The smallest hockey championship trophy in the world.
Russian: Dynamo Moscow.
Finnish: JYP.
Swedish: Brynäs.
Czech: Pardubice.
Slovak: Slovan Bratislava.
Swiss: ZSC Lions.
German: Eisbären Berlin.
Asian: Oji Eagles.
Austrian: Black Wings Linz.
Belarusian: Keramin Minsk.
British: Nottingham Panthers.
Dutch: Ruijters Eaters Geleen.
Danish: Blue Fox Herning.
French: Les Dragons de Rouen.
Italian: HC Bolzano-Bozen Foxes.
Norwegian: Stavanger Oilers.
Canadian: South East Prairie Thunder.
Soviet defenceman Valeri Vassiliev, who played in the 1972 Canada-Russia series, has died at age 62.
CIS: University of Calgary Dinos
Clarkson Cup: Montreal Stars
Finland: Oulu Kärpät Naiset
NCAA: University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
Sweden: MODO Hockey
Switzerland: ZSC Lions Frauen
It's Swedish hockey playoff time.
First up is the Förkval till Kvalserien, a tournament in which the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh finishers in the HockeyAllsvenskan compete for a place in the Kvalserien, which follows right after. The four teams in the Förkval till Kvalserien are IF Malmö Redhawks, VIK Västerås HK, IK Oskarshamn and Rögle BK. Both Malmö and Rögle have been to the Elitserien in recent years. VIK Västerås is the resurrection of a club that used to be an Elitserien regular before falling into bankruptcy. Oskarshamn (above) has been to the Kvalserien twice but has never made it to the Elitserien. Mora and Södertälje are outta luck this time round. The HockeyAllsvenskan is beginning to fill up with teams that used to be in the Elitserien but can't even make the Förkval. How long before they start talking about a 16-team Elitserien?
The winner of the Förkval [it's Rögle] will join Djurgårdens IF, Timrå, Örebro, Leksand and Bofors in the Kvalserien. Djurgården? You heard me. Two of the six will make it to next season's Elitserien. Prediction: Timrå down, Örebro up. [So wrong! Djurgården have been relegated after 35 years in the Elitserien! Timrå and Rögle will play in the Elitserien next year.]
The quarterfinal playoff matchups are: Luleå HF - AIK, Brynäs IF - Frölunda, HV 71 - Färjestad, and Skellefteå - MODO. Prediction: Skellefteå. Växjö managed a ninth-place finish in the Elitserien, meaning they can go golfing.
Björklöven didn't qualify for the HockeyAllsvenskan.
The old Hockey Hall of Fame (1962-2005) on the CNE grounds in Toronto. Source: Toronto Modern.
British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame, Penticton.
Das Eishockeymuseum und die Hall of Fame Deutschland, Augsburg, Germany.
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, Tampere, Finland.
Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Ontario.
International Hockey Hall of Fame, Kingston, Ontario.
Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame, Corner Brook.
The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame will open in Swift Current this year.
Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Sweden is just getting around to setting up a Hockey Hall of Fame.
US Hockey Hall of Fame, Eveleth, Minnesota.
Windsor Hockey Heritage Centre, Haliburton House, Nova Scotia.
Huet, from CH to GF.
Four years ago I asked, Are there enough NHLers playing in Switzerland to stock a 31st franchise? The answer was: Yes. My concern then was not, "Are there enough NHL teams?" but "Are there enough NHL teams in Canada?" The answer was: No. In the meantime the Thrashers have moved to Winnipeg, but the question remains. Are there enough NHL teams in Canada? No, there are not.
So, are there still enough NHLers playing in Switzerland's National League A to stock a 31st NHL franchise? Yes. They are:
For HC Ambrì-Piotta: Joel Perrault (96 NHL games played), Éric Landry (68), Zdeněk Kutlák (16), Nolan Schaefer (7), Maxim Noreau (6).
SC Bern: Jean-Pierre Dumont (822), Byron Ritchie (324), Joel Kwiatkowski (282), Jean-Pierre Vigier (213), Travis Roche (60).
EHC Biel: Andrei Zyuzin (496), Tom Preissing (326), Sébastien Bordeleau (251), Eric Beaudoin (53).
HC Davos: Josef Marha (159), Peter Sejna (49), Petr Sýkora from Pardubice (12), Petr Tatíček (3), Tim Ramholt (1).
HC Fribourg-Gottéron: Cristobal Huet (272), Dmitry Afanasenkov (227), Shawn Heins (125), Simon Gamache (48), Pavel Rosa (36), Michal Barinka (34), Christian Dubé (33).
Genève-Servette HC: Brian Pothier (362), Dan Fritsche (256), Rico Fata (230), Tony Salmelainen (70), Tobias Stephan (11), Goran Bezina (3).
Kloten Flyers: Michael Nylander (920), Duvie Westcott (201), Tommi Santala (63), Niklas Nordgren (58), Micki DuPont (23), Roman Wick (7).
