1.
Ice Hockey World Championships
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The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international mens ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sports highest profile annual international tournament, the IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship, between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year. The first World Championship that was held as an event was in 1930 in which twelve nations participated. In 1931, ten teams played a series of round-robin format qualifying rounds to determine which nations participated in the medal round, medals were awarded based on the final standings of the teams in the medal round. This basic format would be used until 1992, in 1951, thirteen nations took part and were split into two groups. The top seven teams played for the World Championship, the other six played for ranking purposes. During a congress in 1990, the IIHF introduced a playoff system, as the IIHF grew, more teams began to participate at the World Championships, so more pools were introduced. The modern format for the World Championship features 16 teams in the group,12 teams in Division I and 12 teams in Division II. If there are more than 40 teams, the rest compete in Division III, the teams in the championship play a preliminary round, then the top eight teams play in the playoff medal round and the winning team is crowned World Champion. Over the years, the tournament has gone through several rule changes, in 1969 body-checking in all three zones in a rink was allowed, helmets and goaltender masks became mandatory in the early 1970s and in 1992 the IIHF began using the shootout. The current IIHF rules differ slightly from the used in the NHL. The World Championships have been open to all players, both professional and amateur, since 1977, the IIHF requires that players are citizens of the country they represent and allow players to switch national teams provided that they play in their new nation for a certain period of time. Canada was the tournaments first dominant team, winning the tournament 12 times between 1930 and 1952, the United States, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Great Britain and Switzerland were also competitive during this period. The Soviet Union first participated in 1954 and soon became rivals with Canada, from 1963 until the nations breakup in 1991, the Soviet Union was the dominant team, winning 20 championships. During that period, only three other nations won medals, Canada, Czechoslovakia and Sweden, Russia first participated in 1992 and the Czech Republic and Slovakia began competing in 1993. In the 2000s, the became more open as the Big Six teams – Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden. Thus, NHL players generally only participate once their respective team is eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, the 79th World Championship was held in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic, and was the most successful to date in terms of overall attendance
2.
Helsinki
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Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 629,512, a population of 1,231,595. Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres north of Tallinn, Estonia,400 km east of Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen. It is the worlds northernmost metro area of one million people. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is Finlands major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center as well as one of northern Europes major cities. Approximately 75% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region, the nearby municipality of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the city was the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest 2007. In 2011, the Monocle magazine ranked Helsinki the most liveable city in the world in its Liveable Cities Index 2011, in the Economist Intelligence Units August 2015 Liveability survey, assessing the best and worst cities to live in globally, Helsinki placed among the worlds top ten cities. Helsinki is used to refer to the city in most languages, the Swedish name Helsingfors is the original official name of the city. The Finnish name probably comes from Helsinga and similar names used for the river that is known as the Vantaa River. Helsingfors comes from the name of the parish, Helsinge and the rapids, which flowed through the original village. As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, one suggestion for the origin of the name Helsinge is that it originated with medieval Swedish settlers who came from Hälsingland in Sweden. Others have proposed that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing, other Scandinavian cities located at similar geographic locations were given similar names at the time, for example Helsingør and Helsingborg. The name Helsinki has been used in Finnish official documents and in Finnish language newspapers since 1819, the decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish, in Helsinki slang the city is called Stadi. Hesa, is not used by natives to the city, helsset is the Northern Sami name of Helsinki
3.
Hockey Hall of Fame
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The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is a museum and it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup. Founded in Kingston, Ontario, the Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1943 under the leadership of James T. Sutherland, the first class of honoured members was inducted in 1945, before the Hall of Fame had a permanent location. It moved to Toronto in 1958 after the NHL withdrew its support for the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston and its first permanent building opened at Exhibition Place in 1961. In 1993, the hall was relocated to a former Bank of Montreal building in Downtown Toronto, an 18-person committee of players, coaches and others meets annually in June to select new honourees, who are inducted as players, builders or on-ice officials. In 2010, a subcategory was established for female players, the builders category includes coaches, general managers, commentators, team owners and others who have helped build the game. As of 2016,271 players,105 builders and 16 on-ice officials have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame has been criticized for focusing mainly on players from the National Hockey League and largely ignoring players from other North American and international leagues. The Hockey Hall of Fame was established through the efforts of James T. Sutherland, Sutherland sought to establish it in Kingston, Ontario as he believed that the city was the birthplace of hockey. In 1943, the NHL and CAHA reached an agreement that a Hall of Fame would be established in Kingston, originally called the International Hockey Hall of Fame, its mandate was to honour great hockey players and to raise funds for a permanent location. The first nine honoured members were inducted on April 30,1945, although the Hall of Fame still did not have a permanent home. The first board of governors consisted of Red Dutton, Art Ross, Frank Sargent, Lester Patrick, Abbie E. H. Coo, Wes McKnight, Basil E. OMeara, J. P. Fitzgerald and W. A. Hewitt. Kingston lost its most influential advocate as permanent site of the Hockey Hall of Fame when Sutherland died in 1955, by 1958, the Hockey Hall of Fame had still not raised sufficient funds to construct a permanent building in Kingston. Clarence Campbell, then President of the NHL, grew tired of waiting for the construction to begin and withdrew the NHLs support to situate the hall in Kingston. The temporary Hockey Hall of Fame opened as an exhibit within the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in August 1958, due to the success of the exhibit, NHL and CNE decided that a permanent home in the Exhibition Place was needed. The NHL agreed to fund the building of the new facility on the grounds of Exhibition Place. The first permanent Hockey Hall of Fame, which shared a building with the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, was opened on August 26,1961, over 750,000 people visited the Hall in its inaugural year. Admission to the Hockey Hall of Fame was free until 1980, by 1986, the Hall of Fame was running out of room in its existing facilities and the Board of Directors decided that a new home was needed. The Hall vacated the Exhibition Place building in 1992, and its half was taken over by the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the building was eventually demolished — a portion of the buildings facade was preserved as an entrance to BMO Field stadium
4.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
5.
Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponents net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of six each, one goaltender. A fast-paced, physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas of North America, Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. In North America, the National Hockey League is the highest level for mens hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking, worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed, such as shinny and ice polo. The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion, in international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in mens competition at the Olympics, in the annual Ice Hockey World Championships,177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. In Russia and the Ukraine, where hockey can also refer to bandy, the name hockey has no clear origin. The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word hockey when he translated the proclamation in 1720, the 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves. A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage. According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck. Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times, in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the closely related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on a surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age. It was played with a curved bat, a wooden or leather ball
6.
Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
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Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The mens tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, the womens tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes until 1988, from 1924 to 1988, the tournament started with a round-robin series of games and ended with the medal round. Medals were awarded based on points accumulated during that round, the games of the tournament follow the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation, which differ slightly from the rules used in the NHL. Several players have tested positive for banned substances since the 1972 Winter Olympics, in the mens tournament, Canada was the most successful team of the first three decades, winning six of seven gold medals. Czechoslovakia, Sweden and the United States were also competitive during this period, between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also counted as the Ice Hockey World Championship for that year. The Soviet Union first participated in 1956 and overtook Canada as the dominant international team, the United States won gold medals in 1960 and in 1980, which included their Miracle on Ice upset of the Soviet Union. Canada went 50 years without a medal, before winning one in 2002. Other nations to win gold include Great Britain in 1936, the Unified Team in 1992, Sweden in 1994 and 2006, other medal-winning nations include Switzerland, Germany, Finland and Russia. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games starting in 1988, however, NHL players were allowed to compete starting in 1998. The tournament format was changed again in 2006, every team played five games with the full use of NHL players. In July 1992, the IOC voted to approve womens hockey as an Olympic event, the Canadian and American teams have dominated the event, typically losing only to each other. The United States won its first tournament in 1998, while Canada won in 2002,2006,2010 and 2014, the first Olympic ice hockey tournament took place at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. At the time, organized ice hockey was still relatively new. The International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body, was created on May 15,1908. At the 1914 Olympic Congress in Paris, ice hockey was added to the list of sports that Olympics organizers could include. The decision to include ice hockey for the 1920 Summer Olympics was made in January, several occurrences led to the sports inclusion in the programme. The IIHF considers the 1920 tournament to be the first Ice Hockey World Championship, from then on, the two events occurred concurrently, and every Olympic tournament until 1968 is counted as the World Championship
7.
International Ice Hockey Federation
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The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 74 members and it manages international ice hockey tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking. The Hockey Canada and USA Hockey federations have their own rulebooks, decisions of the IIHF can be appealed through the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IIHF museum was located within the International Hockey Hall of Fame Museum located in Kingston, after terminating the partnership with the International Hockey Hall of Fame, the IIHF signed an agreement with the NHL to house their museum within the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, the IIHF museum relocated to Toronto, Ontario, as part of the centennial celebrations of the IIHFs founding, the 2008 IIHF World Championship was held in Canada. This was the first time the championships were hosted in Canada, Russia won the 2008 Championship, with Canada as the runner-up. The main functions of the IIHF are to govern, develop, another duty is to promote friendly relations among the member national associations and to operate in an organized manner for the good order of the sport. The IIHF is the body responsible with arranging the sponsorships, license rights, another purpose of the federation is to provide aid in the young players development and in the development of coaches and game officials. On the other hand, all the events of IIHF are organized by the federation along with establishing and maintaining contact with any sport federations or sport groups. The IIHF is responsible for processing the international players transfers and it is also the body that presides over ice hockey in the Olympic Games as well as over all levels of the IIHF World Championships. The federation works in collaboration with local committees when organizing its 25 World Championships, even though the IIHF runs the world championships, it is also responsible for the organization of several European club competitions such as the Champions Hockey League or the Continental Cup. The federation is governed by the body of the IIHF which is the General Congress along with the executive body. The Congress is entitled to make decisions with regard of the games rules and it is also the body that elects the president and the council or otherwise known as board. The president of the IIHF is basically the representative of the federation and he represents the federations interests in all external matters and he is also responsible that the decisions are made according to the federations statutes and regulations. The president is assisted by the General Secretary who is also the highest ranked employee of the IIHF, the International Ice Hockey Federation was founded on May 15,1908 at 34 Rue de Provence in Paris, France, as Ligue International de Hockey sur Glace. The founders of the federation were representatives from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Louis Magnus, the French representative, was the fifth member to sign the founding document and also the first president of the LIHG. The second congress was held from January 22–25,1909 in Chamonix, playing and competitions rules were established, and an agreement was reached for an annual European Championship to be contested, beginning in 1910. The 1909 Coupe de Chamonix was contested during the congress and it was won by Princes Ice Hockey Club, representing Great Britain
8.
