| Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | ice hockey award |
| Date | 2010 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Presented by | SICO |
Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) playoffs' most valuable player (MVP), as decided by SICO (Sweden's Ice hockey players Central Organisation). It was installed in 2010 and resembles the Conn Smythe Trophy of the NHL. The trophy was renamed in honour of Stefan Liv in 2013. [1] Stefan Liv, aged 30, was killed in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, along with his teammates and team staff of Russian club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
The Swedish Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Swedish ice hockey champions have been crowned through various formats since 1922, the title and the Le Mat Trophy have been awarded to the winner of the SHL playoffs since the league's inaugural 1975–76 season.
Pavol Demitra was a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He played nineteen seasons of professional hockey, for teams in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League (CSL), National Hockey League (NHL), Slovak Extraliga (SVK), and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). A skilled offensive player, Demitra was a top-line forward throughout his career.
HV71, often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League season, and also participates in the new Champions Hockey League tournament since the 2014–15 season. Between 2008 and 2013, HV also participated in the European Trophy tournament. With the exception of a one-year stint in the 2021–22 season in Sweden's second tier, HockeyAllsvenskan, where they won the promotion playoffs, the club has played continuously in the SHL since 1985.
Stefan Daniel Patryk Liv was a Polish-born Swedish professional ice hockey player who played as a goaltender. Liv played professionally in Sweden, North America and Russia. Liv played nine seasons for HV71 in the top-tier league in Sweden. He was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2000 and played one season in the Red Wings organization, but never made his debut in the NHL. He then returned to Europe and HV71. Upon his return, he played three seasons in Sweden, then moved to Russia in 2010.
Maxime Talbot is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins. He was drafted into the NHL out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 234th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He led the Hull/Gatineau Olympiques to back-to-back President's Cups while earning the Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff MVP both years.
Hockey Club Lokomotiv, also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The name of the team is derived from its owner, Russian Railways, the national railroad operator.
Karel Rachůnek was a Czech professional ice hockey player. Rachunek was the captain of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) when the team was decimated in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash. He played eight seasons in North America in the National Hockey League (NHL). Rachůnek was drafted in the ninth round, 229th overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Rachunek was the brother of Ivan Rachůnek and Tomáš Rachůnek who also played professional ice hockey.
Skellefteå AIK is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Skellefteå. They currently play In the Swedish Hockey League. They play their home games in Skellefteå Kraft Arena, which seats 6,001 spectators. The team has won the Swedish Championship four times – in 1978, 2013, 2014 and 2024. They reached the SHL championship finals six years in a row between 2011–2016, tying Färjestad BK's streak between 2001–2006, winning two times.
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1) and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs.
Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk is an ice hockey team based in Minsk, Belarus. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League.
David Kevin Denis Desharnais is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL). Undrafted, he originally signed as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens in 2008.
The 2011–12 NHL season was the 95th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals four games to two to win the team's first Stanley Cup in their second Stanley Cup Finals appearance; they had lost to Montreal Canadiens in the 1993 Finals.
The Opening Cup, is the trophy awarded to the winner of the first game of every regular season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This match is played between the previous season's playoff champion and the previous season's Continental Cup winner. The game is played on the home ice of the previous season's playoff champion.
Alexander Saidgereyevich Galimov was a Russian professional ice hockey player. At the time of his death, he was a member of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) whose team plane crashed on 7 September 2011 killing all but one of the 45 crew and passengers on board.
Ty Rattie is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
The 2011–12 Elitserien season was the 37th season of Elitserien. The regular season began on 13 September 2011 and ended on 6 March 2012. The following playoffs began on 10 March 2012 and ended on 19 April. Färjestad BK were the defending Swedish Champions. Brynäs IF won their first Swedish Championship title since 1999, as well as their 13th in history, after defeating Skellefteå AIK in six games.
The 2011–12 KHL season was the fourth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The regular season began with the Opening Cup game on 7 September 2011, but because of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, which occurred during the first period of the Cup game and killed all but one member of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team, further play was delayed until 12 September 2011. The tragedy forced Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to cancel their participation in the KHL season. The Opening Cup was renamed the Lokomotiv Cup in honor of those lost in the tragedy. The regular season ended on 26 February 2012 and the following playoffs ended on 25 April.
On 7 September 2011, YAK-Service Flight 9633, a Yakovlev Yak-42 charter flight operated by YAK-Service, carrying players and coaching staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team, crashed during take-off near Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. All but one of the 45 people on board were killed. The aircraft overran the runway at Tunoshna Airport before briefly lifting off, striking an antenna mast, catching fire, and crashing on the bank of the Volga river. The tragedy is commonly known as the Lokomotiv hockey team disaster.
The 2012–13 KHL season was the fifth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The regular season began on 4 September with the Lokomotiv Cup between last year's finalists Dynamo Moscow and Avangard Omsk. The league consisted of 26 teams from 7 countries for the first time. Dynamo Moscow successfully defended their title after beating Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Gagarin Cup finals.
The 2020–21 SHL season was the 46th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2020 and ended on 3 April 2021, it was then followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs. The league consisted of the 14 teams that competed in the 2019–20 season; because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, no relegation or promotion took place after the previous season. The Växjö Lakers won the regular season for the third time in club history. In the SHL qualifier, Brynäs IF defeated HV71 in five games to stay in the SHL. The Växjö Lakers won the Le Mat Trophy for the third time, defeating Rögle BK by 4 games to 1 in the playoffs final.
