Fred Brathwaite will be one of the great attractions at the Spengler Cup 2009

Tournament director Fredi Pargätzi knew back at the beginning of the year that he was facing a special challenge for this year's event regarding match commitments, with already packed match schedules also having to take into account the break for the Winter Olympics.

Thanks to the excellent reputation enjoyed by the Spengler Cup on the national and international ice hockey scene, even under these difficult circumstances a highly attractive field has been put together. The last week of December will see, in the final battle between five teams in the existing format, the two current national champions Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) and HC Davos, plus Adler Mannheim, one of the title contenders from Germany, Dynamo Minsk, the up-and-comers in the Russian KHL, and Team Canada compete for the prestigious tournament victory. "Given the difficult timing, organizing the teams was a more intensive process than in other years. Now that everything is arranged I'm convinced that we can look forward to another spectacular tournament week," said Pargätzi.

Reappearance of spectator favorite Brathwaite

Fred Brathwaite, now aged 37, captured spectators' hearts 11 years ago as the goalkeeper for Team Canada, with his saves helping the team seal victory and securing his return to the NHL with the Calgary Flames. The black goalie from Ottawa played a total number of 255 matches in the NHL, not only for Calgary but also for the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, and Columbus Jackets. After three years in Russia with Ak Bars Kasan and Avangard Omsk, Brathwaite moved last season to Adler Mannheim. At the end of February 2009 he was crowned Germany's ice hockey player of the year 2008/09 by the trainers and managers of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) club and journalists. In addition to this, he was also named goalie of the year 2008/09 by the magazine "Eishockey News". Adler Mannheim also has another two pros with experience of the Spengler Cup, in the shape of Mario Scalzo (Team Canada) and Yannick Seidenberg (Ingolstadt). Mannheim's new Head Coach Doug Mason is also familiar with Switzerland, having coached EV Zug during the 2001/02 season. Mason has a squad of 27 at his disposal, with players from Germany (17), Canada (9) and the USA (1).

The Spengler Cup as trendsetter

Dynamo Minsk will be the first team from Belarus to participate in the Davos tournament, bringing the Spengler Cup closer to a market believed by pundits to have an excellent future. Belarus is due to host the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2014, and a huge financial package has been made available for the further development of the sport. "Over the next few years the state will support the investment of several hundred million francs in the development of ice hockey and various infrastructure projects," said Fredi Pargätzi. Belarus KHL figurehead Dynamo Minsk in particular is enjoying the resulting ice hockey mania and has welcomed the experienced NHL Head Coach Glen Hanlon (Washington Capitols) for the new season. The former NHL goalie (14 seasons/512 matches for teams including Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings) has been achieving great success coaching the Belarus national team since 2005. One of Hanlon's stars is Andrej Mezin, who was named best goalie of the tournament in the 2006 world championships and this year in Switzerland. In addition to Mezin, Minsk has so far signed no less than 13 players, including three players from Finland and one each from Sweden, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Russia. "In addition to its sporting strengths, the Minsk team will also be a force to contend with in terms of emotional power," said Fredi Pargätzi. Given that the Belarus players have seen a dream come true in their nomination for the Spengler Cup, Pargätzi is expecting to see Russia's top league players put on a highly motivated performance.

Title defenders absent, but the Czech champions will be there

Alongside Adler Mannheim and Dynamo Minsk, the field will be made up of hosts Davos, together with Team Canada and Karlovy Vary, all three of which competed in last year's tournament. For the Czech team in particular, the week in Davos was a godsend. "The people in charge at Karlovy Vary have repeatedly assured me that they have laid the foundation for a Spengler Cup victory, and that while with us they set their course towards top achievements both on a sporting and an interpersonal level," explained the tournament director. The current Czech champions will be arriving highly motivated to compete in this year's Spengler Cup. The team, led by the highly successful coach Josef Palecek, has been strategically reinforced for the coming season and is one of the big title candidates in its home league. Naturally, for Fredi Pargätzi it is extremely regrettable that Dynamo Moscow cannot return to defend their title, but they really have their hands tied this year with regard to their match schedule, being committed to play no less than three matches in the national championship between Christmas and New Year.