Spengler Cup

The Spengler Cup is an annual tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, it is the second oldest international club team tournament after the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Spengler Cup is hosted by HC Davos and is held between Christmas and New Year's Day. The entry is invitational only. Currently, all games are held at the Eisstadion Davos.
It was originally devised by Dr. Carl Spengler as a means to promote teams from German-speaking Europe, who might have suffered ostracism in the aftermath of World War I. Eventually, the tournament grew well beyond expectations. Many of Europe's most prestigious clubs and national programs have appeared, including Soviet, Czechoslovak, Swedish, German, and Finnish powerhouses. Through its history, club or national teams from 13 countries have won the tournament, with Team Canada winning the most cups as a club (16) while various teams from Switzerland have won the most cups for one country (20).
Among non-European organizations, Team Canada, Team USA, nationally ranked U.S. collegiate teams, reigning AHL Calder Cup and Ontario Hockey Association champions, and even Team Japan (in 1971, building international experience before playing as hosts of the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics) have competed for the Spengler Cup. Since at least 1990, Team Canada has been the only participant from North America, with the exception of the AHL's Rochester Americans in 1996 and 2013.
In the 2018 tournament, Finnish club team KalPa from the city of Kuopio defeated Team Canada 2–1 in the final. The game was decided in the 8th round of a shootout, the first series of game-winning shots in tournament history that determined the winner of the Spengler Cup.
The Spengler Cup tournament was not played in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2022 torunament, Swiss club team HC Ambrì-Piotta defeated Sparta Prague 3–2 in the final; with the game decided in the 5th round of a shootout.
==History==
thumb|left|The former Spengler Cup trophy on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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 Isis, 23 Jan. 1924, page 19. (Future Prime Minister of Canada Lester Pearson was a member of the 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.)
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 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-19 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 McDonald's – each of whom, along with UBS, are the main tournament sponsor of one of the six teams each year.
==International broadcasts==
The Spengler Cup is broadcast on Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen in Switzerland, on Eurosport 2 in most of Europe, on Match TV and NTv2 in Russia, on Sport1 in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, on Šport TV in Slovenia, on TSN and RDS in Canada and on the free-to-air channel FreeSports in the United Kingdom.
== Spengler Cup winners ==
Year	Winner 	Runner-up
1923	Oxford University 	Berlin SC
1924	Berlin SC 	HC Davos
1925	Oxford University 	HC Davos
1926	Berlin SC 	HC Davos
1927	HC Davos 	Berlin SC
1928	Berlin SC 	Cambridge University
1929	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1930	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1931	Oxford University 	Berlin SC
1932	LTC Prague Oxford University1 	HC Davos
1933	HC Davos 	Paris Rapides
1934	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	Oxford University
1935	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	HC Davos
1936	HC Davos 	LTC Prague
1937	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1938	HC Davos 	LTC Prague
1939	Tournament not held due to World War II 	Tournament not held due to World War II
1940	Tournament not held due to World War II 	Tournament not held due to World War II
1941	HC Davos 	Berlin SC
1942	HC Davos 	Zürcher SC
1943	HC Davos 	Zürcher SC
1944	Zürcher SC 	HC Davos
1945	Zürcher SC 	HC Davos
1946	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1947	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1948	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1949	Tournament not held due to high Cold War tensions	Tournament not held due to high Cold War tensions
1950	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	AIK Stockholm
1951	HC Davos 	Preussen Krefeld
1952	EV Füssen 	Zürcher SC
1953	HC Milano Inter 	HC Davos
1954	HC Milano Inter 	EV Füssen
1955	Rudá Hvězda Brno 	HC Davos
1956	Tournament not held for financial reasons 	Tournament not held for financial reasons
1957	HC Davos 	Rudá Hvězda Brno
1958	HC Davos 	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano
1959	ACBB Paris 	EV Füssen
1960	ACBB Paris 	HC Davos
1961	ACBB Paris 	EV Füssen
1962	Sparta Prague 	EV Füssen
1963	Sparta Prague 	Klagenfurt AC
1964	EV Füssen 	Modo Hockey
1965	Dukla Jihlava 	VIK Västerås HK
1966	Dukla Jihlava 	CP Liège
1967	Lokomotiv Moscow 	Kingston Aces
1968	Dukla Jihlava 	Rögle BK
1969	Lokomotiv Moscow 	HC Davos
1970	SKA Leningrad 	Dukla Jihlava
1971	SKA Leningrad 	Dukla Jihlava
