Spengler Cup

The Spengler Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team HC Davos and played each year in Davos, Switzerland, between Christmas (December 25) and New Year's Day. Currently, all games are held at Vaillant Arena.
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, Swedish, Czechoslovak and German powerhouses.
Among non-European organizations, Team Canada, Team USA, nationally ranked NCAA schools, reigning AHL Calder Cup and Ontario Hockey Association champions, and even Team Japan (in 1971 as hosts of the upcoming Sapporo Winter Olympics) have traveled to Davos through the years.
The 2013 Spengler Cup marked the return of a North American league team, the AHL's Rochester Americans, who also were the last such team to take part in 1996.
The most recent Spengler Cup champion is Genève-Servette HC who beat HC CSKA Moscow 5-3 in the final.
The Spengler Cup is broadcast on Schweizer Fernsehen in Switzerland, on Eurosport 2 in most of Europe, on RTR Sport in Russia, on Nova Sport in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and on TSN and RDS in Canada.
==History==
thumb|left|The former Spengler Cup trophy on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Canada.
The Cup was first awarded in 1923 to the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, composed of Canadian students.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 tournament was then dominated by Czechoslovak and Soviet teams between 1965 and 1983. In 1984 Team Canada began participating and has since won the Cup twelve times. Team Canada is predominantly made up of Canadians playing in Europe, as well as American Hockey League prospects. Notable free agents (like veteran goaltender Curtis Joseph) or coaches without an NHL contract have also used the Spengler Cup to keep their name around.
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.
==Temporary reinforcements==
A frequent point of contention among hockey observers discussing the Spengler Cup's relevance is the use of temporary reinforcements. Since the tournament is open to both clubs and national teams, a rule exists that allows club teams to hire up to four additional players (three skaters and one goaltender) for the duration of the competition. Prior to the 2010 edition, six reinforcement players (five skaters and a goaltender) were allowed per team. In practice, not all participants choose to take advantage of the rule to the same extent, and it works mostly to the host team's benefit. HC Davos, for whom the event is a significant source of income, tends to upgrade its roster with experienced talent in order to guarantee a competitive performance and maintain high interest from the Swiss audience. Other teams don't have such incentives to reinforce their squad and will often be much less selective.
== Spengler Cup winners ==
Year 	Winner 	Runner-up
1923 	Oxford University 	HC Davos
1924 	BSC Berlin 	HC Davos
1925 	Oxford University 	HC Davos
1926 	BSC Berlin 	HC Davos
1927 	HC Davos 	BSC Berlin
1928 	BSC Berlin 	HC Davos
1929 	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1930 	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1931 	Oxford University 	HC Davos
1932 	LTC Prague Oxford University 	HC Davos
1933 	HC Davos 	LTC Prague
1934 	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	HC Davos
1935 	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	HC Davos
1936 	HC Davos 	LTC Prague
1937 	LTC Prague 	HC Davos
1938 	HC Davos 	LTC Prague
19392	 	
19402	 	
1941 	HC Davos 	Berliner Schlittschuhclub
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
19493	 	
1950 	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	HC Davos
1951 	HC Davos 	Preussen Krefeld
1952 	EV Füssen 	HC Davos
1953 	Hockey Club Milano 	HC Davos
1954 	Hockey Club Milano 	HC Davos
1955 	Rudá Hvězda Brno 	HC Davos
19564	 	
1957 	HC Davos 	Roter Stern Brünn
1958 	HC Davos 	Diavoli Rossoneri Milano
1959 	ACBB Paris 	HC Davos
1960 	ACBB Paris 	HC Davos
1961 	ACBB Paris 	HC Davos
1962 	Sparta Prague 	HC Davos
1963 	Sparta Prague 	HC Davos
1964 	EV Füssen 	HC Davos
1965 	Dukla Jihlava 	HC Davos
1966 	Dukla Jihlava 	HC Davos
1967 	Lokomotiv Moscow 	HC Davos
1968 	Dukla Jihlava 	HC Davos
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 Olympia 	Team Finland
1976 	USSR B 	Czechoslovakia B
1977 	SKA Leningrad 	HC Dukla Jihlava
1978 	Dukla Jihlava 	AIK Solna
1979 	Krylya Sovetov Moscow 	Dusseldorf EG
1980 	Spartak Moscow 	HC Vitkovice
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 	Sokol Kiev
1987 	Team Canada 	Krylya Sovetov Moscow
1988 	USA Selects 	Team Canada
1989 	Spartak Moscow 	Färjestads BK
1990 	Spartak Moscow 	Team Canada
1991 	CSKA Moscow 	HC Lugano
1992 	Team Canada 	Färjestads BK
1993 	Färjestads BK 	HC Davos
1994 	Färjestads BK 	HC Davos
1995 	Team Canada 	HC Lada Togliatti
1996 	Team Canada 	HC Davos
1997 	Team Canada 	Färjestads BK
1998 	Team Canada 	Kölner Haie
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 	HC Sparta Praha
2005 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk 	Team Canada
2006 	HC Davos 	Team Canada
2007 	Team Canada 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa
2008 	Dynamo Moscow 	Team Canada
2009 	HC Dinamo Minsk 	HC Davos
2010 	SKA St. 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
1 Oxford University and LTC Prague play 0-0 after overtime. Both teams are declared winners.
2 Cup not held due to World War II.
3 Cup not held.
4 Cup not held.[1] 
==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	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, 2023
Team Canada 	16 	10 	1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2015. 2016, 2017	1985, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2018, 2019
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
Zürcher SC 	3 	2 	1944, 1945, 1952 	1942, 1943
HC Diavoli Rossoneri Milano 	3 	1 	1934, 1935, 1950 	1958
ACBB Paris 	3 	0 	1959, 1960, 1961 	–
HC Slovan Bratislava1 	3 	0 	1972, 1973, 1974 	–
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 	–
EV Füssen 	1 	5 	1964 	1952, 1954, 1959, 1961, 1962
Rudá Hvězda Brno 	1 	1 	1955 	1957
Krylya Sovetov Moscow 	1 	1 	1979 	1987
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 	1 	1 	2005 	1999
CSKA Moscow 	1 	1 	1991 	2013
Czechoslovak Olympic Team 	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 	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
TJ Vítkovice 	0 	1 	– 	1980
Sokil Kyiv2 	0 	1 	– 	1986
HC Lada Togliatti 	0 	1 	– 	1995
Dinamo Riga 	0 	1 	– 	2011
Team Switzerland 	0 	1 	– 	2017
HC Oceláři Třinec 	0 	1 	– 	2019
HC Dynamo Pardubice 	0 	1 	– 	2023
:1Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakia at the time, so HC Slovan Bratislava represented both Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Socialist Republic
:2Ukraine was a Soviet republic at the time, so Sokil Kyiv represented both the Soviet Union and Soviet Ukraine
==References==
==External links==
* Spengler Cup 
* NHL.com article on Spengler Cup
* Archive of Hockey Results
 
Category:Tournaments