Para Hockey Cup

The Para Hockey Cup, formerly the World Sledge Hockey Challenge (WSHC) and Canadian Tire Para Ice Hockey Cup is an annual international ice sledge hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada and the IPC Sledge Hockey. The tournament is an invitational format to bring four of the strongest ice sledge hockey teams together for international competition.
The tournament features four teams per year and has seen teams from Canada, the United States, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, China and the Czech Republic.
==History==
The tournament was created in 2007 by Hockey Canada. The idea behind the tournament was to give an opportunity for international level play during non-Paralympic years.
The inaugural 2007 tournament was hosted in Kelowna, British Columbia, and featured four teams – Canada , Norway, United States and Germany. Canada captured the inaugural tournament, by defeating Norway 1-0 in overtime in the gold medal game.
The 2008 tournament was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Japan replaced Germany. For the second straight year, Canada defeated Norway in the final. However, Canada dominated the final winning 7-0
In 2009, the United States won their first title. They defeated Canada in overtime 3-2 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. No tournament was held in 2010, owing to the 2010 Winter Paralympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia that year. Instead, two tournaments were held in 2011, in April in London, Ontario, Canada defeated Norway in the final 8-0. In the November tournament that year in Calgary, Alberta, Canada again captured Gold, defeating the United States 4-1 in the final. The 2012 tournament was held again in Calgary, Alberta and saw the United States capture their second gold, defeating Canada 1-0 in the final.
In 2013, the tournament saw a few changes, it was held in Toronto, Ontario for the first time and saw Russia and South Korea replace Japan and Norway in the tournament. South Korea was added in an attempt to help them gain experience before the 2018 Winter Paralympics are held there. Canada captured gold, by defeating the United States 4-1 in the final. Again owing to the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia no tournament was held. It returned in 2015 in Leduc, Alberta.
In 2018, the World Sledge Hockey Challenge was rebranded as the Para Hockey Cup. Sponsored by Canadian Tire, the tournament was officially known as the Canadian Tire Para Ice Hockey Cup.
==Champions==
Year 	 	 	 	Host City
2007 	 	 	 	Kelowna, British Columbia
2008 	 	 	 	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
2009 	 	 	 	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
2010 	Not held due to 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada	Not held due to 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada	Not held due to 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada	Not held due to 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada
2011 April 	 	 	 	London, Ontario
2011 November	 	 	 	Calgary, Alberta2011 WSHC Schedule
2012 	 	 	 	Calgary, Alberta2012 WSHC Schedule
2013 	 	 	 	Toronto, Ontario2013 WSHC Championship Schedule
2014 	Not held due to 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia 	Not held due to 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia 	Not held due to 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia 	Not held due to 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia
2015 	 	 	 	Leduc, Alberta2015 WSHC Schedule
2016 January 	 	 	 	Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
2016 December	 	 	 	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
2017 	 	 	 	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
2018 	 	 	 	London, Ontario2018 WSHC Championship Schedule
2019 	 	 	 	Paradise, Newfoundland & Labrador
2020 	Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 	Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 	Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 	Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
2021 	Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 	Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 	Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 	Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
2022 	 	 	 	Bridgewater, Nova Scotia2023 Para Hockey Cup
2023 	 	 	 	Quispamsis, New Brunswick
==Medal table==
Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Medals
 	10 	2 	3 	15
 	5 	9 	1 	15
 	0 	3 	4 	7
 	0 	1 	2 	3
 	0 	0 	3 	3
 	0 	0 	2 	2
 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	0 	0 	0 	0
==All-time team records==
Up to date as of December 2023
Rank	Team	GP	W 	L 	OTL	GF 	GA 	+/-
1 	 	67	54	12	1 	306	91 	+ 215
2 	 	67	50	12	5 	311	88 	+ 223
3 	 	32	13	17	2 	73 	115	- 42
4 	 	20	8 	11	1 	55 	43 	- 12
5 	 	29	3 	26	0 	31 	174	- 143
6 	 	10	2 	8 	0 	12 	61 	- 49
7 	 	23	1 	21	1 	22 	157	- 135
8 	 	10	0 	9 	1 	10 	72 	- 62
9 	 	4 	0 	4 	0 	5 	24 	- 19
==See also==
*Para ice hockey at the Winter Paralympics
*World Para Ice Hockey Championships
*Sledge hockey
==References==
==External links==
*World Sledge Hockey Challenge
Category:Hockey Canada
Category:Sledge hockey competitions