1.
Burgdorf, Switzerland
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Burgdorf is the largest city in the Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It was the capital of the district of the name until 2010. Scattered archeological finds indicate that the area around Burgdorf was inhabited during the Neolithic era, the Late Bronze Age, during the High Middle Ages the land that would become Burgdorf was owned by the Kingdom of Burgundy and then after 1080 by the Dukes of Zähringen. Either the kings or the built an castle on the left bank of the Emme river. Burgdorf is first mentioned in 1236 as in oppido Burchtorff, while Burgdorf Castle is mentioned in 1080 as castellum Bertoldi ducis, the Zähringen dukes built a city around the castle in the last quarter of the 12th century. After the extinction of Zähringen line, Burgdorf passed to the Counts of Kyburg and they expanded the city in 1278 with the upper-east section and between 1278 and 1300 absorbed the Holzbrunnen settlement which became the lower town. By 1300 the city had expanded to fill the town walls, Starting in 1323 there was a ban on construction within the walls, which marked the border of the city until 1800. Under the Kyburg or Neu-Kyburg Counts, Burgdorf Castle was the capital of the county, in the 14th century, the Neu-Kyburgs became increasingly indebted. On 11 November 1382, Count Rudolf II of Neu-Kyburg, launched a raid against the city of Solothurn to try, for the city of Bern, this attack on an allied city represented an excellent opportunity for the city to break its ties with the Neu-Kyburgs. In March 1383 the Bernese-Solothurn army marched on Burgdorf and this army was supported with troops from the Forest Cantons, Lucerne, Zurich, Neuchatel and Savoy and were armed with catapults and primitive guns. Because Count Rudolf II had died before the war began, Burgdorf was defended by Rudolfs uncle, under Berchtold, Burgdorf withstood a 45-day siege. An attempt to negotiate a cease-fire on 21 April 1383, between Bern and the citizens of Burgdorf against the Neu-Kyburgs was also unsuccessful, beset by enormous burdens of war and civil unrest at home, the Bernese Council sought Confederation mediation to end the war. On 5 April 1384, the Neu-Kyburgs agreed to sell the towns and castles of Burgdorf, as part of the peace treaty, Bern acknowledged the rights and privileges that the Kyburgs had granted to Burgdorf. Burgdorf enjoyed an amount of autonomy compared to the other cities in the Bernese city-state. The town had its own mayor, council and high and low courts, Starting in 1394 the town began to buy courts, land and forests from the impoverished nobility. It began to acquire the villages and towns as well. In 1394 Rütschelen came under Burgdorfs authority, the city created the bailiwicks of Grasswil and Lotzwil under the administration of an alderman. The city government consisted of a council and a large council Starting in 1384 the Schultheiss was chosen by Bern
2.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
3.
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
4.
Goaltender
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In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their teams net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender usually plays in or near the area in front of the net called the goal crease, goaltenders tend to stay at or beyond the top of the crease to cut down on the angle of shots. In todays age of goaltending there are two styles, butterfly and hybrid. Because of the power of shots, the goaltender wears special equipment designed to protect the body from direct impact, the goalie is one of the most valuable players on the ice, as their performance can greatly change the outcome or score of the game. One-on-one situations, such as breakaways and shootouts, have the tendency to highlight a goaltenders pure skill, only one goaltender is allowed to be on the ice for each team at any given time. The goaltender is also known as the goalie, goaler, goalkeeper, net minder, in the early days of the sport, the term was spelled with a hyphen as goal-tender. The art of playing the position is called goaltending and there are coaches, the variation goalie is typically used for items associated with the position, such as goalie stick and goalie pads. Goaltending is a position in ice hockey, at higher levels in the game, no goalies play other positions. A typical ice hockey team may have two or three goaltenders on its roster, the NHL requires each team have a list of emergency goalies. The list provides goalie options for both the home and visiting teams and these goalies are to be called to a game if a team does not have two goalies to start the game. An emergency goalie may also be called if both roster goalies are injured in the same game, Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed. Martin Brodeur was the first goaltender in the National Hockey League to score a game-winning goal, the goaltender has special privileges and training that other players do not. He or she wears special goaltending equipment that is different from that worn by players and is subject to specific regulations. Goalies may use any part of their bodies to block shots, the goalie may legally hold the puck with his hands to cause a stoppage of play. If a player from the team hits the goaltender without making an attempt to get out of his way. In some leagues, if a goalies stick breaks, he can continue playing with a stick until the play is stopped. Additionally, if a goaltender acts in such a way that would cause a player to be given a penalty, such as slashing or tripping another player. Instead, one of the teammates who was on the ice at the time of the infraction is sent to the penalty box in his or her place
5.
National Hockey League
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Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all in Canada, the league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the Boston Bruins joined, and has since consisted of American and Canadian teams. After a labour-management dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, in 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, attendance, and television audiences. The league draws many highly skilled players from all over the world, canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons. The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association, founded in 1909, the NHA began play one year later with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey. Realizing the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, frank Calder was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943. The Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto, the first games were played on December 19,1917. The Montreal Arena burned down in January 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations, the NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, which was an interleague competition back then. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the 1918 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won the title in 1919, however their Stanley Cup Final against the PCHAs Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned as a result of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Montreal in 1924 won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL, the Hamilton Tigers, won the regular season title in 1924–25 but refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus. The league refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after defeated the Toronto St. Patricks in the semi-final. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1925 Stanley Cup and it was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy, as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926 after the WCHL ceased operation. The National Hockey League embarked on rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons, the Bruins were the first American team in the league. The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers, the New York Rangers were added in 1926. The Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars were also added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL, a group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and immediately renamed them the Maple Leafs. The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, the second was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenzs family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game
6.
Anaheim Ducks
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The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, since their inception, the Ducks have played their home games at the Honda Center. The club was founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a name based on the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks. Disney sold the franchise in 2005 to Henry and Susan Samueli, the Ducks have made the playoffs 12 times and won five Pacific Division titles, two Western Conference championships and one Stanley Cup. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company, the franchise was awarded by the NHL in December 1992, along with the rights to a Miami team that would become the Florida Panthers. An entrance fee of $50 million was required, half of which Disney would pay directly to the Los Angeles Kings in order to share Southern California. Philadelphia-arena management specialist Tony Tavares was chosen to be president, and Jack Ferreira. The Ducks selected Ron Wilson to be the first coach in team history, the Ducks and the expansion Florida Panthers team filled out their rosters in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. In the former, a focus on defense led to goaltenders Guy Hebert and Glenn Healy being the first picks, followed by Alexei Kasatonov and Steven King. In the latter, the Ducks selected as the fourth overall pick Paul Kariya, the resulting roster had the lowest payroll of the NHL, with only $7.9 million. Led by captain Troy Loney, the Ducks finished the season 33–46–5, a number of wins for an expansion team. The Ducks sold out 27 of 41 home games, including the last 25, Ducks licensed merchandise shot to number one in sales among NHL clubs, helped by their presence in Disneys theme parks and Disney Stores. The lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season saw the debut of Paul Kariya, the Ducks had another respectable season, going 16–27–5. 1995–96 would mark a big change for the team, especially for second-year superstar Paul Kariya, during the season, he was chosen to play for the Western Conference in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game as the lone Ducks representative. At the time of his selection, Kariya was ranked 14th in league scoring with 51 points over 42 games, and his efforts, then a midseason blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets improved the franchise. The Ducks sent Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky and a third round pick to the Jets in return for Marc Chouinard, following the trade, Ducks centre Steve Rucchin commented, Paul had a lot of pressure on him. He singlehandedly won some games for us this year, now that we have Teemu, theres no way everybody can just key on Paul. These three players formed one of the most potent lines of their time, although the trade proved to be an important effort in the team, they still finished short of the playoffs, losing the eight spot in the West to the Jets based on the number of wins
7.
Carolina Hurricanes
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The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the Hurricanes play their home games at the 18, 680-seat PNC Arena. The franchise was formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association, the team relocated to North Carolina in 1997 and won its first Stanley Cup during the 2005–06 season, beating the Edmonton Oilers, four games to three. The New England Whalers were established in November 1971 when the World Hockey Association awarded a franchise to play in Boston. For the first two years of their existence, the club played their games at the Boston Arena. With the increasing difficulty of scheduling games at Boston Garden, the decided to move the team to Hartford, Connecticut. While waiting for the completion of a new arena in Hartford, on January 11,1975, the team played its first game in front of a sellout crowd at the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum, and would maintain its home there through 1997. As one of the most stable WHA teams, the Whalers, along with the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, however, under pressure from the extant NHL team in the New England area, the Boston Bruins, the Whalers were compelled to rename the team the Hartford Whalers. The Whalers were never as successful in the NHL as they had been in the WHA, the next year, the club secured the regular-season Adams Division title, only to fall to the Nordiques in six games in the first round of the playoffs. In 1992, the Whalers made the playoffs for the final time, the Whalers were plagued for most of their existence by limited marketability. Hartford was the smallest American market in the league, and was located on the dividing line between the home territories for New York City and Boston teams. It did not help matters that the Hartford Civic Center was one of the smallest arenas in the league, the Whalers off-ice problems were magnified when the start of the 1990s triggered a spike in player salaries. On May 6,1997, Karmanos announced that the Whalers would move to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, the Hurricanes inherited the Whalers place in the Northeast Division. Unfortunately for the team, the ESA would not be complete for two more years, the only arena in the Triangle area with an ice plant was 45-year-old Dorton Arena, at 5,100 seats, it was completely inadequate even for temporary use. The Hurricanes were thus forced to play games in Greensboro,90 minutes west of Raleigh. However, the team would be based in Raleigh and practice in nearby Hillsborough—effectively saddling the Hurricanes with 82 road games for the two years. This choice was disastrous for the attendance and reputation. With a capacity of over 21,000 people for hockey, however, Triangle-area fans balked at making the 80-mile drive down I-40 to Greensboro
8.
