The first round of the World Cup featured two four-team pools. was to engage as many markets as possible: A sizeable pre-tournament schedule kicking off in mid-August featured stops in several cities and two countries that would not be hosting actual tournament games, including Tampere and Turku (Finland), Zlin (Czech Republic), Landshut (Germany), Moscow (Russia), Bratislava (Slovakia), Edmonton and Calgary (Canada), and Detroit, Providence and San Jose (United States). More audaciously, games would be held in multiple countries on separate continents, a first for a stand-alone tournament. With the increasing number of countries that could compete at a high caliber, the field grew from six teams to eight, with the addition of Germany and Slovakia. There were two major differences between the inaugural World Cup and the Canada Cup. “We are not expecting the Cup to change the fortunes of hockey overnight,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said before the tournament, “but it is a step in the right direction.” New Name, Same Game The number of players from countries other than Canada was growing annually, and NHL players were set to make their Olympic debut at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.Ī rebrand of the Canada Cup only made sense, transforming it into something much more global that aligned with the shared objectives of the organizers, the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF. hockey markets was just around the corner. Over a span of three years, the league had added four new franchises between California and Florida, and expansion or relocation into other non-traditional U.S. Joe Pelletier, co-author of “The World Cup of Hockey: A History of Hockey’s Greatest Tournament”īy the mid-90s, the NHL was in the thick of an unapologetic drive to make hockey mainstream and take it worldwide. Everybody loves best-on-best hockey, whether it’s in September or in February or on the moon. So this was a great way of quenching that here in Canada. There was a lack of international hockey at the time, with the Canada Cup’s demise and the Olympics not quite there yet. You never quite knew when the next one was going to be. The Canada Cup was always kind of haphazardly scheduled. Other participating nations included Czechoslovakia, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, with West Germany making a single appearance, replacing the Finns in 1984. Contested at venues throughout Canada, the six-team tournament took place in late summer before the start of NHL training camps.Ĭanada captured the trophy each time except for 1981 when the Soviet Union triumphed. Long before NHL players began participating in the Olympics, the Canada Cup was the only international competition that included all the top players from hockey’s leading nations.Įvolving from the success of the historic 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, the Canada Cup was held in 1976, 1981, 1984, 1987, and 1991. On the 25 th anniversary of the debut of the World Cup of Hockey, we revisit the competition and look at its place in ice hockey history. Mike Richter of Team USA celebrates winning the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
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