With defending champion Fribourg-Gottéron, Sparta Prague, Team Canada and HC Davos, four teams will compete for the trophy at the 97th Spengler Cup between Christmas and New Year. Making their tournament debut, the U.S. Collegiate Selects are the great unknown, while IFK Helsinki are considered outsiders.

For the first time in the more than 100-year history of the Spengler Cup, a North American college selection will take part in the tournament in Davos. The roster will not feature internationally established star names. Nevertheless, the students’ performances are eagerly anticipated. College hockey in the United States is stronger and more important than ever. At the start of the season, 248 college-developed players were listed on the rosters of the 32 NHL organizations. And in the Spengler Cup roster of the U.S. Collegiate Selects, half of the players—now aged between 21 and 23—have been drafted by NHL clubs. There is certainly no shortage of talent.

Team Canada’s concerns
A first indication of the balance of power will come on the opening day of the tournament. In the evening game, the U.S. Collegiate Selects will face Team Canada in a North American derby. Along with HC Davos, the Canadians are record champions with 16 titles each. However, Team Canada have failed to reach the final in each of the past three years. This negative streak is meant to come to an end.
The backbone of the team traditionally consists of players under contract with National League clubs in Switzerland. For Hockey Canada, however, assembling a top-class squad is becoming increasingly difficult. This season, only around 30 Canadians are playing in the National League; in 2012/13, the number was still 62. And not all of those 30 are available, whether due to injuries or because their Swiss clubs do not release them. What has never been lacking, however, is the pride of wearing the national jersey—and consequently the players’ total commitment.
Marc Bergevin leads the Canadian delegation as general manager, assisted by Stacy Roest. As a defenseman, Bergevin played a total of 1,271 NHL games between 1984 and 2004. Michel Therrien will serve as head coach.

Sparta Prague with Star Power
HC Sparta Prague are hoping a successful Spengler Cup will provide momentum for another push toward the Czech championship title. Last season, after an outstanding regular season, they were eliminated in the playoff semifinals by eventual champions Kometa Brno. Since October, the head coach has been club legend Jaroslav Nedved.
Quality is assured by an entire armada of former NHL players: goaltender Josef Korenar, defenseman Mark Pysyk, and forwards Roman Horak, Jakub Klepis, Tomas Hyka, Adam Raska, Michal Repik and Devin Shore. From their time in Ambri, the well-matched forwards Filip Chlapik and Michal Spacek are also familiar names. In addition, Niko Seppälä and Jani Lajunen won World Championship gold with Finland.
Sparta Prague will open the 97th Spengler Cup on December 26 at 3 p.m. with a blockbuster matchup against defending champions Fribourg-Gottéron. For the team from Fribourg, the Spengler Cup triumph marked the first title in the club’s history. Forward Christoph Bertschy and his teammates are “very much” looking forward to returning. “Defending the title is our mission. At this tournament, every opponent is strong. The teams are also invited to provide the spectators with good games. Of course, we enjoy measuring ourselves against international opponents.” A notable change at Fribourg-Gottéron is on the bench: Lars Leuenberger led the team to the Spengler Cup title as head coach; he is now assistant coach under new head coach Roger Rönnberg.

HC Davos like in 2023?
Twelve months ago, Fribourg-Gottéron only prevailed over HC Davos in the Spengler Cup semifinals in the final phase of the game. This time, the Davos side enter their home tournament brimming with confidence as leaders of the National League. They would love nothing more than to build on their 2023 triumph. “We are good enough to win—that is the goal,” says HCD captain Matej Stransky.
The sixth Spengler Cup participant, IFK Helsinki, have endured a difficult first half of the season. An extremely long injury list prevented the Finnish traditional club from realizing its full potential for a long time. In recent weeks, however, they have returned to winning ways. The Spengler Cup therefore comes at just the right time to recharge their batteries and strengthen team spirit - just as it did at the previous tournament for a then-struggling Fribourg-Gottéron. Behind the bench at IFK Helsinki stands Olli Jokinen, the most prominent figure involved. As a forward, he played no fewer than 1,237 NHL games.

Text & Photo: Spengler Cup