Ottawa Senators
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The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the Senators play their home games at the 18,694 seat Canadian Tire Centre which opened in 1996. Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the team is the second NHL franchise to use the Ottawa Senators name. The original Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, had a history, winning 11 Stanley Cups. On December 6,1990, after a public campaign by Firestone, the NHL awarded a new franchise. The current team owner is Eugene Melnyk, and in 2016, the club has been regularly represented in the top half in attendance in the NHL. Ottawa had been home to the original Senators, a founding NHL franchise, the NHL team was unsuccessful in St. Louis, and planned to return to Ottawa, but the NHL decided instead to suspend the franchise and transfer the players to other NHL teams. His firm, Terrace Investments, did not have the assets to finance the expansion fee and the team. Public support was high and the group would secure over 11,000 season ticket pledges, on December 12,1990, the NHL approved a new franchise for Firestones group, to start play in the 1992–93 season. The new team hired former NHL player Mel Bridgman, who had no previous NHL management experience, when Sutter was eventually signed to coach the Boston Bruins, Ottawa signed Rick Bowness, the man Sutter replaced in Boston. The new Senators played their first game on October 8,1992, the Senators defeated the Canadiens 5–3 in one of the few highlights that season. The Senators had aimed low and considered the 1992–93 season a small success, the long term plan was to finish low in the standings for its first few years in order to secure high draft picks and eventually contend for the Stanley Cup. Bridgman was fired after one season and Team President Randy Sexton took over the general manager duties, Firestone himself soon left the team and Rod Bryden emerged as the new owner. The strategy of aiming low and securing a high position did not change. The Senators finished last overall for the three seasons. Alexei Yashin, the teams first-ever draft selection from 1992, emerged as one of the NHLs brightest young stars, as the 1995–96 season began, star centre Alexei Yashin refused to honour his contract and did not play. Rick Bowness was fired in late 1995 and was replaced by the Prince Edward Island Senators head coach Dave Allison, Allison would fare no better than his predecessor, and the team would stumble to a 2–22–3 record under him. Sexton himself was fired and replaced by Pierre Gauthier, the former assistant GM of Anaheim, Martin outlasted several general managers and a change in ownership
9.
Toronto Maple Leafs
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the team is one of the Original Six league members. They are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. and are represented by Chairman Larry Tanenbaum, in February 1999, they moved to the Air Canada Centre, which replaced Maple Leaf Gardens, the teams home since 1931. The franchise was founded in 1917, operating simply as Toronto and known today as the Toronto Arenas, as it was operated by the Toronto Arena Company, in 1919, the NHL transferred the franchise to new owners who christened the team the Toronto St. Patricks. The franchise was sold in 1927 and was renamed the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club, the team colours are navy blue and white. The Maple Leafs have won thirteen Stanley Cup championships, second only to the 24 championships of their primary rival and they won their last championship in 1967. Their 48-season drought between championships is currently the longest in the NHL, with an estimated worth of US $1.15 billion in 2015 according to Forbes, the Leafs are the third most valuable franchise in the NHL, behind the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers. In 2015, they were ranked by Forbes as the 37th most valuable team in the world. The National Hockey League was formed in 1917 in Montreal by teams belonging to the National Hockey Association that had a dispute with Eddie Livingstone. Instead, they opted to create a new league, the NHL and they also remained voting members of the NHA, and thus had enough votes to suspend the other leagues operations, effectively leaving Livingstones squad in a one-team league. However, the other wanted to have a team from Toronto. They also needed another team to balance the schedule after the Bulldogs suspended operations, the NHL granted a temporary Toronto franchise to the Arena Company, owners of the Arena Gardens. The Arena Company leased the Blueshirts players and was given until the end of the season to resolve the dispute with Livingstone, the franchise did not have an official name, but was informally called the Blueshirts or the Torontos by the fans and press. Under Manager Charlie Querrie and Head Coach Dick Carroll, the Toronto team won the Stanley Cup in the NHLs inaugural season, although the roster was composed almost entirely of former Blueshirts, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts history. Also that year, the Arena Company decided that only NHL teams would be allowed to play at the Arena Gardens—a move which effectively killed the NHA, Livingstone sued to get his players back. Mounting legal bills from the dispute forced the Arenas to sell most of their stars, when it was obvious that the Arenas would not be able to finish the season, the NHL agreed to let the team halt operations on February 20,1919. The NHL ended its season and started the playoffs, the Arenas.278 winning percentage that season is still the worst in franchise history. However, the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals ended without a winner due to the flu epidemic
10.
Edmonton Oilers
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The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the Oilers were founded on November 1,1971, with the team playing its first season in 1972, as one of the twelve founding franchises of the major professional World Hockey Association. They were originally intended to be one of two WHA teams in Alberta, however, when the Broncos relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, before the WHAs first season began, the Oilers were renamed the Alberta Oilers. They returned to using the Edmonton Oilers name for the following year, the Oilers subsequently joined the NHL in 1979 as one of four franchises introduced through the NHL merger with the WHA. After joining the NHL, the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup on five occasions, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1989–90. This remains the most championships won by any team since the NHL-WHA merger, among all NHL teams, only the Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times since the Leagues 1967 expansion. For their success in the 1980s, the Oilers team of this era has been honoured with dynasty status by the Hockey Hall of Fame, on November 1,1971, the Edmonton Oilers became one of the 12 founding WHA franchises. The original team owner was Bill Hunter, Hunter owned the Edmonton Oil Kings, a junior hockey franchise. He also founded the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, hunters efforts to bring major professional hockey to Edmonton via an expansion NHL franchise had been rebuffed by the NHL. So, he looked to the upstart WHA instead and it was Hunter who chose the Oilers name for the new WHA franchise. This was a name that had previously used as a nickname for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 1950s and 1960s. They won the first game in WHA history 7–4 over the Ottawa Nationals, the Oilers drew fans with players such as defenceman and team captain Al Hamilton, goaltender Dave Dryden and forwards Blair MacDonald and Bill Flett. However, a relatively little-noticed move in 1976 would have an important impact on the history of the franchise and that year, journeyman forward Glen Sather was acquired by the Oilers. It turned out to be his final season as a player, however, he was named player-coach late in the season, moving to the bench full-time after the season. Sather would be the coach or general manager of the Oilers for the next 23 years, although the Oilers on-ice performance for most of the WHAs history was mediocre, they remained relatively well-supported and financially stable by WHA standards. In 1976, the franchise was acquired by wealthy entrepreneur Peter Pocklington, Gretzkys first and only WHA season, 1978–79, saw the Oilers finish first in the WHA standings, posting a league-best 48–30–2 record. However, Edmonton failed to win the championship, as they fell to the Winnipeg Jets in the Avco World Trophy Final, Dave Semenko of the Oilers scored the last goal in WHA history in the third period of the final game, which the Oilers lost 7–3. The Oilers joined the NHL for 1979–80, along with fellow WHA teams Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, originally, Gretzky was not eligible to be protected, under the rules of the time, he normally would have been placed in the Entry Draft pool
11.
SC Langnau
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SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League A, the team plays its home games in the 6, 000-seat Ilfis Stadium, which is currently the smallest arena in the NLA. Langnau was the eighth most attended team in the NLA for the 2015-16 season, after their promotion in 1998, they played in Switzerlands top hockey level for 15 years. At the end of the 2012–2013 NLA season, they were defeated in the games by Lausanne HC and were relegated to the National League B. SCL Tigers became the champions of the 2014–2015 NLB season and gained the right to play against the worst team of 2014–15 NLA season in the promotion/relegation round and they will return to National League A for the 2015–2016 season after they defeated the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in four games. NDA Championship,1976 NDB Championship,1934,1989,1957,1999,2015 NDA Championship,1970,1977,1978 Updated March 3,2017
12.
