Wikipedia - Spengler Cup

The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational 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 from 26 December to 31 inclusively. 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 HC Davos tied with Team Canada in winning the most cups as a club (16) while various teams from Switzerland have won the most cups for one country (21).

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. Future participation of the AHL has been discussed by tournament organisers and the league.

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 2023 tournament, HC Davos defeated Czech club team Dynamo Pardubice 5–3 in the final.

History

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 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-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 Hostpoint.ch – each of whom, along with UBS, are the main tournament sponsor of one of the six teams each year.

"Spengler盃"是一個傳統的冰球錦標賽,每年在瑞士的達沃斯舉行。這個錦標賽是世界上最古老的國際冰球比賽之一,自1923年以來一直舉辦。該錦標賽以其高水準的競爭和激烈的比賽而聞名,吸引了來自世界各地的頂級冰球隊參加。

Spengler盃的參賽隊伍包括來自歐洲、北美和亞洲的冰球俱樂部隊伍,其中包括一些國家隊和職業隊。這些隊伍在比賽期間展示了他們的技巧、速度和戰術,為觀眾帶來了精彩的比賽。

這個冰球錦標賽的名字來自於創辦人卡爾·斯彭格勒,他是一位熱愛冰球的瑞士商人。他希望通過這個比賽來促進國際間的友誼和交流,並提高冰球運動的知名度。

Spengler盃的比賽通常在12月底舉行,持續約一周的時間。比賽場地是達沃斯的Vaillant Arena,這是一個具有悠久歷史和優秀設施的冰球場。觀眾可以在這個錦標賽中欣賞到高水準的比賽,並感受到冰球運動的激情和魅力。

Spengler盃不僅是一個重要的冰球比賽,也是一個聚集了冰球愛好者和專業人士的盛會。這個錦標賽為球迷提供了一個與其他冰球愛好者交流和分享熱情的機會,同時也是一個展示冰球運動魅力的平台。無論是球迷還是選手,參與Spengler盃都能夠感受到冰球運動的熱情和榮譽。