European Trophy

European Trophy

Current season or competition: 2011 European Trophy
Official European Trophy logo
Formerly	Nordic Trophy (2006–2009)
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	2006
Commissioner	Bo Lennartsson
Inaugural season	2006
No. of teams	24
Country(ies)	Austria (2 teams)  Czech Republic (7 teams)  Finland (6 teams)  Germany (2 teams)  Slovakia (1 team)  Sweden (6 teams)
Most recent champion(s)	Eisbären Berlin
Qualification	Invitation
Related competitions	European Trophy Junior Tournament
Official website	EuropeanTrophy.com

European Trophy (previously named Nordic Trophy between 2006 and 2009) is a pre-season ice hockey tournament, traditionally composed of teams from some of the higher-level ice hockey leagues in countries across Europe. With 24 participating teams from six different countries as of 2011, European Trophy is currently the biggest active pre-season ice hockey tournament in Europe.^[1] Sweden and Finland were the only two countries participating when the tournament was named "Nordic Trophy". No team has ever won the tournament more than one time.

The tournament was inaugurated in 2006. In 2007 the tournament expanded from six to eight teams and included the respective clubs' junior team. In 2008 the league expanded again with another two teams.

In 2010, the tournament changed name to European Trophy and featured clubs also from Norway, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria, in addition to the Finnish and Swedish clubs.^[2]

In 2011, the tournament included 24 teams. Slovakia was for the first time represented in the tournament, but Norway and Switzerland were not represented.

Teams

In 2006 and 2007, the Nordic Trophy consisted of four Swedish teams, Djurgården, Frölunda, Färjestad and Linköping; and four Finnish teams, HIFK, Oulun Kärpät, Tappara and TPS. In 2008, the tournament was expanded with two teams, Swedish team HV71 and Finnish team Jokerit. It got expanded again in 2009, when Malmö Redhawks from Sweden and Lukko from Finland.^[3] However, the Swedish and Finnish teams were split that year and instead, there were two tournaments: a Swedish 2009 Nordic Trophy tournament for the Swedish teams only; and a Finnish 2009 Nordic Trophy tournament for the Finnish teams only.

In 2010, the tournament became European. Lukko from Finland disappeared, and was replaced by fellow Nordic team Vålerenga from Norway. Adler Mannheim and Eisbären Berlin from Germany, and Czech team Sparta Praha, completed the Capital Division; while Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg, along with Bern and ZSC Lions from Switzerland, completed the Central Division. These new teams prompted the changing of the tournament name to European Trophy.

In the 2011 tournament, Sweden and Finland were represented by six teams each. Luleå HF replaced the Swedish team Malmö Redhawks. From Finland, KalPa was for the first time included in the tournament. Seven teams from the Czech Republic participated: HC Slavia Praha, HC Sparta Praha, HC Mountfield České Budějovice, HC Liberec, HC Pardubice, HC Plzeň 1929, and HC Kometa Brno. The German teams Eisbären Berlin and Adler Mannheim remained in the tournament. Besides EC Red Bull Salzburg, there was now a second team from Austria, the Vienna Capitals. Slovakia was for the first time represented in the European Trophy tournament, with HC Slovan Bratislava. Norway and Switzerland, however, were no longer represented.^[4]

Frölunda

HV71

TPS

Oulun Kärpät

Tappara

Salzburg

Eisbären Berlin

Mannheim

Djurgården

Luleå

Färjestad

Linköping

Jokerit/HIFK

Sparta/Slavia

Liberec

Pardubice

Brno

KalPa

Č. Buděj.

