The Para Hockey Cup, formerly the World Sledge Hockey Challenge (WSHC) and Canadian Tire Para Ice Hockey Cup is an annual international ice sledge hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada and the IPC Sledge Hockey. The tournament is an invitational format to bring four of the strongest ice sledge hockey teams together for international competition.

Para Hockey Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Para Hockey Cup
SportSledge hockey
First season2007
Most recent
champion(s)
 United States
Most titles United States (10)
TV partner(s)TSN
Sponsor(s)Hockey Canada
IPC Sledge Hockey
Related
competitions
World Para Ice Hockey Championships
Paralympics
Official websiteWorld Sledge Hockey Challenge

The tournament features four teams per year and has seen teams from Canada, the United States, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, China and the Czech Republic.

History

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The tournament was created in 2007 by Hockey Canada. The idea behind the tournament was to give an opportunity for international level play during non-Paralympic years.

The inaugural 2007 tournament was hosted in Kelowna, British Columbia, and featured four teams – Canada, Norway, United States and Germany. Canada captured the inaugural tournament, by defeating Norway 1-0 in overtime in the gold medal game.

The 2008 tournament was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Japan replaced Germany. For the second straight year, Canada defeated Norway in the final. However, Canada dominated the final winning 7-0

In 2009, the United States won their first title. They defeated Canada in overtime 3-2 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. No tournament was held in 2010, owing to the 2010 Winter Paralympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia that year. Instead, two tournaments were held in 2011, in April in London, Ontario, Canada defeated Norway in the final 8-0. In the November tournament that year in Calgary, Alberta, Canada again captured Gold, defeating the United States 4-1 in the final. The 2012 tournament was held again in Calgary, Alberta and saw the United States capture their second gold, defeating Canada 1-0 in the final.

In 2013, the tournament saw a few changes, it was held in Toronto, Ontario for the first time and saw Russia and South Korea replace Japan and Norway in the tournament. South Korea was added in an attempt to help them gain experience before the 2018 Winter Paralympics are held there. Canada captured gold, by defeating the United States 4-1 in the final. Again owing to the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia no tournament was held. It returned in 2015 in Leduc, Alberta.

In 2018, the World Sledge Hockey Challenge was rebranded as the Para Hockey Cup. Sponsored by Canadian Tire, the tournament was officially known as the Canadian Tire Para Ice Hockey Cup.[1]

Champions

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Year       Host City
2007   Canada   Norway   United States Kelowna, British Columbia[2]
2008   Canada   Norway   United States Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island[2]
2009   United States   Canada   Norway Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island[2]
2010 Not held due to 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada
2011
April
  Canada   Norway   United States London, Ontario[2]
2011 November   Canada   United States   Norway Calgary, Alberta[3]
2012   United States   Canada   Norway Calgary, Alberta[4]
2013   Canada   United States   Russia Toronto, Ontario[5]
2014 Not held due to 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia
2015   United States   Russia   Canada Leduc, Alberta[6]
2016 January   United States   Canada   Russia Bridgewater, Nova Scotia[7]
2016 December   United States   Canada   South Korea Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island[7]
2017   United States   Canada   South Korea Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island[7]
2018   United States   Canada   South Korea London, Ontario[8]
2019   United States   Canada   Russia Paradise, Newfoundland & Labrador[2]
2020 Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[9] Bridgewater, Nova Scotia[9]
2021 Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
2022   United States   Canada   Czech Republic Bridgewater, Nova Scotia[10]
2023   United States   Canada   Czech Republic Quispamsis, New Brunswick[11]

Medal table

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Country   Gold   Silver   Bronze Medals
  United States 10 2 3 15
  Canada 5 9 1 15
  Norway 0 3 4 7
  Russia 0 1 2 3
  South Korea 0 0 3 3
  Czech Republic 0 0 2 2
  Japan 0 0 0 0
  Italy 0 0 0 0
  Germany 0 0 0 0

All-time team records

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Up to date as of December 2023

Rank Team GP W L OTL GF GA +/-
1   United States 67 54 12 1 306 91 + 215
2   Canada 67 50 12 5 311 88 + 223
3   Norway 32 13 17 2 73 115 - 42
4   Russia 20 8 11 1 55 43 - 12
5   South Korea 29 3 26 0 31 174 - 143
6   Czech Republic 10 2 8 0 12 61 - 49
7   Japan 23 1 21 1 22 157 - 135
8   Italy 10 0 9 1 10 72 - 62
9   Germany 4 0 4 0 5 24 - 19

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "World Sledge Hockey Challenge rebranded as Para Hockey Cup as Canadian Tire become title sponsor". Insidethegames.biz. June 27, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "CANADIAN TIRE PARA HOCKEY CUP GUIDE AND RECORD BOOK" (PDF). Hockey Canada.
  3. ^ 2011 WSHC Schedule
  4. ^ 2012 WSHC Schedule
  5. ^ 2013 WSHC Championship Schedule
  6. ^ 2015 WSHC Schedule
  7. ^ a b c "WSHC".
  8. ^ 2018 WSHC Championship Schedule
  9. ^ a b "Hockey Canada statement announcing Fall 2020 event rescheduling". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  10. ^ 2023 Para Hockey Cup
  11. ^ "McGregor, Cozzolino lead Canada over China to open Para Hockey Cup in N.B." CBC News. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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