1972	HC Slovan Bratislava 	Torpedo Gorkiy
1973	HC Slovan Bratislava 	Traktor Chelyabinsk
1974	HC Slovan Bratislava 	Team Poland
1975	Czechoslovak Olympic Team 	Team Finland
1976	USSR B 	Czechoslovakia B
1977	SKA Leningrad 	Dukla Jihlava
1978	Dukla Jihlava 	AIK Stockholm
1979	Krylya Sovetov Moscow 	Düsseldorfer EG
1980	Spartak Moscow 	TJ Vítkovice
1981	Spartak Moscow 	HC Davos
1982	Dukla Jihlava 	Spartak Moscow
1983	Dynamo Moscow 	Dukla Jihlava
1984	Team Canada 	Dukla Jihlava
1985	Spartak Moscow 	Team Canada
1986	Team Canada 	Sokil Kiev
1987	Team Canada 	Krylya Sovetov Moscow
1988	USA Selects 	Team Canada
1989	Spartak Moscow 	Färjestad BK
1990	Spartak Moscow 	Team Canada
1991	/ CSKA Moscow 	HC Lugano
1992	Team Canada 	Färjestad BK
1993	Färjestad BK 	HC Davos
1994	Färjestad BK 	HC Davos
1995	Team Canada 	Lada Togliatti
1996	Team Canada 	HC Davos
1997	Team Canada 	Färjestad BK
1998	Team Canada 	HC Davos
1999	Kölner Haie 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk
2000	HC Davos 	Team Canada
2001	HC Davos 	Team Canada
2002	Team Canada 	HC Davos
2003	Team Canada 	HC Davos
2004	HC Davos 	Sparta Prague
2005	Metallurg Magnitogorsk 	Team Canada
2006	HC Davos 	Team Canada
2007	Team Canada 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa
2008	Dynamo Moscow 	Team Canada
2009	Dinamo Minsk 	HC Davos
2010	SKA Saint Petersburg 	Team Canada
2011	HC Davos 	Dinamo Riga
2012	Team Canada 	HC Davos
2013	Genève-Servette HC 	CSKA Moscow
2014	Genève-Servette HC 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa
2015	Team Canada 	HC Lugano
2016	Team Canada 	HC Lugano
2017	Team Canada 	Team Switzerland
2018	KalPa Kuopio 	Team Canada
2019	Team Canada 	HC Oceláři Třinec
2020	Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic 	Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic 	Tournament not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022	HC Ambrì-Piotta 	Sparta Prague
2023	HC Davos 	Dynamo Pardubice
Notes
:1 SpenglerCup.ch
==Performances==
===By club===
Performance in the Spengler Cup by club
Club 	Won	Runner-up	Years won 	Years runner-up
HC Davos 	16 	25 	1927, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1951, 1957, 1958, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2023	1924, 1925, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1937, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1969, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012
Team Canada 	16 	10 	1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019	1985, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2018
LTC Prague 	7 	2 	1929, 1930, 1932, 1937, 1946, 1947, 1948 	1936, 1938
Dukla Jihlava 	5 	5 	1965, 1966, 1968, 1978, 1982 	1970, 1971, 1977, 1983, 1984
Spartak Moscow 	5 	1 	1980, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1990 	1982
Oxford University 	4 	1 	1923, 1925, 1931, 1932 	1934
SKA Leningrad /SKA Saint Petersburg	4 	0 	1970, 1971, 1977, 2010 	–
Berlin SC 	3 	4 	1924, 1926, 1928 	1923, 1927, 1931, 1941
 	3 	1 	1934, 1935, 1950 	1958
ACBB Paris 	3 	0 	1959, 1960, 1961 	–
HC Slovan Bratislava1 	3 	0 	1972, 1973, 1974 	–
EV Füssen 	2 	4 	1952, 1964 	1954, 1959, 1961, 1962
Zürcher SC 	2 	3 	1944, 1945 	1942, 1943, 1952
Färjestad BK 	2 	3 	1993, 1994 	1989, 1992, 1997
Sparta Prague 	2 	2 	1962, 1963 	2004, 2022
HC Milano Inter 	2 	0 	1953, 1954 	–
Lokomotiv Moscow 	2 	0 	1967, 1969 	–
Dynamo Moscow 	2 	0 	1983, 2008 	–
Genève-Servette HC 	2 	0 	2013, 2014 	–
Rudá Hvězda Brno 	1 	1 	1955 	1957
Krylya Sovetov Moscow 	1 	1 	1979 	1987
CSKA Moscow 	1 	1 	1991 	2013
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 	1 	1 	2005 	1999
 	1 	0 	1975 	–
USSR B 	1 	0 	1976 	–
USA Selects 	1 	0 	1988 	–
Kölner Haie 	1 	0 	1999 	–
Dinamo Minsk 	1 	0 	2009 	–
KalPa Kuopio 	1 	0 	2018 	
HC Ambrì-Piotta 	1 	0 	2022 	–
HC Lugano 	0 	3 	– 	1991, 2015, 2016
AIK Stockholm 	0 	2 	– 	1950, 1978
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	0 	2 	– 	2007, 2014
Cambridge University 	0 	1 	– 	1928
Paris Rapides 	0 	1 	– 	1933
Preussen Krefeld 	0 	1 	– 	1951
Klagenfurt AC 	0 	1 	– 	1963
Modo Hockey 	0 	1 	– 	1964
VIK Västerås HK 	0 	1 	– 	1965
CP Liège 	0 	1 	– 	1966
Kingston Aces 	0 	1 	– 	1967
Rögle BK 	0 	1 	– 	1968
Torpedo Gorkiy 	0 	1 	– 	1972
Traktor Chelyabinsk 	0 	1 	– 	1973
Team Poland 	0 	1 	– 	1974
Team Finland 	0 	1 	– 	1975
Czechoslovakia B 	0 	1 	– 	1976
Düsseldorfer EG 	0 	1 	– 	1979
TJ Vítkovice 	0 	1 	– 	1980
Sokil Kiev2 	0 	1 	– 	1986
Lada Togliatti 	0 	1 	– 	1995
Dinamo Riga 	0 	1 	– 	2011
Team Switzerland 	0 	1 	– 	2017
HC Oceláři Třinec 	0 	1 	– 	2019
Dynamo Pardubice 	0 	1 	– 	2023
Notes
:1 
:2 
===By nation===
Performance by nation
Nation	Winners	Runners-up
 	21 	32
1 	19 	10
2 	16 	11
3 	13 	5
4 	6 	10
5 	5 	1
6 	4 	5
 	4 	2
7 	3 	1
 	2 	8
 	1 	1
 	1 	0
 	1 	0
 	0 	4
 	0 	1
 	0 	1
 	0 	1
 	0 	1
Notes
:1 
:2 
:3 
:4 
:5 
:6 
:7 
==References==
==External links==
* Spengler Cup 
* NHL.com article on Spengler Cup
* Archive of Hockey Results
Category:Ice hockey tournaments
Category:Spengler Cup
Category:International ice hockey competitions hosted by Switzerland