United States Hockey Hall of Fame
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It is located in Eveleth, Minnesota, an iron mining town in northern Minnesota. New members are inducted annually based on their contributions to hockey in the United States during the course of their careers. Each year, nominations are solicited by USA Hockey from those willing to substantiate the candidacy of an individual or team for induction from Jan.1 through March 31. All nominations are forwarded to the U. S, Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee for review. After a thorough evaluation of candidate, the selection committee conducts a vote to select the newest members of the Hall of Fame. The United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, the National Shrine of American Hockey, is dedicated to honoring these legends of the game, opened in 1973 in Eveleth, Minn. the unique facility is driven by the mission to preserve and interpret Americas proud hockey heritage. Downtown Eveleth you will find the worlds largest authentic hockey stick and it is a Christian Brothers hockey stick that measures over 110 ft. and 10,000 lbs. Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, Ontario, Canada IIHF Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Official website
9.
IIHF World U18 Championship
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The IIHF U18 World Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships. The United States has dominated the tournament with nine followed by Finland, Canada. Number of tournaments won at the time,2015 official site IIHF World U18 all-time scoring leaders
10.
IIHF Continental Cup
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The Continental Cup is an ice hockey tournament for European clubs, begun in 1997 after the discontinuing of the European Cup. It was intended for teams from countries without representatives in the European Hockey League, the competition began in 1997–98 with 42 clubs from 26 countries, which expanded to 48 teams for the next two years. The tournament was played in seeded rounds of qualifying groups, there were three rounds of qualifying groups, with winners of qualifying groups progressing to the next round. The three winners of the third round entered the semifinals, along with the host club. The first round was held in September, the second in October, the third in November, in the 2000–01 season, with the European Hockey League on hiatus, the Continental Cup became the de facto European club championship. The format remained the same, with 36 teams from 27 countries, the Federation Cup was an official European ice hockey club competition created in 1995. It was the second European competition for teams, intended for those teams who couldnt qualify for the IIHF European Cup. It was the predecessor of the Continental Cup, which was played two seasons later. In the first year of competition,13 Eastern European teams from twelve countries participated in the tournament, in a KO-system with three qualifying groups, which qualifies the four participants in the finals. The following year was played in the same mode, due to the increased number of participants, an additional qualifying round was introduced. Champions Hockey League IIHF Super Cup European Cup Continental Cup at Eurohockey. com
11.
Victoria Cup (ice hockey)
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The Victoria Cup is a game or series of games played between professional ice hockey teams from Europe and the North American National Hockey League that is currently on hiatus. The event has held twice, in 2008 and 2009. The Victoria Cup was announced in 2007 as one of the events to celebrate 2008. The Victoria cup is so named to commemorate the first recorded organised indoor ice hockey game, played in 1875 at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec, in the two editions of the event held so far, different criteria were used to choose the competing teams. One challenger, from Europe, was the winner of the IIHF European Champions Cup, the other, from North America, was chosen by the National Hockey League head office from among the teams that open their NHL season with games in Europe. The game was played under IIHF rules, referees were split between the NHL and the IIHF. The match was preceded by a game on September 30,2008. This was the first time a Swiss club played against an NHL team, the Rangers followed the Victoria Cup game with two NHL regular-season games against the Tampa Bay Lightning team in Prague, Czech Republic on October 4 and October 5 at O2 Arena. The second edition was contested by the Zurich ZSC Lions, champions of the Champions League, the match was played on September 29,2009 at the Hallenstadion. The ZSC Lions defeated the Blackhawks 2-1, however, the event was not held in 2010, leaving its future uncertain. The IIHF commissioned a new designed by GDE Bertoni which designed the FIFA World Cup trophy. The Victoria Cup is a cup with twelve Perspex – a thermoplastic material – light blue hockey sticks, six on each side, sitting on a marble case and forming a “V” coming up. The names of the clubs are engraved on the back of the sticks
