Attraction and always one of the favorites to win the tournament at the Spengler Cup: But now Team Canada has been waiting five years for a success
Image: Keystone
Defending champions: Last year, HC Davos caught up with record-holder Team Canada with its 16th victory
Image: Keystone
Fond memories: Fribourg-Gottéron danced all the way to the semi-finals in 2012, now they return to Davos in a difficult sporting situation
Image: Keystone
Final disappointment: Last year, Dynamo Pardubice were only beaten in the final
Image: Keystone
Spectacle maker: Roman Cervenka, one of the best players of recent years, returns to Swiss ice. He now plays for Dynamo Pardubice
Image: Keystone
The Straubing Tigers are the first German team to return to Davos, which is very popular with German tourists, in six years
Image: Keystone
Attraction and always one of the favorites to win the tournament at the Spengler Cup: But now Team Canada has been waiting five years for a success
Image: Keystone
Defending champions: Last year, HC Davos caught up with record-holder Team Canada with its 16th victory
Image: Keystone
Fond memories: Fribourg-Gottéron danced all the way to the semi-finals in 2012, now they return to Davos in a difficult sporting situation
Image: Keystone
Final disappointment: Last year, Dynamo Pardubice were only beaten in the final
Image: Keystone
Spectacle maker: Roman Cervenka, one of the best players of recent years, returns to Swiss ice. He now plays for Dynamo Pardubice
Image: Keystone
The Straubing Tigers are the first German team to return to Davos, which is very popular with German tourists, in six years
Image: Keystone
It's been five years since Team Canada won the Spengler Cup. Between Christmas and New Year, the Canadians and Davos are now fighting to become the sole record holders.
25.12.2024, 05:01
25.12.2024, 09:06
SDA
The six teams at a glance:
HC Davos (87th participation, 16 times winner). It was perhaps the moment last year when the HCD fanbase finally reconciled with the initially unpopular new coach and former enfant terrible Josh Holden. The Davos team won their home tournament for the 16th time - for the first time after a twelve-year slump - and thus drew level with record winners Team Canada. The team from Graubünden had been flying high for a long time this season and led the National League table for a time, but were then slowed down somewhat after the national team break with two defeats.
Team Canada (39th participation, 16 times winner): The Canadians have been a success story since their first participation in 1984: crowd favorites, spectacle makers and downright successful. 16 victories and 10 more finals have come together for the team of the best Canadians working in Europe. Since participation in the World Championships or the Olympics is practically out of reach for these players, it is almost their only chance to wear the maple leaf. They do so with a corresponding amount of pride. But now the Canadians have been waiting five years for a success. The last two winners came from Switzerland (Davos, Ambri-Piotta), before that the tournament fell victim to coronavirus twice. Right at the start on St. Stephen's Day, the record winners HCD and Team Canada will meet.
Fribourg-Gottéron (3rd participation, best result: semi-final 2012): Fribourg-Gottéron is participating for the third time after 1992, when HC Davos bobbed around in the NLB, and 2012. Joel Kwiatkowski's "Kiwi Dance", when the fans got into the mood and the team reached the semi-finals, is a fond memory. Now the starting position is difficult. After parting ways with Christian Dubé, his successor Pat Emond also had to leave shortly before Christmas. Perhaps the change of scenery will do some good, as Ambri-Piotta also impressed at the Spengler Cup after some less than outstanding performances in the championship.
Dynamo Pardubice (4th participation, best result: final 2023). Disappointing in the Champions League (out in the preliminary round), but clear leaders in the Czech extra league after four wins in a row recently, last year's finalists (3:5 against Davos) now also want to win the Spengler Cup. It would be the first Czech or Czechoslovak victory since the great Dukla Jihlava 42 years ago. The return of Roman Cervenka, who has been injured recently but is on the roster for the Spengler Cup, will also be a source of excitement.
Kärpät Oulu (1st participation). The eight-time Finnish champions and last year's third-placed team are competing in Davos for the first time. The "Hermelinen" (Kärpät) are not doing as well as they would like in the domestic championship, and the northernmost team in the SM-Liiga is currently only in 9th place. Finns have only won the Spengler Cup once, in 2018 through KalPa Kuopio.
Straubing Tigers (1st participation): Like Oulu, the Straubing Tigers are part of the field of participants in Davos for the first time. The team from the small town in Lower Bavaria has established itself in the upper echelons of the DEL despite a comparatively small budget and qualified for the Champions League for the third time last season. There they clearly failed in the round of 16 against the ZSC Lions. Straubing is the first German team to be involved again since 2018; the last German winners were the Kölner Haie a quarter of a century ago.
Mode:
The game is played in two groups of three. The winner of each group advances directly to the semi-finals, while the runners-up and third-placed teams play two quarter-finals "crosswise". Fribourg-Gottéron against Pardubice (3.10 p.m.) and Davos against Team Canada (8.15 p.m.) will kick things off on December 26. The final traditionally takes place on New Year's Eve at noon.
