Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
SportIce hockey
Founded1991; 33 years ago (1991)
No. of teams8
CountriesSlovakia, Czech Republic, Canada
Most recent
champion(s)
Canada (25th title)
(2024)

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an annual international under-18 ice hockey tournament administered by Hockey Canada, the Czech Ice Hockey Association, and the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation.

Held since 1991, it has been contested under various titles and in various countries, including Japan, Mexico, and Canada. From 1997 through 2017, hosting duties for the event alternated between, and were later split between, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. During this period, the event was known as the Nations Cup, the U-18 Junior World Cup, and Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. From 2018 through 2023, the tournament alternated between Edmonton/Red Deer, Alberta and Břeclav, Czech Republic/Piešťany, Slovakia.

The event is not sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which holds its own U18 championship in April.

The tournament is a prominent pre-season showcase for National Hockey League (NHL) prospects; 17 players on Canada's winning team from 2017 were selected with first-round picks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

History

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The tournament started in 1991, hosted by Japan for the first three years, as well as the fifth. In its first year, it was known as the Phoenix Cup, after which the Pacific Cup moniker was adopted (with the exception of 1994, when Mexico served as the host country and the tournament was known as La Copa Mexico).

In 1996, the tournament was first held in Canada. Beginning in 1997, four years after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia began alternating as hosts, and the tournament was renamed the Nations Cup. The two countries alternated until 2003, then co-hosted from 2003 through 2017. At this time, it was also renamed the U-18 Junior World Cup.

In 2007, the event was renamed the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in honour of prominent Czech player Ivan Hlinka—who had died in a vehicle accident in 2004.[1]

In January 2018, Hockey Canada announced that the 2018 edition would be co-hosted by Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, in association with Oilers Entertainment Group and the Czech and Slovak ice hockey federations, and that the event had been renamed the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, honouring Edmonton Oilers hall of famer Wayne Gretzky and Czech legend Ivan Hlinka.[2] The tournament will alternate between Edmonton/Red Deer and Břeclav/Piešťany annually through 2022.[1][3]

The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Canada did not participate in the 2021 tournament—with Germany replacing them. It was announced that this hosting cycle would be extended through 2023.[4]

Due to the 2022 World Junior Championships being rescheduled for August in Edmonton shortly after the event, the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was played exclusively in Red Deer.[5]

Historically, the tournament has been dominated by Canada. Over 29 years, the country has won 22 times and medalled in each year except 2003, 2007, 2016 and 2021.

Results

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Year Gold Silver Bronze 4th Host Cities
1991  Soviet Union  Canada  United States  Japan Sapporo / Yokohama, Japan
1992  Canada  Russia  Japan  United States Tokyo, Japan
1993  Russia  United States  Canada  Japan Yokohama, Japan
1994  Canada  United States  Russia  Japan Mexico City, Mexico
1995  Russia  Canada  United States  Japan Yokohama, Japan
1996  Canada  United States  Finland  Japan Nelson / Castlegar, Canada
1997  Canada  Czech Republic  Slovakia Jihlava / Žďár nad Sázavou / Znojmo, Czech Republic
1998  Canada  Czech Republic  Slovakia  Belarus Bratislava / Trnava, Slovakia
1999  Canada  United States  Czech Republic  Slovakia Havlíčkův Brod / Třebíč / Znojmo, Czech Republic
2000  Canada  United States  Czech Republic  Slovakia Kežmarok, Slovakia
2001  Canada  Czech Republic  Russia   Switzerland Kolín / Mladá Boleslav / Nymburk, Czech Republic
2002  Canada  Czech Republic  Russia   Switzerland / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2003  United States  Russia  Czech Republic  Canada / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2004  Canada  Czech Republic  Sweden  United States / Břeclav/Hodonín, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2005  Canada  Czech Republic  Finland  Russia / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2006  Canada  United States  Russia  Sweden / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2007  Sweden  Finland  Russia  Canada / Hodonín, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2008  Canada  Russia  Sweden  Finland / Piešťany, Slovakia / Břeclav, Czech Republic
2009  Canada  Russia  Sweden  United States / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2010  Canada  United States  Sweden  Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia / Břeclav, Czech Republic
2011  Canada  Sweden  Russia  Finland / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2012  Canada  Finland  Sweden  Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia / Břeclav, Czech Republic
2013  Canada  United States  Czech Republic  Russia / Piešťany, Slovakia / Břeclav, Czech Republic
2014  Canada  Czech Republic  United States  Sweden / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2015  Canada  Sweden  Russia  Finland / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Bratislava, Slovakia
2016  Czech Republic  United States  Russia  Sweden / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Bratislava, Slovakia
2017  Canada  Czech Republic  Sweden  Russia / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Bratislava, Slovakia
2018  Canada  Sweden  Russia  United States Edmonton / Red Deer, Canada
2019  Russia  Canada  Sweden  Finland / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2020 Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Edmonton / Red Deer, Canada
2021  Russia  Slovakia  Sweden  Finland / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Piešťany, Slovakia
2022  Canada  Sweden  Finland  Czech Republic Red Deer, Canada
2023  Canada  Czech Republic  United States  Finland / Břeclav, Czech Republic / Trenčín, Slovakia
2024  Canada  Czech Republic  Sweden  United States Edmonton, Canada [7]
2025
2026 Alberta, Canada [7]

Medal leaders

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Country Gold Silver Bronze Medals
 Canada 25 3 1 29
 Russia /  Soviet Union 5 4 9 18
 United States 1 9 4 14
 Czech Republic 1 10 4 15
 Sweden 1 4 9 14
 Finland 0 2 3 5
 Slovakia 0 1 2 3
 Japan 0 0 1 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c Matheson, Jim (August 4, 2018). "Hlinka Gretzky Cup the first step to possible NHL stardom". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "HLINKA GRETZKY CUP COMING TO ROGERS PLACE AND SERVUS ARENA IN RED DEER". Hockey Canada. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  3. ^ s.r.o., eSports.cz. "Hlinka Gretzky Cup introduced in Edmonton". Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup official website. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Derek (August 7, 2021). "Russian repeat at Hlinka Gretzky Cup". IIHF. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Hall, Josh (April 20, 2022). "Red Deer to host entire Hlinka Gretzky Cup". Lethbridge News Now. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "Hockey Canada statement on 2020 Hlinka Gretzky Cup". Hockey Canada.
  7. ^ a b "International Hockey Returning to Alberta". Hockey Canada. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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