Atlant Moscow Oblast
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Hockey Club Atlant Moscow Oblast is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast. They were members of the Bobrov division of the Kontinental Hockey League in the 2014–15 season, Atlant was founded in 2005 when a team Khimik based in Voskresensk was relocated to Mytishchi. The old team traced its history back to 1953, immediate success allowed Khimik to play in the Championship of the Soviet Union. Leading the team was playing-coach Nikolai Epstein, in three years, Khimik was graduated to the top league of the Soviet Union. More impressive is how much successful homegrown talent has come out of the Khimik system, withs names including future Stanley Cup winners such as Igor Larionov and Valeri Kamensky. In the spring of 1998, the status of the team changed, representing not only the city of Voskresensk and this event took place on their 45th anniversary. During the 2005–06 season, the team relocated within the Moscow Oblast, following this, the team changed its name to Atlant, prior to its inclusion in the Kontinental Hockey League. Their new team features a Central Asian Shepherd Dog. Atlant signed NHL goaltender Ray Emery to a year contract on July 9,2008. The deal was worth in excess of $2 million, plus bonuses. Atlant and Emery had several issues, including Emery attacking the team trainer, Emery was upset that his pay was in rubles that were not inflation protected. He returned to the team shortly after to play the remainder of the season, Players Players Dmitri Kvartalnov, 1989–90 Roman Oksiuta, 1991–92 Sergei Mozyakin, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 Atlant Official Website
13.
EHC Kloten
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EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team participates in the National League A and is known for its promotion of young players and it has one of the best youth systems in Swiss Ice Hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 years. The team was called Kloten Flyers between 2000 and 2016, EHC Kloten won four consecutive Swiss championships from 1993 to 1996. They have never been relegated at any point in the clubs history, the team had the worst attendance of the National League A for the 2015-16 season, averaging only 4,790 spectators over their 25 regular season home games. EHC Kloten was founded by a seven members, led by Emil Hegner. During the first few years, only matches were played. The home matches were played on the frozen Nägelimoos-Weiher, when EHC Kloten began to participate in the championship, they had to start in the lowest league, as usual. In 1941, they were promoted into the Serie B and five years later into the Serie A, one year later, in the year 1947, the EHC Kloten was promoted into the Nationalliga B. In 1962, they joined the Nationalliga A when the league expanded to 10 teams, in 1967, they became the champions for the first time, headed by their Czech coach Vladimir Kobera. The team has remained in the highest Swiss league since their promotion and are the team in the NLA. For the 1998-99 season the former Russian ice hockey player Vladimir Yurzinov was asked to become the new coach and he introduced a new playing style and encouraged the development and promotion of young players. Even though many people liked this philosophy, the team remained unsuccessful, during the 2003-2004 season, the team had to play the playoffs for the first time in their history. A year later, in the 2004-2005 playoffs, they managed to remain in the highest league. However, this strategy is paying off today, in October 2004, Yurzinov was released as their coach. He took on a new role as a youth promoter until the end of the season, yurzinovs successor was former EHC Kloten defenseman Anders Eldebrink and assistant Felix Hollenstein. The new coaching duo managed to get the back to success and are still in charge of the team. During the 2008-2009 season, the Flyers swept both HC Geneve-Servette and EV Zug in the playoffs before losing the final against HC Davos in seven games. They finished the season in 3rd place
14.
Switzerland men's national ice hockey team
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The Switzerland mens national ice hockey team is a founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and is controlled by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. As of 2016 the Swiss team was ranked 7th in the world by the IIHF and they finally fell to Sweden in the quarterfinals. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Swiss nearly stunned Canada again in play, taking the heavily favored Canadians to a shootout. Roster for the 2016 IIHF World Championship, head coach, Patrick Fischer Switzerland made their U20 debut in 1977 at the A Pool championships held in Montreal. Their first game was an 18–1 loss to the Soviet Union, Switzerland was relegated to the B Pool, but were promoted back to Pool A after posting a 4–0 record with wins over the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and France. This began a consistent cycle of relegation and promotion, and Switzerland did not win their first A Pool game until 1991 when they defeated Norway 2–1 to avoid relegation. Switzerlands presence in the A Pool became more consistent after the IIHF changed its format to include a round after the round-robin in 1995. The new format allowed 2 new teams to join Pool A, in 1998, the Swiss won their first-ever quarter-final game over Sweden in a shootout, thanks to stellar play from goaltender David Aebischer. The team lost 2–1 to Finland in the semi-finals but rebounded to win the medal with a 4–3 win over the Czech-Republic. In 2002, Switzerland upset Slovakia in a shootout in the quarter-finals on the back of great play from goaltender Tobias Stephan, Switzerland lost to Canada in the semi-finals, and faced Finland in the bronze medal match. The Swiss were optimistic, having recorded a 3–0 win over Finland in their game of tournament. Switzerland was relegated in 2008 along with Denmark, Switzerland hosted the 2009 Div I tournament and were promoted back to Pool A. In the 2010 tournament Switzerland earned a spot in the quarter-finals against a heavily favored Russia, the Swiss pulled off a major upset by beating the Russians 3–2 in overtime. Nino Niederreiter scored twice in the game, including the OT winner, Switzerland lost 6–1 in the semi-finals to Canada and then 11–4 to Sweden in the bronze medal match for a 4th-place finish, their highest since the 2002 tournament. The lopsided score was the highest margin of victory in a game since the new format took place in 1995. In an interesting twist, Switzerland was originally to host the 2010 tournament, the host city was rumored to be Bern or Lugano
15.
NHL Entry Draft
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The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior, collegiate, the first draft was held in 1963, and has been held every year since. The NHL Entry Draft was known as the NHL Amateur Draft until 1979, the entry draft has only been a public event since 1980, and a televised event since 1984. Up to 1994, the order was determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. In 1995, the NHL Draft Lottery was introduced where only teams who had missed the playoffs could participate, the chances of winning the lottery were weighted towards the teams at the bottom of the regular season standings. The first NHL Entry Draft was held on June 5,1963 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, any amateur player under the age of 20 was eligible to be drafted. In 1979, the rules were changed allowing players who had played professionally to be drafted. This rule change was made to facilitate the absorption of players from the defunct World Hockey Association, consequently, the name of the draft was changed from NHL Amateur Draft to NHL Entry Draft. Beginning in 1980, any player who is between the ages of 18 and 20 is eligible to be drafted, in addition, any non-North American player over the age of 20 can be selected. S. College and high school, or European hockey, in 1980, the Entry Draft became a public event, and was held at the Montreal Forum. Prior to that year the Entry Draft was conducted in Montreal hotels or league offices and was closed to the general public, the first draft outside of Montreal was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, in 1985. Live television coverage of the began in 1984 when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation covered the event in both English and French for Canadian audiences. The 1987 Entry Draft, held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, sportsChannel America began covering the event in the United States in 1989. Prior to the development of the Draft, NHL teams sponsored junior teams, the C form could only be signed by the player at age eighteen or by the players parents, often in exchange for some signing bonus. The first drafts were held to assign players who had not signed with an NHL organization before the sponsorship of junior teams was discontinued after 1968, the selection order in the NHL Entry Draft is determined by a combination of lottery, regular season standing, and playoff results. The order of picks discussed in this section always references the original team, the basic order of the NHL Entry Draft is determined based on the standings of the teams in the previous season. Subject to the results of the NHL Draft Lottery, the pick in the same order each round. The teams in group are ordered within that group based on their point totals in the preceding regular season
16.
2001 NHL Entry Draft
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The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 23–24,2001, at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. Teams are in North America unless otherwise noted, 2001–02 NHL season List of NHL first overall draft choices List of NHL players Diamond, Dan, ed. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2002, prosportstransactions. com,2001 NHL Entry Draft Pick Transactions 2001 NHL Entry Draft player stats at The Internet Hockey Database
17.
Swiss people
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The Swiss are citizens of Switzerland. The demonym derives from the toponym of Schwyz and has been in use to refer to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 16th century. The number of Swiss nationals has grown from 1.7 million in 1815 to 6.76 million in 2009 with 90% of them living in Switzerland, about 60% of those living abroad reside in the European Union. The largest groups of Swiss descendants and nationals outside of Europe are found in the United States, closely related German-speaking peoples are the Alsatians, the Swabians and the Vorarlbergians. The French-speaking Swiss, traditionally speaking Franco-Provençal dialects, today largely assimilated to the standard French language, amalgamated from the Gallo-Roman population and they are closely related to the French. The Italian-speaking Swiss, traditionally speakers of Lombard language today partly assimilated to the standard Italian language, amalgamated from Raetians and they are closely related to the Italians. The Romansh, speakers of the Romansh language, settling in parts of the Grisons, with worldwide human migration, there are an increasing number of Swiss not descended or only partially descended from the core ethnic groups listed above. Most naturalized Swiss citizens will be linguistically oriented according to their canton of residence, the Swiss populace historically derives from an amalgamation of Gaulish or Gallo-Roman, Alamannic and Rhaetic stock. Their cultural history is dominated by the Alps, and the environment is often cited as an important factor in the formation of the Swiss national character. Political allegiance and patriotism was directed towards the cantons, not the federal level, from the 19th century there were conscious attempts to foster a federal Pan-Swiss national identity that would replace or alleviate the cantonal patriotisms. An additional symbol of national identity at the federal level was introduced with the Swiss national holiday in 1889. The bonfires associated with the holiday have become so customary since then that they have displaced the Funken traditions of greater antiquity. These specifically include Grisons, Valais, Ticino, Vaud and Geneva, according to Hartley-Moore, Localized equivalents of nationalist symbols were also essential to the creation of Swiss civil society. In the Swiss model, pride in local identity is to some degree synonymous with loyalty to the larger state, as Gottfried Keller argued in the nineteenth century, Without cantons and without their differences and competition, no Swiss federation could exist. Facilitated naturalization for foreign spouses and children of Swiss citizens requires a total minimum residence of five years, with more than 20% of the population resident aliens, Switzerland has one of the highest ratios of non-naturalized inhabitants in Europe. In 2003,35,424 residents were naturalized, a number exceeding net population growth. Over the 25-year period of 1983 to 2007,479,264 resident foreigners were naturalized, compare the figure of 0. 2% in the United Kingdom. The genetic composition of the Swiss population is similar to that of Central Europe in general, Switzerland is on one hand at the crossroads of several prehistoric migrations, while on the other hand the Alps acted as a refuge in some cases
18.
