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 Slovakia men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Slovakia and is controlled by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. A successor to the Czechoslovakia national team, it is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world. The team's general manager is Miroslav Šatan and their head coach is Craig Ramsay.
The Latvian men's national ice hockey team represents Latvia in international ice hockey. The team is ranked 11th in the world by IIHF as of 2022. The team is controlled by the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. Their best ever finish at the World Championships was 7th place in 1997, 2004 and 2009. At the 2018 World Championship the team finished 8th. Latvia reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 Winter Olympics, losing 2–1 to Canada. Latvia has 7,898 registered players.
The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. It is 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, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 85,000 male players officially enrolled in organized hockey.
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 a 2022 ban, 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 Switzerland men's national ice hockey team is a founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and is controlled by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.
The Belarusian men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team that represented Belarus. The team is controlled by the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association. Belarus was ranked 14th in the world by the IIHF as of the 2021 World Ranking.
The France men's national ice hockey team has participated in the IIHF European Championships, the IIHF World Hockey Championships and the Olympic Games. As of 2016, it is ranked 14th in the world in the IIHF World Rankings. The team is overseen by the Fédération Française de Hockey sur Glace. Notable recent wins include upsets against Russia at the 2013 IIHF World Championship, Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Championship, and a triumphant 5–1 over Finland as the tournament host of 2017 IIHF World Championship.
The Italian men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Italy, and is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG), a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Italian women's national ice hockey team, a.k.a. Blue Ladies, represents Italy at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG). Italy has about 490 female players in 2011.
The Spanish men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Spain. The team is administered by the Spanish Ice Sports Federation, itself a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As of April 2020, the Spanish men's national program is 31st on the IIHF World Rankings and has 135 registered players. The men's national team currently competes at the IIHF World Championship Division II, Group A level.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 member countries.
The 2014 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Belarus in its capital, Minsk, held from 9–25 May 2014. Sixteen national teams were competing in two venues, the Minsk-Arena and Chizhovka-Arena. It was the first time Belarus hosted the tournament. The selection of Belarus to host this competition was the subject of much debate, with some politicians in both Europe and the United States calling for the IIHF to move the tournament to another country.
IIHF European Women's Champions Cup (EWCC) was an annual women's ice hockey club tournament, contested by the national women's ice hockey champions from several European ice hockey playing nations. The event was established and organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The competition format included two group phases followed by a final round. Each phase was played as a round robin in groups of four teams each.
Alexander Egger is an Italian professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently Captaining Italian club, HCB South Tyrol in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). He also represents the Italian men's National ice hockey team. In the 2013–14 season, Egger led HCB to the EBEL championship in their inaugural Austrian season.
Giulio Scandella is a Canadian-born Italian professional ice hockey player. He is currently a free agent having last played for the Les Pétroliers du Nord of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH).
The ice hockey competitions of the 2014 Winter Olympics were played at two venues, located 300 meters from the other, within the Olympic Park in Sochi, Russia. The Bolshoy Ice Dome, which seats 12,000, resembles a Fabergé egg. The Shayba Arena, seating 7,000, was supposed to be a moveable structure but eventually stayed in Sochi. Both venues are international sized.
The 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 39th edition of Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from December 26, 2014 to January 5, 2015. It was co-hosted by Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and organized by Hockey Canada, Hockey Quebec, the Ontario Hockey Federation, the Montreal Canadiens, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment and Evenko. Games were split between Air Canada Centre in Toronto and Bell Centre in Montreal, with Montreal hosting Group A matches and two quarter finals, and Toronto hosting Group B, along with the relegation games, two quarter finals, along with the semi-finals, bronze medal, and gold medal games.
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