SCL Tigers: Paul DiPietro (192), Robert Esche (186), Mark Popovic (81), Anton Gustafsson (61), Pascal Pelletier (13), Vojtěch Polák (5), Kurtis McLean (4).
HC Lugano: Rob Niedermayer (1153), Brett McLean (385), Hnat Domenichelli (267), Petteri Nummelin (139), Jordan Hendry (129), Jaroslav Bednář (102), Brady Murray (4), Julien Vauclair (1).
Rapperswil-Jona Lakers: Janne Niinimaa (741), Stacy Roest (244), Derrick Walser (91), Pavel Brendl (78), Brandon Reid (13), Michel Riesen (12).
EV Zug: Glen Metropolit (407), Jussi Markkanen (128), Andy Wozniewski (79), Josh Holden (60), Esa Pirnes (57), Timo Helbling (11).
ZSC Lions: Steve McCarthy (302), Jeff Tambellini (242), Cory Murphy (91), Domenic Pittis (86), Thomas Ziegler (5).
It's Spengler Cup time again. I think this is my favourite hockey tournament of the year because, for one thing, it occurs in winter, unlike a certain Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup I might mention, and because it takes place in the world's coolest rink, the 7000-seat cathedral named Vaillant Arena in Davos, Switzerland. The six teams participating this year are host HC Davos, Swiss rival Kloten Flyers, Dinamo Riga, HC Vitkovice, Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg, and Team Canada. Davos has won the tournament fourteen times. Team Canada, made up of Canadians playing in the European leagues, has won eleven. It's Kloten's second appearance in the tournament. Kloten right winger Roman Wick is an ex-Senator, and helped win the Calder Cup in Binghamton last year. Dinamo Riga, from Latvia, are participating for the first time. Tomas Kudelka of Vitkovice has also played for the Binghamton Senators. Yes, EHC Wolfsburg is really named after the TV show Grizzly Adams. [Team Canada eliminated by Grizzly Adams. Davos beat Riga in the final.]
They are about a dozen games into the hockey season in Sweden, so what's up so far this year?
Skellefteå hold first place in the Elitserien, though Frölunda are close behind and have the better goal difference. Frölunda goaltender Frederik Andersen has a save percentage of 96.19. Växjö Lakers, in their first season in the top tier, currently sit sixth. Växjö's Mike Iggulden leads scorers with 20 points. Last year's playoff champs Färjestad are eleventh, with one win. Färjestad has never been out of the top division since 1965.
VIK Västerås sits atop the Hockeyallsvenkan, and may be ready to make its re-emergence as an elite team. The team were in the Elitserien in the 1990s, but went bankrupt in 2000. The current version developed out of the club's junior organization. AIK went through a similar bankruptcy and resurrection, and Björklöven is currently at the bottom of that cycle. The Birch Leafs last played in the Elitserien in 2001, then spent a decade in the Hockeyallsvenskan, before being dropped to Division 1A for financial insolvency. So far they have eight wins in eight games and look good to gain promotion at year end.
Brynäs holds first place in the women's league. There are five clubs close to the top of the Riksserien, indicating the increasing depth of Swedish women's hockey.
Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson leads the team in scoring with a goal and seven assists. At this pace he will eclipse Norm MacIver's team record for points by a defenceman, set in 1992-93.
Växjö Lakers HC play their first game in the Elitserien today, visiting Göteborg to face last year's ninth-place finishers Frölunda HC. The Lakers have spent the summer rebranding for their debut in the Swedish big league. The red, blue and yellow uniform that has served them up till now has been replaced with blue and orange, an unusual colour scheme for the Elitserien, and one that conjures Oilers and Islanders in the mind of the North American observer, for better or worse. The crest features a crossbow-wielding lion rampant, as if the club had actually been in the league since 1415. The combination of Seventies colour palette and medieval iconography somehow adds up to a pleasingly Scandinavian design. Go marketers! And the old uniform will show up as a vintage jersey in a few years anyway.
Their roster includes four Canadians: Mike Iggulden, Brad Moran, Liam Reddox and Josh Soares. Senators fans will recognize goalie Martin Gerber.
In the preseason Växjö beat Rögle, Skellefteå, Malmö (twice), Espoo Blues, Ässät, and Brynäs.
Hammarby IF is gone but its fans are not, and they've started a new team, Bajen Fans IF. Read about it here.
Václav Varaďa successfully completes the weightlifting portion of the Czech competition.
Russian: Salavat Yulaev.
Swedish: Färjestads BK.
Finnish: HIFK.
Czech: HC Oceláři Třinec.
Slovak: HC Košice.
Swiss: HC Davos.
German: Eisbären Berlin.
Asian: Tohoku Free Blades and Anyang Halla.
Austrian: EC Red Bull Salzburg.
Belarusian: Yunost Minsk.
British: Nottingham Panthers.
Dutch: HYS The Hague.
Danish: Blue Fox Herning.
French: Dragons de Rouen.
Italian: HC Asiago.
Norwegian: Sparta Sarpsborg.
Canadian: Clarenville Caribous.