Stanley Cup
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The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff winner. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC, and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games, Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. After a series of mergers and folds, it was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926. There are actually three Stanley Cups, the bowl of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the authenticated Presentation Cup. The NHL has maintained control over both the trophy itself and its associated trademarks. Nevertheless, the NHL does not actually own the trophy, the original bowl was made of silver and is 18.5 centimetres in height and 29 centimetres in diameter. The current Stanley Cup, topped with a copy of the bowl, is made of a silver and nickel alloy, it has a height of 89.54 centimetres. Unlike the trophies awarded by the major professional sports leagues of North America. Originally, the winners kept it until a new champion was crowned, currently, winning teams get the Stanley Cup during the summer and a limited number of days during the season. It is unusual among trophies to include winning members names, every year since 1924, a select portion of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff names are engraved on its bands. However, there is not enough room to include all the players and non-players, initially a new band added each year, though this caused the trophy to grow in size, earning the nickname Stovepipe Cup. In 1958 the modern one-piece Cup was designed with a barrel which could contain 13 winning teams per band. To prevent the Stanley Cup from growing, when the band is full, the oldest band is removed and preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanleys Cup, The Holy Grail, the Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory drinking of champagne out of the cup by the winning team. Since the 1914–15 season, the Cup has been won a combined 100 times by 18 active NHL teams, prior to that, the challenge cup was held by nine different teams. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup a record 24 times and are the most recent Canadian-based team to win the cup, the Stanley Cup was not awarded in 1919 because of a Spanish flu epidemic, and in 2005, as a consequence of the 2004–05 NHL lockout. After the Lord Stanley of Preston was appointed by Queen Victoria as Governor General of Canada on June 11,1888, he, Stanley was first exposed to the game at Montreals 1889 Winter Carnival, where he saw the Montreal Victorias play the Montreal Hockey Club. The Montreal Gazette reported that he expressed his delight with the game of hockey
19.
Kontinental Hockey League
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The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises 29 member clubs based in Belarus, China, Croatia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Russia and it is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in Europe and Asia, and second in the world behind the NHL. The Gagarin Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. The title of Champion of Russia is given to the highest ranked Russian team, the league formed from the Russian Superleague and the champion of the 2007–08 season of the second division, with 24 teams,21 from Russia and one each from Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. The teams were divided into four divisions, based on the performance in previous seasons, the Opening Cup game in Ufa, which was already under way when news of the disaster arrived, was suspended. In memory of the disaster,7 September remains a day of mourning on which no KHL regular season games are held, in the 2009–10 season, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg joined the KHL and Khimik Voskresensk was transferred to a lower league. Next season, HC Yugra joined the league, after several attempts by teams from Central Europe and Scandinavia to join the KHL, expansion beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union was finally realized in 2011. Lev Poprad, a newly founded team based in Poprad, Slovakia was admitted to the league, Lev and Slovan qualified for the playoffs in their first KHL season. In 2013, Medveščak from Croatia and Russian Admiral Vladivostok joined the league, the league comprised 28 teams during the 2013–14 season, of which 21 are based in Russia and 7 more are located in the other countries. In 2014, Finnish team Jokerit from Helsinki, Lada Togliatti, however, HC Donbass is not playing in the league this season, due to the political instability in Ukraine, but intends to rejoin later. Two other teams, Lev Praha and Spartak Moscow, also withdrew from the 2014–2015 season due to financial problems, prior to the 2015–16 season, Atlant Moscow Oblast withdrew from the KHL, while Spartak Moscow returned. The Chinese club HC Kunlun Red Star were admitted for the 2016–17 season, since 2009, the league has been divided into East and West conferences. In the current season, the Western Conference includes 14 teams divided into two divisions,7 teams per division, the Eastern Conference has 15 teams, divided into divisions of 7 and 8 respectively. Thus, each played a total of 60 games in the regular season. The eight top-ranked teams in each conference receive playoff berths, within each conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are played before the conference winners play against each other for the Gagarin Cup. The division winners are seeded first and second in their conference, all playoff rounds are played as best-of-seven series. In each round, the top seeded remaining team is paired with the lowest seeded team etc, in the 2012–13 season, the Nadezhda Cup was introduced, a consolation tournament for the teams who did not qualify for the playoffs. The winning team in the tournament wins the first overall pick in the KHL Junior Draft, the tournament is intended to extend the season and help maintain interest in hockey in the cities of these teams, and help players of national teams prepare for upcoming World Championship
20.
Swedish Hockey League
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The SHL is the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams, as of 2010–11, the SHL was the worlds most evenly matched professional ice hockey league. SHL was the second most popular sports team league within Sweden, after the football league Allsvenskan, the league was founded in 1975 as Elitserien, and initially featured 10 teams, though this was expanded to 12 for the 1987–88 season. The Swedish Ice Hockey Championship was awarded for the first time in 1922, at this point, the Swedish Championships were held as a separate tournament. It wasnt until the 1952–53 season that the championship was awarded to the winner of the hockey league. The inaugural Elitserien season began on 5 October 1975, with the league consisting of 10 teams, there has been extensive discussion about the number of teams in the SHL. The league has had 12 teams since an expansion from 10 teams in 1987, however and they mean that, apart from just the economic situation for some of the clubs, the competition from HockeyAllsvenskan has shown that more teams are needed in the top-tier league SHL. On 13 March 2014, the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan announced that the SHL will be expanded to 14 teams, to make this change happen, at least two HockeyAllsvenskan teams will be promoted to the SHL in the 2014–15 season. The teams also formed an interest group to investigate the possibility of forming a continental hockey league spanning several European countries and these plans were abandoned in November 2011, however, with Frölundas chairman expressing hopes for the future of the European Trophy. Each regular season SHL game is composed of three 20-minute periods, with an intermission of a maximum of 18 minutes between periods, if the game is tied following the 60-minute regulation time, a five-minute four-on-four sudden death overtime period is played. If a game still is tied after the period, a shootout decides the game. In a shootout, the team scores the most penalty shots out of three attempts wins the game. If the game is tied after the first three penalty-shot rounds, the shootout continues round by round, until one team scores while the other team fails to score. In the event of a game during the playoffs, additional 20-minute overtime periods are played perpetually until one team scores. Unlike in the season, playoff overtime periods are played five-on-five. Only one game in Sweden has ever surpassed four full overtime periods, see Longest ice hockey games in Sweden for other games. SHL games are played on an ice rink, which is rectangular ice rink with rounded corners. It measures 30 by 60 meters, conforming to international standards, counting from the formation of the SHL in 1975, Färjestad BK is the most successful team with nine Swedish Championship titles
21.
National League (ice hockey)
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National League A is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland. It is the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system, prior to the 2007–08 season, the league was officially called Nationalliga A. The NLA has the most attended club in Europe, SC Bern. During the regular season, each of the 12 teams play 50 games, the top eight teams after the regular season qualify for the playoffs to determine the Swiss champion in best-of-seven series. The bottom four teams in the play a relegation tournament, called playouts, in which each team retains their regular season points. Hockey a Hot Ticket in Switzerland at NHL. com, former NHLers Shining in Switzerland at NHL. com. Pat Schafhauser Foundation An Analysis Of The Swiss NLA All-time standings 1909–2008
22.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
23.
