The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, with players from 17 countries as of the 2023–24 season. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) also views the Stanley Cup as one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The NHL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the two main professional ice hockey organizations, reached an agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. It was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.
The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.
Hockey Canada is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority of organized ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League, U Sports, and Canada's professional hockey clubs; the former two are partnered with Hockey Canada but are not member organizations. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, with a secondary office in Ottawa and regional centres in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal.
Paolo Vanoli is an Italian professional football coach and a former player who played as a left back or left midfielder. He is the manager of Italian Serie B club Venezia.
Jason Chimera is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played for five teams in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA.
Carter Vincent James Trevisani is a Canadian-born Italian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Trevisani last played for HC Asiago of the Serie A and was named to play for Italy internationally four times.
Italian Hockey League - Serie A, formerly known as Serie A, is the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy, which first began play in 1925. They are conducted under the authority of the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG). The league initially merged with the Inter-National League to become the Alps Hockey League in 2016. Italian teams in the Alps Hockey League also compete in the Italian Hockey League - Serie A.
The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier level of the Italian league system. The LBA plays under FIBA rules and currently consists of 16 teams, with the lowest-placed team relegated to the Serie A2 and replaced by the winner of the play-offs of that tier.
Wayne Richard Bianchin is a Canadian-born Italian former professional ice hockey Left winger. He played in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers between 1973 and 1980. Internationally Bianchin played for the Italian national team at the 1981 World Championship B Pool.
Hydro Fehérvár AV19 is a Hungarian professional ice hockey team that plays in the Austrian bet-at-home ICE Hockey League. They were founded in 1960 and played from 1978 in the Hungarian Országos Bajnokság I through sorts of affiliations until 2012, claiming the Championship on 13 occasions. They play their home games at Ifjabb Ocskay Gábor Ice Hall in Székesfehérvár. In 2009, the club was renamed after the main sponsor Sapa Profiles Kft Hungary, the Hungarian subsidiary of a Swedish aluminum group. The club did not have a main naming sponsor for a couple of years before 2019, however, in 2019 Hydro Extrusion Hungary Kft, the Hungarian subsidiary of the Norwegian company became the new naming sponsor, thus naming the club Hydro Fehérvár AV19.
Massimo "Bullo" Bulleri is an Italian professional basketball coach and former player. During his playing career, standing at a height of 1.88 m tall, he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. He is currently the assistant coach for Dinamo Sassari in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 82 member countries.
The Italian Basketball Cup, or Coppa Italia, is an annual professional basketball competition between pro clubs from the Italian Basketball League (LBA). It is Italy's first-tier cup competition, and is not to be confused with Italy's second-tier cup competition, the Italian Legadue Cup.
The European Women's Hockey League, abbreviated EWHL, is an international ice hockey league. Created as the Elite Women's Hockey League in 2004 by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the EWHL comprises clubs from several countries in Central Europe and one team from Kazakhstan, and is played in parallel to national championships.
UYBA Volley is an Italian professional women's volleyball club based in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese. The team currently plays in the Serie A1, Italy's highest professional league.
KK Bosna Meridianbet is a professional basketball team based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most successful Bosnian club of all time, having been the EuroLeague champion by winning the 1978–79 FIBA European Champions Cup. The club competes in the Basketball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the University Sport Society USD Bosna.
The Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise, formally known as Hockey club de Cergy-Pontoise, are a French ice hockey club based in Cergy, Val-d'Oise and representing the Cergy-Pontoise agglomeration. As of the 2021–22 season, they are the top ranked hockey team in the Paris Region, and the only one playing at the highest level of the French ice hockey pyramid, the Ligue Magnus.
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