The Para Hockey Cup, formerly the World Sledge Hockey Challenge (WSHC) and Canadian Tire Para Ice Hockey Cup is an annual international ice sledge hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada and the IPC Sledge Hockey. The tournament is an invitational format to bring four of the strongest ice sledge hockey teams together for international competition.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023 Para Hockey Cup | |
 | |
| Sport | Sledge hockey |
|---|---|
| First season | 2007 |
| Most recent champion(s) |  United States |
| Most titles | United States (10) |
| TV partner(s) | TSN |
| Sponsor(s) | Hockey Canada IPC Sledge Hockey |
| Related competitions | World Para Ice Hockey Championships Paralympics |
| Official website | World Sledge Hockey Challenge |
The tournament features four teams per year and has seen teams from Canada, the United States, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, China and the Czech Republic.
History
editThe tournament was created in 2007 by Hockey Canada. The idea behind the tournament was to give an opportunity for international level play during non-Paralympic years.
The inaugural 2007 tournament was hosted in Kelowna, British Columbia, and featured four teams – Canada, Norway, United States and Germany. Canada captured the inaugural tournament, by defeating Norway 1-0 in overtime in the gold medal game.
The 2008 tournament was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Japan replaced Germany. For the second straight year, Canada defeated Norway in the final. However, Canada dominated the final winning 7-0
In 2009, the United States won their first title. They defeated Canada in overtime 3-2 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. No tournament was held in 2010, owing to the 2010 Winter Paralympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia that year. Instead, two tournaments were held in 2011, in April in London, Ontario, Canada defeated Norway in the final 8-0. In the November tournament that year in Calgary, Alberta, Canada again captured Gold, defeating the United States 4-1 in the final. The 2012 tournament was held again in Calgary, Alberta and saw the United States capture their second gold, defeating Canada 1-0 in the final.
In 2013, the tournament saw a few changes, it was held in Toronto, Ontario for the first time and saw Russia and South Korea replace Japan and Norway in the tournament. South Korea was added in an attempt to help them gain experience before the 2018 Winter Paralympics are held there. Canada captured gold, by defeating the United States 4-1 in the final. Again owing to the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia no tournament was held. It returned in 2015 in Leduc, Alberta.
In 2018, the World Sledge Hockey Challenge was rebranded as the Para Hockey Cup. Sponsored by Canadian Tire, the tournament was officially known as the Canadian Tire Para Ice Hockey Cup.[1]
Champions
editMedal table
edit| Country |  Gold
|
 Silver
|
 Bronze
|
Medals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States
|
10 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
 Canada
|
5 | 9 | 1 | 15 |
 Norway
|
0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
 Russia
|
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 South Korea
|
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
 Czech Republic
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Japan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Italy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Germany
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
All-time team records
editUp to date as of December 2023
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States
|
67 | 54 | 12 | 1 | 306 | 91 | + 215 |
| 2 | Canada
|
67 | 50 | 12 | 5 | 311 | 88 | + 223 |
| 3 | Norway
|
32 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 73 | 115 | - 42 |
| 4 | Russia
|
20 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 55 | 43 | - 12 |
| 5 | South Korea
|
29 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 31 | 174 | - 143 |
| 6 | Czech Republic
|
10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 61 | - 49 |
| 7 | Japan
|
23 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 22 | 157 | - 135 |
| 8 | Italy
|
10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 72 | - 62 |
| 9 | Germany
|
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 24 | - 19 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "World Sledge Hockey Challenge rebranded as Para Hockey Cup as Canadian Tire become title sponsor". Insidethegames.biz. June 27, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "CANADIAN TIRE PARA HOCKEY CUP GUIDE AND RECORD BOOK" (PDF). Hockey Canada.
- ^ 2011 WSHC Schedule
- ^ 2012 WSHC Schedule
- ^ 2013 WSHC Championship Schedule
- ^ 2015 WSHC Schedule
- ^ a b c "WSHC".
- ^ 2018 WSHC Championship Schedule
- ^ a b "Hockey Canada statement announcing Fall 2020 event rescheduling". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ 2023 Para Hockey Cup
- ^ "McGregor, Cozzolino lead Canada over China to open Para Hockey Cup in N.B." CBC News. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.