Dallas Stars
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The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the beginning of the 1978–79 NHL season, the merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each teams respective financial struggles. Ultimately, the relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season. The Stars played out of Reunion Arena from their relocation until 2001, the Stars have won eight division titles in Dallas, two Presidents Trophies as the top regular season team in the NHL, the Western Conference championship twice, and in 1998–99, the Stanley Cup. Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs that year, in 2000, Neal Broten was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2009, Brett Hull became the first Dallas Stars player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, followed by Ed Belfour and Joe Nieuwendyk in 2011, in 2010, brothers Derian and Kevin Hatcher were inducted to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. The Minnesota North Stars began play in 1967 as part of the NHLs six-team expansion, home games were played at the newly constructed Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Initially successful both on the ice and at the gate, the North Stars fell victim to financial problems after several seasons in the mid-1970s. In 1978, the North Stars were purchased by the owners of the Cleveland Barons, with both teams on the verge of folding, the NHL permitted the two failing franchises to merge. The merger brought with it a number of talented players, and the North Stars were revived—they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, the NHL rejected the request and instead agreed to award an expansion franchise, the San Jose Sharks, to the Gund brothers. In the following season, the Minnesota North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, after the 1991 season, the North Stars suffered through poor attendance and profitability. The teams fortunes were further impeded by the terms of the settlement with the Gund brothers, New owner Norman Green explored the possibility of moving the team to Anaheim, however the NHL decided instead to place the expansion Mighty Ducks there in 1992. In their final two seasons in Minnesota, the adopted a new logo which omitted the North from North Stars. In 1993, amid further attendance woes and bitter controversy, Green obtained permission to move the team to Dallas. Green was convinced by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach that Dallas would be a market for an NHL team. The Stars would move into Reunion Arena, built in 1980, the Stars played their first game in Dallas on October 5,1993, a 6–4 win against the Detroit Red Wings. In that game, Neal Broten scored the first Stars goal in Dallas, Dallas was an experiment for the NHL
24.
2003 Stanley Cup Finals
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The 2003 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-seven playoff series that determined the champion of the National Hockey League for the 2002–03 season. It was New Jerseys first appearance since 2001 and third in four years, the Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games to win their third Stanley Cup in less than a decade. The Devils win was the last in a series of wins they, along with the Colorado Avalanche, the three teams won a combined eight of nine Stanley Cups during that time. The Devils won in 1995, followed by the Avalanche in 1996, after the Dallas Stars won in 1999, the four-year cycle repeated again as the Devils started it again in 2000, followed by Colorado in 2001 and Detroit in 2002. Strong goaltending from Martin Brodeur, and strong defense from captain Scott Stevens, supporting Giguere were stand-out players Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora, Adam Oates and Rob Niedermayer, brother of then-Devils star defenseman Scott Niedermayer. This series was memorable for two brothers on different teams competing for the same prize, the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals pitted the second-seeded Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils against the seventh-seeded Western Conference champion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Devils, who finished the season with 108 points, defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games to win the Stanley Cup, the series opened at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In game one Martin Brodeur kept the Ducks off the scoreboard while the Devils players continually dominated the Ducks, sergei Brylin scored the winning goal in the second period and the Devils went on to shut out the Mighty Ducks 3–0. In a virtual repeat of one, Patrik Elias scored the winning goal in the second period. Down 2–0 after two games, the series shifted to the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Southern California, the Devils would later tie the game, only to lose in overtime. Over the mistake with his stick, Brodeur later claimed, It was just one of those once in a lifetime things, Game four had no scoring throughout regulation and was a battle between goaltenders Brodeur and Giguere. But Anaheim again came out on top in overtime, winning 1–0, Game five, returning to the Meadowlands, saw a continual battle for the first half of the game. Video replays, however, showed there was no distinct kicking motion from the skates. This would prove to deflate the Ducks for the rest of the game, with New Jersey looking to clinch the series, game six in Anaheim saw the Mighty Ducks return the favor of game five to the Devils with complete dominance throughout the game. Quite possibly the most remembered moment of the series came when the Ducks were winning 3–1 in the second period. Kariya was lying motionless for a few minutes, where he was escorted to the locker room. Kariya, however, unexpectedly returned to the bench minutes later, about 11 minutes after the hit, Kariya fired a slap shot that found the back of the net. This helped the Ducks win the game 5–2 and sent the series to a seventh, Game seven in New Jersey saw the Devils once more completely dominate the Ducks
25.
New Jersey Devils
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The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the club was founded as the Kansas City Scouts in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1974. The Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies, in 1982, they moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey and took their current name. For their first 25 seasons in New Jersey, the Devils were based at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, beginning with the 2007–08 season, the Devils relocated to Newark and now play their home games at the Prudential Center. Their fortunes began to turn following the hiring of president. They have won the Atlantic Division regular season title nine times, most recently in 2009–10, the Devils have reached the Stanley Cup Finals five times, winning in 1994–95, 1999–00 and 2002–03. The Devils were known for their defense-first approach throughout their years of Cup contention, the Devils have a rivalry with their cross-Hudson River neighbor, the New York Rangers, as well as a rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils are one of three NHL teams in the New York metropolitan area, the two teams are the New York Islanders and New York Rangers. The franchise is the major league team in any sport that explicitly identifies itself as a New Jersey team. In 1972, the NHL announced plans to add two teams, including one in Kansas City, Missouri. Edwin G. Thompson led the group that purchased ownership of the team, with 41 points in their inaugural season, the Scouts finished last in the Smythe Division, only the Capitals had fewer points in the NHL. Kansas City fell to 36 points the season, and had a 27-game losing streak. The Scouts had difficulty drawing fans to games, and National Hockey League Players Association leader Alan Eagleson publicly expressed concerns about whether Scouts players would be paid. After two seasons in Kansas City, the moved to Denver and was renamed the Colorado Rockies it played at the McNichols Sports Arena. The team won its first game as the Rockies, 4–2, the Rockies were in position to qualify for the playoffs 60 games into the 1976–77 season, but a streak of 18 games without a win caused them to fall from contention. The Rockies ended the campaign last in the division with a 20–46–14 record and 54 points, despite having the sixth-worst record in the League, the Rockies beat-out the Vancouver Canucks for second in the Division by two points and gained a playoff berth. The Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Rockies from the playoffs in the preliminary rounds, a lack of stability continually plagued the team. The franchise never won more than 22 games and did not return to the playoffs after 1977–78 in its six seasons in Colorado
26.
2004 NHL Entry Draft
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The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was held from June 26–27 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to place before the beginning of the lockout. The Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick went to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on July 22,2003 that sent Darryl Sydor to Columbus in exchange for Mike Sillinger and this pick. Colorado previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 18,2003 that sent Eric Messier and Vaclav Nedorost to Florida in exchange for Peter Worrell and this pick. Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on May 28,2003 that sent Roman Cechmanek to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick. New York previously received the 16th pick of this round as compensation for not signing 2001 first-round draft pick R. J. Umberger, New York acquired the rights to Umberger from Vancouver on March 9,2004. Edmonton previously received this pick as compensation for the loss of Group III free agent Brian Leetch, Florida previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 8,2004 that sent Valeri Bure to Dallas in exchange for Drew Bagnall and this pick. Dallas previously received this pick as compensation for the loss of Group III free agent Derian Hatcher. The Montreal Canadiens second-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on March 2,2004 that sent Alexei Kovalev to Montreal in exchange for Jozef Balej and this pick. San Jose previously received this pick as compensation for the loss of Group III free agent Teemu Selanne, the Calgary Flames second-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on March 8,2004 that sent Marcus Nilson to Calgary in exchange for this pick. The Dallas Stars received the 26th pick of this round as compensation for not signing 2002 first-round draft pick Martin Vagner. Phoenix previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 5,2004 that sent Jan Hrdina to New Jersey in exchange for Michael Rupp and this pick. Carolina previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 9,2003 that sent Glen Wesley to Toronto in exchange for this pick. The Vancouver Canucks second-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a trade August 25,2003 that sent Johan Hedberg to Vancouver in exchange for this pick, the Washington Capitals compensatory third-round pick was received due to the loss of Group III free agent Calle Johansson. Colorado previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on October 22,2003 that sent Bates Battaglia and Jonas Johansson to Washington in exchange for Steve Konowalchuk and this pick. The Carolina Hurricanes third-round pick went to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as the result of a trade on June 18,2004 that sent Martin Gerber to Carolina in exchange for Tomas Malec and this pick. The Los Angeles Kings third-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on June 26,2004 that sent Radek Bonk to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick. Nashville previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27,2003 that sent Andy Delmore to Buffalo in exchange for this pick
27.
