The Spengler Cup is currently broadcast on Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen in Switzerland, on Eurosport 2 in most of Europe, on Match! Game and NTv2 in Russia, on Sport1 in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, on Šport TV in Slovenia, on TSN and RDS in Canada and on the streaming service Viaplay in the United Kingdom.

Spengler Cup winners

Notes :1 Oxford University and LTC Prague play to a 0–0 score after overtime. Both teams are declared winners.

Performances

By club

Notes :1 Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakia until 1993, so HC Slovan Bratislava in the 1970s represented both communist Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Socialist Republic. :2 Ukraine was a Soviet republic at the time, so Sokil Kiev represented both the Soviet Union and Soviet Ukraine.

By nation

Notes :1 Includes hockey clubs from the First Czechoslovak Republic, the Third Czechoslovak Republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and the last Czech and Slovak Federative Republic based in today's Czechia and Slovakia, and Czechoslovak national teams. :2 Includes the runner-up 1967 Kingston Aces of the Ontario Hockey Association. :3 Includes hockey clubs based in today's Russia and Ukraine, and Soviet national teams. :4 Includes hockey clubs from the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, Allied-occupied Germany, West Germany, and today's united Federal Republic. :5 Includes hockey clubs from the Kingdom of Italy and today's Italian Republic. :6 Includes CSKA Moscow's Cup win in 1991. :7 Includes hockey clubs from the French Third Republic, the Fourth Republic, and today's Fifth Republic.

References

References

1. (21 December 2018). "WILLIAMS: Developing a European audience – the AHL has eyes on Spengler Cup".
2. ''[[Isis magazine. The Isis]]'', 23 Jan. 1924, page 19. (Future [[List of prime ministers of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada]] [[Lester B. Pearson. Lester Pearson]] was a member of the [[Oxford University Ice Hockey Club. Oxford University team]] in the spring of 1923; however, he returned to Canada in the summer of 1923 and therefore did not compete in the first Spengler Cup played at the end of December 1923 and early January 1924. See: Pearson, Lester B. ''Mike : The Memoirs of the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson''. [[Toronto]]: [[University of Toronto Press]], 1972, page 50.)
3. (20 December 2021). "Hockey Canada withdraws from 2021 Spengler Cup, citing COVID-19 concerns".
4. (20 December 2021). "Canada and Ambri are replaced, Slovan Bratislava moves up". SpenglerCup.ch.
5. Ellis, Steven. (25 December 2021). "Spengler Cup Cancelled for Second Straight Year".
6. Ruch, Fabian. (2015-12-23). "Ein Berner vermarktet den Spengler-Cup". [[Berner Zeitung]].
7. "Presenting and gold partner – Spengler Cup".
8. (25 May 2025). "Paul Graham: IIHF Media Award".
9. (6 September 2024). "TSN Now Available on Prime Video Channels in Canada".
10. [http://www.spenglercup.ch SpenglerCup.ch]