Ice hockey has been contested as a sport in the Winter Deaflympics since 1975. In the Winter Deaflympic history, ice hockey has been contested only for men on 8 occasions (1975,1991,1995,1999,2003,2007,2015 and 2019). [1]
In the inaugural men's ice hockey tournament, only Canada and United States were eligible to compete way back in 1975.
Canada and United States have been the most successful nations as they have won the most number of medals in the sporting event since 1975. Both US and Canada are the only teams to win medals in the ice hockey competitions they have competed.
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 |  Canada |  United States | not awarded |
| 1991 |  Soviet Union | United States | Canada |
| 1995 | United States | Canada |  Russia |
| 1999 | Canada | United States |  Finland |
| 2003 | Canada | Russia | United States |
| 2007 | United States | Canada | Russia |
| 2015 | Russia | Canada | United States |
| 2019 | United States | Canada | Russia |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 |  United States | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 |  Russia | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 |  Soviet Union | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 |  Finland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 | |
Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a vulcanized rubber hockey puck into the other team's net. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of playing time is declared the winner; ties are broken in overtime or a shootout. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender. It is a full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports.
The Winter Olympic Games, also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 394 CE. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the games that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After those games, the next were to be held in 1998 when the four-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948, were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936.
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter Olympics, the first being in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo; Italy had also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome.
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad and commonly known as Rome 1960, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, the city had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London. The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals at the 1960 Games.
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
The Canada men's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. From 1920 until 1963, Canada's international representation was by senior amateur club teams. Canada's national men's team was founded in 1963 by Father David Bauer as a part of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, playing out of the University of British Columbia. The nickname "Team Canada" was first used for the 1972 Summit Series and has been frequently used to refer to both the Canadian national men's and women's teams ever since.
The Russian men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Russia, overseen by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. As of 2021, they were rated third in the IIHF World Ranking. The team has competed internationally from 1992 until it was provisionally suspended in 2022, and is recognized by the IIHF as the successor to the Soviet Union team and CIS team. Russia has been one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six," the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. The European nations of the Big Six participate in the Euro Hockey Tour, which Russia won nine times since 2005. Since September 2021, the head coach is Alexei Zhamnov, who took over from Valeri Bragin.
Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Other major professional games include curling, basketball, baseball, soccer, and football. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by numerous "Halls of Fame" and museums, such as Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, was the 12th Olympic Championship. Games were held at the Makomanai Ice Arena and at the Tsukisamu Indoor Skating Rink. The Soviet Union won its fourth gold medal. The United States won the silver, while Czechoslovakia won the bronze. Canada did not send a team to the event for the first time since ice hockey was first competed at the Olympics in 1920, instead competing with and defeating the Soviets in a competition later that year known as the Summit Series. Canada would not send a men's hockey team to the Olympics until 1980.
Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, in France. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held in late December, ending in early January. The tournament usually attracts the top hockey players in this age category.
Canada has sent athletes to every Winter Olympic Games and every Summer Olympic Games since its debut at the 1900 games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, which it boycotted along with the USA and other countries. Canada has won at least one medal at every Olympics in which it has competed. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is the National Olympic Committee for Canada.
Because of their proximity and similar sporting cultures, Canada and United States are frequent rivals in a wide variety of international sports.
The women's tournament in ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held in Sochi, Russia.
Water polo is a water sport which has been contested at the Summer Deaflympics on 11 occasions. Water polo was recognised as a sporting event at the Deaflympics for the first time in 1949 with only two nations competing in the event. Water polo was contested only for men in the Deaflympic history and raised question marks regarding the availability of the sport at the Deaflympics.
Canada competed at the 2019 Winter Deaflympics which were held in Valtellina and Valchiavenna, Italy, from December 12 to 21, 2019. Canada was one of the 34 nations to compete at the multi-sport event. This was the nation's 15th appearance at the Winter Deaflympics, having regularly participated at the event since making its debut in 1953.
The United States competed at the 2019 Winter Deaflympics which was held in Valtellina and Valchiavenna, Italy, from December 12 to 21, 2019. The United States was one of the 34 nations to compete at the multi-sport event. This was the nation's 12th appearance at the Winter Deaflympics, having regularly participated at the event since making its debut in 1967. 42 athletes represented the United States at the Deaflympics in all six sporting events including chess, cross-country skiing, curling, ice hockey, alpine skiing, and snowboarding.
Russia competed at the 2019 Winter Deaflympics held between 12 and 21st December 2019 in Province of Sondrio in Northern Italy. Russian competitors won medals in each of the sports contested at the games and the country finished in 1st place in the medal table.