2006 Stanley Cup playoffs
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The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League championship began on April 21,2006, following the 2005–06 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, seeded one through eight from each conference, the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The finals concluded on June 19 with the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup, Carolina goaltender Cam Ward was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. The Edmonton Oilers would miss the playoffs each year thereafter until 2017, the Western Conference made history in the first round when all four series were won by the lower-seeded teams. The eighth- and lowest-seeded Oilers proceeded to win the Western Conference, four Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs this year, this total was not equaled again until 2013. In the Finals the team with the regular season record has home ice. The Ottawa Senators entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season, tampa Bay qualified as the eighth seed earning 92 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff meeting between two teams. Ottawa won all four games during this years season series. The Senators defeated the Lightning in five games, the Senators used a two-man advantage in the third period of Game one to gain the lead as they took the game by a score of 4–1. In Game two the Lightning came back from a deficit by scoring two goals 55 seconds apart as they evened the series with a 4–3 victory. Six Ottawa skaters scored a goal in Game three as the Senators won 8–4, Ottawa scored three times in the second-period of Game four as they earned a 5–2 win. Martin Havlat scored the goal for the Senators at 15,02 of the second period as Ottawa closed out the series with a 3–2 victory. The Carolina Hurricanes entered the playoffs as the Southeast Division champions, Montreal qualified as the seventh seed earning 93 points during the regular season. This was the playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning five of the six previous series. They last met in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals where Carolina won in six games, Carolina won all four games during this years regular season series. The Hurricanes eliminated the Canadiens in six games, after allowing a goal in the opening minute of Game one the Canadiens scored six unanswered goals taking the opening game of the series 6–1. Carolina pulled goaltender Martin Gerber after allowing three goals in the first period of Game two and he was replaced by 22-year-old rookie backup Cam Ward
28.
Cam Ward
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Cameron Kenneth Ward is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. Ward was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and in the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park, during his three-year junior career in the Western Hockey League, he was selected 25th overall by the Hurricanes in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. After a season with the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters and he became the first starting goaltender to win the NHL championship as a rookie since Patrick Roy in 1986. Ward spent his career with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. After appearing in one game for the Rebels in 2000–01, Ward played three seasons with the team from 2001–2004, leading them to the WHL finals twice. Ward was drafted 25th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, upon graduating from the WHL, Ward signed a multi-year, entry-level contract with the Hurricanes on May 13,2004. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he was assigned to Carolinas American Hockey League affiliate, joining the Hurricanes for the 2005–06 NHL season, Ward largely served in a backup role to Swiss goalie Martin Gerber during the regular season. He made his NHL debut on October 5,2005, replacing Gerber after the starter injured his hamstring and he saved 10 of 11 shots in the third period, as the Hurricanes lost 5–2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He made his first NHL start the game two days later in the clubs home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ward turned aside Mario Lemieux, Žigmund Pálffy and Sidney Crosby in a shootout, Ward completed his NHL rookie season with 14 wins and 8 losses, along with a 3.68 goals against average. In the opening round of the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Hurricanes faced a two-win deficit against the Montreal Canadiens, with Gerber struggling in the series, Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette turned to Ward. The goaltending switch prompted Carolina to a comeback, advancing to the second round against the New Jersey Devils. After eliminating the Devils, the Hurricanes defeated the Buffalo Sabres in seven games, facing the Edmonton Oilers in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, he helped the Hurricanes to the franchises first Stanley Cup. In doing so, he became the first rookie goaltender to lead his team to the Stanley Cup as a starter since Patrick Roy in 1986, against Edmonton, he also became the first rookie goaltender to both play and record a shutout in the Finals since Roy. He tied the record for wins in the playoffs, previously held by Roy and Ron Hextall. After his heroics in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ward became the Hurricanes starting goaltender for the 2006–07 season and he recorded season stats of 30–21–6 and 37–25–5 in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 campaigns, respectively. The Hurricanes would miss the playoffs both years, the Hurricanes, however, would reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2008–09 season before bowing out to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Ward went 8–10 with a 2.67 GAA during the playoffs, Ward and the Hurricanes struggled to begin the 2009–10 season, as Ward went 2–9–3 to start the campaign
29.
2006 Stanley Cup Finals
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It was Carolinas second appearance in the Final, the other being in 2002, a loss to the Detroit Red Wings. It was Edmontons seventh appearance in the Final and their first since their fifth Cup win in 1990 and it was also the first Final matchup between two former WHA franchises. Carolina defeated Edmonton in seven games to win the franchises first Stanley Cup becoming the tenth post-1967 expansion team, Carolinas 2006 win was also the teams second league championship. Edmonton defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4–2 in the first round, the San Jose Sharks 4–2 in the second round and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4–1 in the Western Conference Final. The Oilers became the first team since the NBAs 1999 New York Knicks and this series marked the first time that two former World Hockey Association teams played against each other for the Stanley Cup since they merged with the NHL in 1979. As a result of the new scheduling formula that was implemented before the 2005–06 NHL season, the Hurricanes and these were also the first ever Finals contested by two teams that had both missed the playoffs the previous season. Even more interestingly, it would prove to be the first Finals contested by teams that would both go on to miss the following years playoffs. Both the Hurricanes and Oilers have now accomplished this dubious feat, in game one, Carolina tied the biggest comeback in Stanley Cup Finals history, overcoming a three-goal deficit to win 5–4. Edmonton scored first,8,18 into the first period, but at the 17,17 mark, Rod BrindAmour scored the Hurricanes first goal of the game. Carolina then tied the game in the period with two scores by Ray Whitney. The Hurricanes jumped ahead 4–3 on a breakaway goal by Justin Williams. Late in the period, Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson suffered a series-ending knee injury in a collision and was replaced with Ty Conklin. Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward had to make the last of his 34 saves with 3.8 seconds remaining, robbing Shawn Horcoff for the time in the third period with a glove save to preserve the victory. With Rolosons injury, Jussi Markkanen started for the Oilers in game two, the Hurricanes shut-out the Oilers, 5–0, with five different Carolina players scoring goals. Markkanen once again started in net with Roloson still out, Shawn Horcoff scored just over two minutes into the first period. During the second period, a goal was waved off by the referee, because he had lost sight of the puck and had blown the whistle. The Hurricanes responded midway through the period with their captain, Rod BrindAmour. Edmonton got off to a start when Sergei Samsonov opened the scoring at 8,40 of the first period
30.
David Aebischer
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David Aebischer, is a former Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes. He was a member of the 2001 Stanley Cup champion Avalanche team and he moved to North America in 1997 and spent the 1997–98 season in the ECHL, first with the Chesapeake Icebreakers and then with the Wheeling Nailers. He spent the two seasons with Colorados American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, with whom he compiled a 46-33-7 record. When the Avalanche traded back-up goaltender Marc Denis to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2000, Aebischer played 26 games during his rookie season with Colorado. Aebischer made his NHL debut, and first NHL start on October 18,2000 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus for his first NHL victory. On October 26,2000 in his career start, Aebischer shut out the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago for his first NHL career shutout. The year would prove a successful one, as Roy backstopped the Avalanche to their second Stanley Cup championship, with the win, Aebischer became the first Swiss hockey player to win the Stanley Cup. Following two more seasons as the Avalanches back-up, Aebischer became Colorados starting goaltender following Roys retirement in the summer of 2003 and he played 62 games and posted 32 wins during the 2003–04 season. That season, he started his first career game for the Avalanche and led Colorado to the second round. The following season, due to the NHL lockout, Aebischer returned to Switzerland and that summer, Montreal re-signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.9 million. He served as Cristobal Huets back-up for the 2006–07 season and posted a 13–12–3 record, the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs and Montreal opted not to re-sign Aebischer. On July 19,2007, Aebischer signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, however, he lost the goaltending battle in training camp to Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist, and was waived. He went unclaimed and was assigned to the Coyotes AHL affiliate. On November 23,2007, Aebischer was loaned to HC Lugano to make room on the San Antonio roster for goaltender Alex Auld. In August,2011, after four seasons back in his native Switzerland, on October 5,2011, it was announced that Aebischer would play with the Jets AHL affiliate, the St. Johns IceCaps. On July 1,2012, Aebischer again left North America, in the 2014–15 season, Aebischer played five games with HC Thurgau of the National League B before announcing his retirement from his playing career to focus for a coaching role on January 25,2015. Aebischer has represented Switzerland internationally on many occasions and his first international experience came in the 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, hosted by Switzerland. The Swiss finished in 7th place, Aebischer has also appeared for Switzerland in five IIHF World Championships and two Winter Olympic Games
31.
Colorado Avalanche
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The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the Avalanche are the only team in their division not based in the Central Time Zone, the team is situated in the Mountain Time Zone. Their home arena is Pepsi Center and their general manager is Joe Sakic. The Avalanche were founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques and were one of the franchises of the World Hockey Association. The franchise joined the NHL in 1979 as a result of the NHL–WHA merger, following the 1994–95 season, they were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group and relocated to Denver. Among teams in the major North American professional sports leagues, only the National Football League s Washington Redskins have also accomplished the feat and this was the first major professional sports championship a Denver-based team would bring to the city. In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3 to win their second, as a result, they are the only active NHL team that has won all of its Stanley Cup Final appearances. Coincidentally, the Devils had preceded the Avalanche in Denver, they were called the Colorado Rockies, the Avalanche have won nine division titles and qualified for the playoffs in each of their first ten seasons in Denver, this streak ended in 2007. The Quebec Nordiques were one of the World Hockey Associations original teams when the league play in 1972. Though first awarded to a group in San Francisco, the team moved to Quebec City when the California deal soured because of financial. During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco World Trophy once, in 1977 and lost the finals once, in 1979, the franchise entered the NHL, along with the WHAs Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets. After making the postseason for seven years, from 1981 to 1987. From 1987–88 to 1991–92, the finished last in their division every season. This included a dreadful 12-win season in 1989-90 that is still the worst in franchise history, as a result, the team earned three consecutive first overall draft picks, used to select Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Eric Lindros. Lindros made it clear he did not wish to play for the Nordiques, to the extent that he did not wear the jersey for the press photographs. On advice from his mother, he refused to sign a contract, on June 30,1992, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for five players, the rights to Swedish prospect Peter Forsberg, two first round draft picks and US$15 million. The Eric Lindros trade turned the moribund Nordiques into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight, in the first season after the trade, 1992–93, the Nordiques reached the playoffs for the first time in six years. Two years later, they won the Northeast Division and had the second best regular-season record during the strike-shortened season, while the team experienced on-ice success, it spent most of its first 23 years struggling financially
32.
