| Karjala Tournament Karjala-turnaus | |
|---|---|
 Peter Forsberg representing Sweden during the 2009 tournament | |
| Status | active |
| Genre | sporting event |
| Date(s) | November |
| Frequency | annual |
| Location(s) | Helsinki |
| Country | Finland |
| Inaugurated | 1995 |
The Karjala Tournament (Finnish : Karjala-turnaus), also known as Karjala Cup, is an annual ice hockey event held in Finland. The name comes from the sponsoring beer brand Karjala.
The tournament started in 1992 as the Sauna Cup. [1] In December 1995, the tournament was played as Christmas Cup at the same time as the Izvestija Trophy tournament, just before the Christmas holiday, causing Russia to send a reserve team to the Christmas Cup. [2]
In 1996, the tournament was moved to early November under the sponsorship of Karjala under the name Karjala Tournament. It became part of the annual Euro Hockey Tour (EHT), in which the national teams of Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden compete in a series of tournaments. The event has continued to be held every November, with the exception of 2001 when the tournament was pushed back to April 2002.
Final standings in each event are determined in a round-robin tournament. If teams are tied in points, the standing is determined by the result of the game between the tied teams.
| Pos | Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Medals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Finland | 13 | 9 | 3 | 25 |
| 2 |  CIS  Russia | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 3 |  Sweden | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
| 4 |  Czechoslovakia Czech Republic | 3 | 9 | 7 | 19 |
| 5 |  Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 |  France | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 United States | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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.
The Beijer Hockey Games is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Sweden as part of the Euro Hockey Tour. It was cancelled after the 2013–14 season. However, on 19 January 2016, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced the tournament to be restarted for the 2016–17 season. The tournament was also known as the LG Hockey Games between 2006 and 2011, and the Oddset Hockey Games between 2012 and 2014, while under sponsorship naming rights.
The Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) is an annual ice hockey tournament open to only the national men's teams of the Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. Most of the teams use the competition as a preparation for the upcoming World Championships or Olympics, allowing less experienced players to collect valuable ice time in their national colours.
The Channel One Cup is an annual ice hockey event held in Russia under the auspices of Channel One. It is an open tournament typically composed of various national teams.
2007–08 Euro Hockey Tour is the 12th edition of Euro Hockey Tour. There are only four teams: Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden are competing.
2008–09 Euro Hockey Tour is the 13th edition of Euro Hockey Tour. There are only four teams: Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden are competing.
2009–10 Euro Hockey Tour is the 14th edition of Euro Hockey Tour. There are only four teams: Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden are competing.
The 2005–06 Euro Hockey Tour was the tenth season of the Euro Hockey Tour. The season consisted of four tournaments, the Česká Pojišťovna Cup, Karjala Tournament, Rosno Cup, and the LG Hockey Games. The top two teams met in the final, and the third and fourth place teams met for the third place game.
The 2002–03 Euro Hockey Tour was the seventh season of the Euro Hockey Tour. The season consisted of four tournaments, the Česká Pojišťovna Cup, Karjala Tournament, Baltica Brewery Cup, and the Sweden Hockey Games.
The 2011 Karjala Tournament was played between 10 and 13 November 2011. The Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Russia played a round-robin for a total of three games per team and six games in total. Five of the matches were played in the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland, and one match in the Fjällräven Center in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The tournament was won by Russia, who won all their three games. The tournament was part of 2011–12 Euro Hockey Tour.
The 2011–12 Euro Hockey Tour was the 16th season of Euro Hockey Tour. It started on 10 November 2011 and ended on 29 April 2012. A total of 24 games were played, with each team playing 12 games. The season consisted of the Karjala Tournament, the Channel One Cup, the Oddset Hockey Games, and the Kajotbet Hockey Games. The Czech Republic took their first Euro Hockey Tour gold medal since 1997–98, and thus received the largest prize money of €75,000.
The 2015–16 Euro Hockey Tour is the 20th season of Euro Hockey Tour. It started on 5 November 2015 and lasted until 30 April 2016. It consisted of Karjala Cup, Channel One Cup and Euro Hockey Tour Games. Sweden won the tournament.
The 2015 Karjala Tournament was played between 5–8 November 2015. The Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Russia played a round-robin for a total of three games per team and six games in total. Five of the matches were played in the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland, and one match in the Fjällräven Center in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The tournament was won by Sweden. The tournament is part of 2015–16 Euro Hockey Tour.
The 2016 Channel One Cup was played between 15–18 December 2016. The Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Russia played a round-robin for a total of three games per team and six games in total. Five of the matches were played in the VTB Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia, and one match in the Helsingin jäähalli in Helsinki, Finland. The tournament was part of 2016–17 Euro Hockey Tour. Tournament was won by Sweden.
The 2019–20 Euro Hockey Tour was the 24th season of Euro Hockey Tour. It started in November 2019 and lasted until February 2020. It consisted of Karjala Tournament, Channel One Cup and Beijer Hockey Games. The 2020 Carlson Hockey Games were supposed to be part of the tour but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020–21 Euro Hockey Tour was the 25th season of Euro Hockey Tour. It started in November 2020 and lasted until May 2021. It consisted of Karjala Tournament, Channel One Cup, Beijer Hockey Games and Carlson Hockey Games.
The 2021–22 Euro Hockey Tour was the 26th season of Euro Hockey Tour. It started in November 2021 and lasted until May 2022. It consists of Karjala Tournament, Channel One Cup, Carlson Hockey Games and Beijer Hockey Games.
The 2022–23 Euro Hockey Tour was the third season of the Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) since the tournament season format was revised and expanded in 2018. It followed the 2019–20 Women's Euro Hockey Tour, as the 2020–21 and 2021–22 instances of the international ice hockey tournament season were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022–23 Euro Hockey Tour was the 27th season of Euro Hockey Tour. It started in November 2022 and ended in May 2023. It consisted of Karjala Tournament, Swiss Ice Hockey Games, Beijer Hockey Games and Carlson Hockey Games.
The 2024–25 Women's Euro Hockey Tour is the first Women's Euro Hockey Tour (WEHT) season following the joint committment of Czechia, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland to host and participate in the tour through 2028. It is the fifth season since the revision and expansion of the tournament format in 2018.
| Euro Hockey Tour seasons | |
|---|---|
| Karjala Tournament Part of EHT since 1996 | |
 Channel One Cup Part of EHT 1996-2021 |
|
| Sweden Hockey Games Part of EHT since 1997 | |
| Czech Hockey Games Part of EHT since 1997 |
|
| Swiss Ice Hockey Games Part of EHT since 2022 | |