Plzeň

Vienna

Bratislava

2011 European Trophy teams (Divisions: : South, : North, : West, : East)

Division	Team	City	Home arena	Capacity	Joined NT/ET
North	Djurgårdens IF	Stockholm	Hovet	8,094	2006
	HIFK	Helsinki	Helsinki Ice Hall	8,200	2006
	Jokerit	Helsinki	Hartwall Areena	13,349	2008
	Sparta Praha	Prague	Tesla Arena	16,995	2010
	Slavia Praha	Prague	O2 Arena	18,000	2011
	Luleå HF	Luleå	Coop Arena	6,200	2011
South	Linköpings HC	Linköping	Cloetta Center	8,500	2006
	HV71	Jönköping	Kinnarps Arena	7,038	2008
	Adler Mannheim	Mannheim	SAP Arena	10,600	2010
	Bílí Tygři Liberec	Liberec	Tipsport Arena	7,500	2011
	ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	Pardubice	ČEZ Aréna	10,194	2011
	Kometa Brno	Brno	Hala Rondo	7,200	2011
East	Oulun Kärpät	Oulu	Oulun Energia Areena	6,614	2006
	KalPa	Kuopio	Kuopion Jäähalli	5225	2011
	Mountfield České Budějovice	České Budějovice	Budvar Arena	6,421	2011
	Plzeň 1929	Plzeň	ČEZ Aréna	8,420	2011
	Slovan Bratislava	Bratislava	Slovnaft Arena	10,000	2011
	Vienna Capitals	Vienna	Albert Schultz Eishalle	4,500	2011
West	Färjestads BK	Karlstad	Löfbergs Lila Arena	8,647	2006
	Frölunda Indians	Gothenburg	Scandinavium	12,044	2006
	TPS	Turku	HK Arena	11,820	2006
	Tappara	Tampere	Hakametsä Areena	7,800	2006
	Eisbären Berlin	Berlin	O2 World	14,200	2010
	Red Bull Salzburg	Salzburg	Eisarena Salzburg	3,200	2010

Tournament structure

The official playoff logo

In the 2011 edition of the European Trophy, the tournament is divided into regular round games between August and September, when teams play each other in a predefined schedule, and a playoff weekend in December which is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the European Trophy Champion.^[4]

Regular round games

In the regular round games, the 24 teams are divided into four divisions and each team plays against each other team in the same division, and an additional three games against teams from the other divisions, for a total of eight games per team. Points are awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for a win in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or penalty shots, one point for losing in overtime or penalty shots, and zero points for a loss in regulation time. The two highest ranked teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. However, the worst second ranked team out of all four divisions misses the playoffs if EC Red Bull Salzburg qualify as hosts.

Playoffs

The European Trophy playoffs are played as the Red Bull Salute in Salzburg and Vienna during a weekend in December. It is a single-elimination tournament, where two teams play against each other in order to advance to the next round.

Trophies and awards

At the end of the final weekend, the winner of the final game is crowned the European Trophy Champions. There are four player awards based on their statistics during the tournament: the RBK Nordic Star, best goalkeeper, best defencemen and best forward.^[5]

Winners

Nordic Trophy
Year	Regular round winners	Playoff winners (Nordic Trophy Champions)
2006	Färjestads BK	Färjestads BK
2007	Oulun Kärpät	Oulun Kärpät
2008	Linköpings HC	Linköpings HC
2009	HV71 (Swedish tournament)	Djurgårdens IF (Swedish tournament)
	Lukko (Finnish tournament)	Tappara (Finnish tournament)
European Trophy
Year	Regular round winners	Playoff winners (European Trophy Champions)
2010	HV71	Eisbären Berlin
2011	Plzeň 1929	TBD

References

1. ^ "Luleå debuterar i European Trophy" (in Swedish). Sportal. 2011-08-12. http://www.sportal.se/ishockey/elitserien/lulea-debuterar-i-european-trophy. Retrieved 2011-09-06. 
2. ^ "European Clubs form European Trophy pre-season tournament". EuropeanTrophy.com. http://www.europeantrophy.com/news.php?news=1. Retrieved 29 March 2010. 
3. ^ "Nordic Trophy 2009 becomes a Swedish affair". Nordic Trophy. NordicTrophy.com. 2009-06-16. http://www.nordictrophy.com/news.php?news=132. Retrieved 2009-06-16. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Så blir European Trophy 2011" (in Swedish). Hockeysverige. 2011-05-17. http://hockeysverige.se/article/11795411/sa-blir-european-trophy-2011. Retrieved 2011-05-17. 
5. ^ Gyllander, Peter (2007-09-08). "Kärpät Champions". Nordic Trophy Ice Hockey Tournament. NordicTrophy.com. http://www.nordictrophy.com/news.php?news=35. Retrieved 2008-09-05. 

External links

• European Trophy official website
• Nordic Trophy statistics

See also

• European Trophy Junior