Ray Emery
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Ray Emery is a former Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who has played in the NHL for 11 seasons. Emery was chosen 99th overall by the National Hockey League Ottawa Senators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, during the 2006–07 season, he led the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup finals. It was the Senators first appearance in the finals since 1927 and his teammates and fans often refer to him as Razor or Sugar Ray for his aggressive playing style. He won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013, Emery has received numerous awards and accolades. In April 2013, he won the William M. Jennings Trophy along with teammate Corey Crawford, Emery finished the season with a 1.94 goals against average and a 0.922 save percentage. His 17 wins included 12 straight to start the year, the best such streak in NHL history, Emery is a two-time Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy finalist for his dedication and perseverance. Emery was born in Hamilton, Ontario and his parents are Sharlene and Paul Emery. He grew up in a farmhouse, excelled in school. He played many sports other than hockey, including golf, baseball, in ice hockey, he originally played defence, but switched to goaltender at nine years old due to a shortage of goaltenders in his league. Emery decided to commit to hockey on the advice of his mother, after a scholarship during his pursuit for higher education pushed him to take advantage of his natural ability. At 16 years old, Emery landed with OJHL team Junior C Dunnville Terriers after unsuccessfully trying out for eight different junior teams, Emery was named the leagues Rookie of the Year Emery was drafted by Ontario Hockey League s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the round of the 1999 OHL Draft. Emery split the 1999–2000 season between the Welland Cougars of the OHA and the Greyhounds in the OHL, during his last season in junior, 2001–02, Emery gained notoriety for his fighting ability. He was named OHLs Goaltender of the Year, setting a record of 33 wins, in 2001, Emery was drafted by the Ottawa Senators after enjoying his most successful OHL season in 2001–02. In 2002–03, Emery joined the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League and he was named to the AHL All-Star team, made the leagues all-rookie team & became Binghamtons MVP. Emery retaliated and was suspended for three games, during the 2006–07 season, Emery signed a three-year deal with the Senators worth $9.5 million. In March of the season, Emery won 12 games. At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Emery had won nine-straight games during the season as the back-up to Dominik Hašek
33.
2007 Stanley Cup Finals
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It was the second appearance in the Final for Anaheim since 2003 when they lost to the New Jersey Devils. It was the first appearance for the Senators since entering the NHL as a team in 1992. Anaheim defeated Ottawa in five games and were awarded their first Stanley Cup becoming the eleventh post-1967 expansion team to win the NHL championship trophy. Prior to the season, the Ducks had been the pick of many in the media to make it to the Final, and they did not disappoint. The second-seeded Anaheim Ducks defeated both the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks in five games before defeating their rivals the Detroit Red Wings in six games in the Western Conference Final. The Ducks had the most penalties out of any team during the post-season and had one suspension going into the final, the Ducks were looking to shut down Ottawas offense with the checking line of Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson and Travis Moen, and overall team defense. Ottawa was led by the top line of captain Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza, other Senators who played pivotal roles were forwards Mike Fisher and Dean McAmmond and defensemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. The Senators were looking to work past Anaheims defense with their speed and higher-scoring offence, Anaheim had home ice advantage for the series, as they finished the regular season with 110 points to Ottawas 105. The attention leading into the finals was Ottawa being Canadas Team despite Anaheim having five more Canadian skaters than the Senators, many fans were saying that the Stanley Cup needed to be brought back to Canada after a 14-year drought. Only four players remained on the Ducks roster from 2003, including the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, the 2003 clubs general manager, Bryan Murray, was now the Ottawa head coach. Two Ottawa-area players were in the finals, playing for the Ducks, the Senators and Ducks had never met in the playoffs before, and had not played each other since January 19,2006, when the Ducks won 4–3 in a shootout in Ottawa. This was the first time since the 1925 Victoria Cougars that a team from the west coast of North America won the Stanley Cup, the Ducks are the fourth west coast team to win the Cup, and the first from California. Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, from Sweden, was the first European-born-and-raised captain to lead his team to the final, previously, only Canadians or an American had captained teams in the final. The Ducks were captained by a Canadian and had more Canadian players than the Senators, the 2007 final marked the third straight in which a Canadian franchise lost against a franchise based in the southern United States. The series marked the first time two teams from the early-90s expansion era faced each other in the final. It was the first final since 1999 where neither finalist had won the Stanley Cup previously, as well, this was the third season in a row that the Cup was won by a team winning its first Cup after Tampa in 2004 and Carolina in 2006. He had attended the last Finals game in Ottawa versus the Boston Bruins in the old Ottawa Auditorium and his presence was a good-luck charm, as Ottawa won the game he attended. The idea to have a Sens Mile began as a campaign on Facebook by Ottawa residents before game four of the Ottawa-Buffalo Eastern Conference Finals series
34.
Bryan Murray (ice hockey)
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Bryan Clarence Murray is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former coach. He served as manager of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. He has previously been manager of the NHLs Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Florida Panthers. He was also the coach for the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He has compiled over 600 NHL victories in season games. In his 13 full NHL seasons as coach, he has taken his teams to the playoffs 12 times. In other leagues, he has been coach of the American Hockey Leagues Hershey Bears. Bryans younger brother, Terry Murray, was coach for the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers. Murray played hockey in his hometown of Shawville growing up, joining the Shawville Pontiacs intermediate club at age 14 and he later joined the Rockland Nationals of the Central Junior Hockey League. He attended Macdonald College, a campus of McGill University. He returned to Shawville and worked as a gym teacher and he then went into business buying a local motel. Murray began his career as a part-time coach with the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the CJHL. He earned a reputation as a coach and was offered a job by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. He left his business interests in the hands of family members and he took Regina to the Memorial Cup in 1980. Murray then moved to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League as an assistant coach, Murray was on the coaching staff of Doug John Gibson when Gibson won AHL Coach of the Year in 1979–80. Murray then became coach of Hershey for 1980–81, and served in that role until he was promoted to head coach of Washington, Hersheys parent NHL team, partway through the next season. In seven full seasons with Washington, Murray brought the team to the each year. In his second year, the Capitals won their first playoff series, however, his teams did not advance beyond the second round
35.
Alex Auld
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Alexander James Auld is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. Auld played in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens. He has also appeared internationally for Team Canada on three occasions, the 2001 World Junior Championships, the 2004 Spengler Cup, and the 2006 World Championships, Auld played most of his minor hockey in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, with the Thunder Bay Kings program. He was a minor hockey teammate of future NHLers Taylor Pyatt, Patrick Sharp, Jason Jaspers and their Kings team won Gold in the All Ontario Bantam AAA championships in 1997 played in North Bay, Ontario. Auld started junior career with the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League at the end of the 1997–98 season. After appearing in 38 games the season, Auld was selected in the second round, 40th overall. He would finish out his career with the Centennials, spending two more seasons as their starting goaltender. In his final season, Auld was named to Team Canada for the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he backed up Maxime Ouellet. Later that same season, Auld was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Auld turned professional in the 2001–02 season, joining the Canucks American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. An ankle sprain sidelined Auld during training camp, however, and upon his return, solid play in six games at that level returned Auld to the AHL, where he showed steady improvement, despite competition for playing time from veterans Alfie Michaud and Martin Brochu. The 2002–03 season afforded Auld more opportunity for growth, although he again split playing time at the AHL level, this time with Tyler Moss. With Cloutier and Skudra entrenched at the NHL level, Auld still managed to appear in seven games as an injury-replacement, most importantly, he received extensive playing time, and improved his statistics considerably. During the off-season, backup Peter Skudra signed with a Russian team, as the 2003–04 season approached, however, Canucks General Manager Brian Burke traded a draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Johan Hedberg, all but ensuring Auld another season in the minors. Again, Auld began the season sharing netminding duties with Tyler Moss, Auld again saw brief NHL action, appearing in six games. However, during the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Dan Cloutier was injured early on in the Canucks first round series with the Calgary Flames, Auld spent the 2004–05 NHL lockout back with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, this time pairing with veteran netminder Wade Flaherty. He also appeared for Canada at the Spengler Cup in December 2004, Auld returned to the NHL when play resumed for the 2005–06 season, initially as the backup to Dan Cloutier. However, on November 20,2005, Cloutier injured a cruciate ligament in a collision with Mighty Ducks of Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer. The hope initially was that the injury would heal during the season and he would not play in another game for the Moose, leaving the AHL team as its franchise leader in wins and shutouts
36.
