Such is the Spengler Cup, in which HIFK now participates

Swiss The Spengler Cup held in Davos was played for the first time in 1923. Except for a few intervening years, it has been played almost every year since then. Now it’s the 97th time.

Since the last decade, Finland has had one quota place for each tournament, which has been distributed in recent years to the fourth or fifth place in the regular season, depending on how many CHL places Finland has had.

Since the top three of the last regular season went to the CHL, the fourth-placed HIFK got a place in Spengler.

Otherwise like in the CHL, which is heavily losing and the clubs are playing by the teeth, in the Spengler Cup you don’t have to worry about spending money – even though it is played in Davos, one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

The organizer pays the participating teams luxury violins and travel days. On top of that, there is also a participation fee, which clubs traditionally use to pay for the family members of players and office staff to go on a nice trip.

“There will be no costs for the club in practice. With us, everyone can also take avec with them on the trip if they wish”, CEO of HIFK Ilkka Kortesluoma tells.

Also, for example, HIFK’s top players who are injured Jori Lehterä and Iiro Pakarinen go along as tour guides on a trip to the pearl of the Alps.

On top of all that, the Spengler Cup also pays the winner of the tournament a prize amount of hundreds of thousands of euros. Among Finnish teams, the tournament has only been won by KalPa in 2018.

HIFK has participated in the tournament Four times before (1994, 1995, 2004, 2022).

“I myself was able to participate three years ago. I had no idea beforehand what to expect, but it was perfect top-notch. They do know how to organize tournaments. Everything was taken care of to the last detail”, recalls Kortesluoma.

HIFK goes on a trip on Boxing Day and returns on New Year’s Eve. The club has good experience from the previous tournament, because in 2022 the Spengler Cup eventually became a kind of turning point in HIFK’s season that started miserably.

Sanoman puck expert Top Nättinen sign that the trip to the Spengler Cup is an unparalleled experience for the teams.

Nättinen himself got to participate in the tournament with TPS in 2019, even though he was on the sidelines due to injury at the time.

“A really good trip and an incredibly great event. A private plane picked me up from Turku airport, and everything exuded the atmosphere of the big world. I have participated in many kinds of tournaments over the years, but this is by far the best organized event,” says Nättinen.

“A picturesque village that lives and breathes hockey during the Spengler Cup. Money can be seen and smelled everywhere. Each team has its own hotels and meeting and dining facilities and everything else you could ask for.”

“The team gets a little break from normal everyday life and really gets a taste of the mood of the world.”

of HIFK and in addition to the host team HC Davos, this year’s tournament will be attended by the Swiss Fribourg, the Czech Sparta Prague, Canada’s faded national team from Europe, and a special team assembled from American universities, which entertains players booked by various NHL clubs.

Although in Finland the Spengler Cup traditionally does not enjoy much attention, in addition to Switzerland, especially in North America, it has a legendary reputation.

The matches of the tournament are televised in both the USA and Canada, and the Canadian team’s support group includes many former NHL head coaches or GMs every year.

This year’s head coach of Canada will be a long-time NHL commander Michel Therrien to help, among other things, who coached in the NHL last season Drew Bannister.

One week’s reinforcements are also often brought in for the tournament. HIFK also got a couple of them on loan Ville Peltonen coached by Geneva.

Read more: Two new players to HIFK on short-term contracts

“Although there is of course also money to be played there, it is above all entertainment. A so-called no-stakes tournament trip in the middle of the season, where everyone has fun,” says Nättinen.

“However, it’s not exactly a fun tournament. In every game, the hall is full, the mood is in the roof and the players are excited. Yes, you really want to win there, even if maybe you don’t see every tackle to the end, or a loss certainly doesn’t bother anyone terribly.”

The tournament is even played in the world’s most beautiful ice rink in Davos, which resembles a church with its exceptional wooden structures.

In Nättinen’s opinion, the greatest value of the Spengler Cup for the teams is in the sense of community.

“The team gets a little break from normal everyday life and really gets a taste of the mood of the world. Even though the trip is tight-paced, there is still free time to do something else with the group. The whole milieu is incredibly great.”

“Whenever the team is on a trip, it does get welded together by force. This is a great opportunity for the team to take advantage of the spring season, even in terms of sports,” says Nättinen.

HIFK will start the tournament on Saturday 27.12. with a match against the loser of the Fribourg–Prague game. HIFK will face the winner on Sunday. These three teams form a group.

Each team will have 3–5 matches in the tournament, depending on success. The winners of both groups go directly to the semi-finals, and the runners-up and third-place finishers play cross-quarters (2v3).

In the best – or worst – case, HIFK can play the match five days straight, culminating in the New Year’s Eve final.