Team Canada is the most successful Spengler Cup team of the past years. The team of Canadian professionals who live and play in Europe has dominated this tournament and in 2009 will be playing for their twelfth title win.
Canada first participated in the Spengler Cup in 1984. At that time, the international hockey balance of power was completely different: between 1965 and 1983 the tournament had been dominated by teams from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. A team of hockey stars from Canada was formed in order so that a team from the West could readdress the imbalance of the East's dominance. The concept immediately bared fruit: on their first participation, the Canadians won the tournament with a 4:3 victory over the Russian Chimik Woskresensk team.
Most Successful Team
Ever since that fateful year, Canada has made an unbroken string of appearances at the Spengler Cup. They are by far the most successful crew of the last 25 years. Since 1986, Team Canada has qualified for 17 of the 23 finals. Eleven of those 17 games they have won. Currently, they have won only three tournaments less than record holder and host HC Davos. The only question now is how long will it take the Canadians to break Davos' record. Typical of Canada's high standards, this year they will only be satisfied with a victory. "As with every tournament in which we participate, we want to win. If we do not have this goal, we have already lost. This is the Canadian way," explains Johnny Misley who as Vice-President of the Canadian Ice Hockey Federation is responsible for Team Canada.
The fall of the former Eastern Block in 1989 and the subsequent opening of the borders allowed players from the East to find fortune in the American National Hockey League (NHL). This has done away with the necessity to reconcile any possible imbalance of quality teams divided along the East-West lines. As a result, Team Canada no longer comes to the Spengler Cup chalked full of Canada's biggest stars, but rather it brings specially selected Canadians who play for teams in Switzerland and its neighbouring countries.
Unwaning Popularity
Despite the shift in focus the popularity of the Canadian team as permanent guests at the tournament remains unchanged, particularly overseas: the Spengler Cup games enjoy great popularity among Canadian television viewers and receive more attention than in Europe. In Canada, the Spengler Cup is recognized as one of the most important international hockey tournaments and has been used by many players as a spring board into the NHL. For example, for Fred Brathwaite serious recognition came with the Calgary Flames after his victory in the Spengler Cup, and now eleven years later he is returning to the event with the Mannheim Eagles, coming full circle after a very successful career. The Eagles will be bringing several other strong Canadians to play in the tournament, to the detriment of the Team Canada roster. Johnny Misley said: "Many of our national players are currently suiting up for Mannheim which naturally means we cannot select them for the Canadian Spengler Cup team. Mannheim will actually look like a Team Canada 2!" Misely agrees that several of the other participating teams will be tough opponents. "Davos has home-field advantage; Del Curto will make the Bündner team stiff competition. And Karlovy Vary has the depth, speed and experience. Every team this year can win the tournament."
The Canadian Spengler Cup team is repeatedly being coached by North American trainers considered luminaries at the top end of their game. The era of Andy Murray is particularly remarkable since he led Team Canada to victory in all six of his participations. As coach of the Canadian National team he also won the 2007 World Championships in Russia. Sean Simpson, who led the team last year, could shortly thereafter win the Champions League Cup with the ZSC Lions.
Praise for the Organizer
The contract between the Spengler Cup organizers and Team Canada runs through 2012, and there are strong indicators that the popular Canadians will remain with the tournament beyond that. That is because the Canadian Federation is full of praise for the Cup organizers. Johnny Misley enthuses: "The Spengler Cup is an event which every hockey player should experience at least once in his career. Fredi Pargätzi and his team have done outstanding work in continuing and propelling the tradition of this tournament. And also all other Swiss Hockey League clubs should be applauded for their cooperation and the fact that they interrupt the season of League play in order to accommodate this historical tournament."