American Hockey League
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The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League. Twenty-seven AHL teams are located in the United States and the three are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is David Andrews, the annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup, named for Frank Calder, the first President of the NHL. The reigning champions are the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL traces its origins directly to two predecessor professional leagues, the Canadian-American Hockey League, founded in 1926, and the first International Hockey League, established in 1929. With both leagues down to the minimum in membership, the governors of each recognized the need for action to assure their member clubs long-term survival. Their solution was to play an interlocking schedule, while the Can-Am was based in the Northeast and the IHL in the Great Lakes and Midwest, their footprints were close enough for this to be a viable option. The two older leagues eight surviving clubs began joint play in November 1936 as a new circuit of mutual convenience known as the International-American Hockey League. The four Can-Am teams became the I-AHL East Division, with the IHL quartet playing as the West Division. The IHL also contributed its former championship trophy, the F. G. Teddy Oke Trophy, the Oke Trophy is now awarded to the regular-season winners of the AHLs Northeast Division. A little more than a month into that first season, the balance, the makeshift new I-AHL played out the rest of its first season with just seven teams. At the end of the 1936–37 season, a modified playoff format was devised and a new championship trophy. The Syracuse Stars defeated the Philadelphia Ramblers in the final, three-games-to-one, the Calder Cup continues on today as the AHLs playoff championship trophy. After two seasons of interlocking play, the governors of the two leagues seven active teams met in New York City on June 28,1938, maurice Podoloff of New Haven, the former head of the Can-Am League, was elected the I-AHLs first president. The former IHL president, John Chick of Windsor, Ontario, the Bears remain the only one of these eight original I-AHL/AHL franchises to have been represented in the league without interruption since the 1938–39 season. The newly merged circuit also increased its schedule for each team by six games from 48 to 54. After the 1939–40 season the I-AHL renamed itself the American Hockey League and it generally enjoyed both consistent success on the ice and relative financial stability over its first three decades of operation. The number of teams competing for players rose from six to thirty in just seven years. Player salaries at all levels shot up dramatically with the increased demand and this did not seem to affect the AHL at first, as it expanded to 12 teams by 1970
37.
Binghamton Senators
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The Binghamton Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they play in Binghamton, New York, the B-Sens are minor league affiliates of the Ottawa Senators of the NHL and Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. They were the AHLs 2010-11 Calder Cup champions, the Senators main rivals are the Syracuse Crunch, the Rochester Americans, the Albany Devils, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and the Hershey Bears. The arrival of the B-Sens marked the return of the AHL to the area after a five-year absence, the area had previously been represented by the Binghamton Dusters, the Binghamton Whalers, and the Binghamton Rangers, all of the AHL. While no AHL team played in Binghamton between 1997 and 2002, the market was served by the B. C, icemen of the United Hockey League. The Binghamton Senators enjoyed a successful 2002–03, freshman season, going 43–26–9 with 100 points and they breezed by their first two playoff rounds, but were easily defeated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in 5 games. By contrast, the 2003–04 season was not as successful as the loss of both Antoine Vermette and Jason Spezza weakened the team and they went 34–34–9 and quietly exited the playoffs thanks to a 2–0 sweep at the hands of the Norfolk Admirals. Jason Spezza lead the way with a league high 117 points, the Senators ended the regular season with only 21 regulation losses, tied for 2nd fewest in the league, taking the division title with a league high 276 goals scored. On July 17,2009, Don Nachbaur was named coach of the Binghamton Senators. During the 2009–10 AHL season, Nachbaur coached the Senators to a 36–35–6–3 record and 81 points to finish fifth in the AHLs East Division. On June 22,2010, after one season behind the bench. On August 6,2010, Kurt Kleinendorst was appointed the coach of the Binghamton Senators as part of a two-year contract. Kleinendorst had spent the year leading the USA Hockey National Team Development Programs under-18 team to a gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships in Belarus. In 2011, the Senators were up against the Manchester Monarchs in the first round of the playoffs and they fell behind 3–1 in the series, but won games five and six in overtime to force a game seven. The Senators fell behind 5–4 in game seven but Erik Condra tied the game with 1,45 to go in the game, Ryan Potulny then scored 3,07 into overtime to send the Senators to the second round. Next, the Senators faced the Portland Pirates, the Senators won the first two games in Portland to go up 2–0 in the series. They then lost two of the three games at home to the Pirates and had their series lead cut to 3–2. The Senators shut out the Pirates in game six, 3–0 to go to the Eastern Conference final, in the Eastern Conference final, the Senators faced the Charlotte Checkers
38.
Vesa Toskala
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Vesa Tapani Toskala is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Toskala was selected by San Jose in the round, 90th overall. Toskala turned heads with his play in the 1998–99 season with Ilves of the Finnish SM-liiga, where he went 21–12–0 with a 2.14 goals against average. The next season, playing a style modeled after Markus Korhonen, Toskala played with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Elitserien. Toskala considered quitting hockey to attend school full-time, until the San Jose Sharks enticed him to North America, Toskala is the only San Jose Sharks goalie to record a multiple point game. He had two assists against Chicago on February 3,2007, in his first North American season in 2000–01, Toskala played for the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League. That season, he led the league in games played and saves made, when Kiprusoff fell to injury, Toskala was called up to San Jose to serve as back-up to regular starter Evgeni Nabokov. Toskala received ten minutes of playing time in his first stint in the NHL, in the 2002–03 NHL season, after Evgeni Nabokov and the Sharks could not settle on a contract, Toskala served as Kiprusoffs backup. When Kiprusoff faltered, Toskala stepped in and played admirably, going 4–3–1 with a 2.35 GAA and he earned his first shutout in a 25-save effort against the Detroit Red Wings. After Nabokov was re-signed, however, Toskala was sent back to the Sharks minor league affiliate in Cleveland, where he struggled, going 15–30–2 with a 3.21 GAA and a 0.903 save percentage. Nonetheless, at the end of the season, the Sharks recalled Toskala. Since Nabokov was the starter, Kiprusoff and Toskala fought for the backup position. Although playing in 28 games and posting a 12–8–4 record with a 2.06 GAA, 2005–06 proved to be a career year for Toskala. He began as the backup to Evgeni Nabokov, but after a start on February 8, he posted a record of 17–2–2, Toskalas goals-against-average fell from 3.25 to 2.55, while his save percentage increased from 0.872 to.900. This earned him the nickname The Finnish Horse from Sharks broadcaster Dan Rusanowsky, Toskalas play earned him several accolades and relegated Nabokov to the role of backup goaltender. On February 27, the Sharks resigned Toskala to a contract extension worth US$2.75 million. Toskala finished the playoffs with 2.45 goals-against-average and a 0.910 save percentage, since both Toskala and Nabokov were seen as number one goalies, the Sharks attempted to trade one or the other before the season began. No trade occurred, and coach Ron Wilson opted to alternate starts between the two, through 71 games, Toskala played in 35 games, starting 31 and posting a 2.45 GAA, along with three shutouts
39.
Washington Capitals
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The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D. C. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, since their founding in 1974, the Capitals have won one conference championship, and nine division titles. In 1997, the team moved their home ice rink from the suburban Capital Centre to the new MCI Center, in Washington. Businessman Ted Leonsis has owned the team since 1999, and has revitalized the franchise by drafting star players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Bäckström, the 2009–10 Capitals won the franchises first-ever Presidents Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. They won it a time in 2015–16, and did so for a third time the following season in 2016–17. Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the NHL as a team for the 1974–75 season. The team was owned by Abe Pollin, Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager, with a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the World Hockey Association, the available talent was stretched thin. The Capitals had few players with experience and were at a disadvantage against the long-standing teams that were stocked with veteran players. Like the other three teams who joined the league during the WHA era—the Scouts, Atlanta Flames, and New York Islanders—the Capitals did not factor the survival of the league into their plans. The Capitals inaugural season was dreadful, even by expansion standards and they finished with far and away the worst record in the League at 8–67–5. Their 21 points were half that of their brethren, the Scouts. The eight wins are the fewest for an NHL team playing at least 70 games, and they also set records for most road losses, most consecutive road losses, and most consecutive losses. Head Coach Jim Anderson said, Id rather find out my wife was cheating on me than keep losing like this, at least I could tell my wife to cut it out. Schmidt himself had to take over the coaching reins late in the season, in 1975–76, Washington went 25-straight games without a win and allowed 394 goals en route to another horrendous record, 11–59–10. During the middle of the season, Max McNab was hired as the general manager. For the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Capitals alternated between seasons and finishing only a few points out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 1980 and 1981, for instance, they were in contention until the last day of the season
Switzerland
