The saying goes, soccer is when Germany wins. That may no longer be completely valid, but translated to hockey, it may go something like, “hockey is when Canada wins”. Not always, that is for sure, but one could fill an entire Spengler Cup day by reading the achievements of this sport’s motherland.

The Canadians have won 28 world championship gold medals, their latest coming in 2023 in Riga with a 5-2 final victory over Germany. Canada has taken the Olympic gold eight times, that too is a record, amongst others on home ice in Vancouver in 2010 with several players who have also won the Spengler Cup: Patrice Bergeron, Rick Nash, and Joe Thornton.

The seemingly continuously bubbling source of high calibre players from the 39 million inhabitants never wanes – and for good reason. Canada strongly benefits from being the uncontested number one national sport from British Columbia to Newfoundland and counts over 550,000 licensed players – an enormous volume. In contrast, Russia has five time less. And in Switzerland there are around 32,000.

And so it is that Canada’s pool of players has been large enough to enrich the Spengler Cup for 40 years in the meanwhile. Team Canada is a mainstay, a participant field without which is unimaginable. Management and the players take the tournament very seriously, their approach strongly contributes to the legitimacy of the tournament.  For many professionals under contract in Europe, this provides a unique opportunity to present themselves to a wider audience at home – the national sport channel TSN broadcasts all the games live.

The perpetual title favourite has never had to wait for a title in Davos for longer than four years, so there is no need for panic in that regard. Lately, however, the Canadians had to endure several disappointments; in 2022 the team already bowed out in the pre-semifinal game against Orebro. And the 2023 campaign under star coach Bruce Boudreau came to an end in the semifinals against Pardubice. Even the lighthouse presence of assistant general manager Joe Thornton did not bring about a better fortune. The collective had to watch on TV how HC Davos pulled even with its 16th title – Team Canada is since then no longer the sole record title holder.

The Canadians will do everything in their power to change that in 2024. The challenge, however, remains in that the squad is traditionally made up of players of the National League clubs. And those have barely signed any Canadians for the current season; several departures (Maxim Noreau, Daniel Winnik, Colton Sceviour, etc.) were replaced solely by the additions of Philippe Maillet and Adam Tambellini to begin the season. They are the only newcomers to the league. And Tambellini will be aiding Davos in the mission to defend its title. Are there further Canadian heroes to be found?

Text: SLAPSHOT, Das Hockey-Magazin der Schweiz   Foto: KEYSTONE/Melanie Duchene

Team Canada is presented by Spengler Cup Gold Partner WÜRTH