Viking Cup

The Viking Cup is a world ice hockey tournament in Camrose, Alberta. In 2002 there was a mix of international and Canadian junior leagues allstar teams but in 2004 there was only international junior teams. In 2006, the tournament was divided into two divisions: a junior division and a university division. The university tournament consisted of Augustana, the University of Lethbridge, and Guelph University."'Hosted by Augustana University College (formerly Camrose Lutheran College), the tournament has attracted teams from Sweden, Finland, the former Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, the United States, Norway, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The tournament was one of the first to attract the Soviet juniors to North America.

The players are billeted by local families, living with them for the 2 to 3 weeks the tournament occurs. The tournament enjoys great support from the community as many others volunteer to assist with the tournament.

Notable NHLers to have appeared in the tournament include Dominik Hasek, Petr Klima, Sergei Zubov, Milan Hejduk, and Darius Kasparaitis. Well over a hundred Viking Cup alumni have played in the NHL and many more have been drafted. It is popular amongst scouts because it brings together a large selection of undrafted European and North American players.

Problems developed in the late 1990s as the Canadian Jr. A teams, which were popular with fans, were allowed to play with some 20 year old players. This upset the European teams (which were all Under-18) and led to unbalanced games with the North American teams dominating their younger European opponents.

The Viking Cup organizing committee announced on June 6, 2007 that the 2008 edition of the Viking Cup would include 12 junior teams (Under 18) from around Western Canada, the United States, and potentially Europe. This tournament will be run by a local organizing committee and, while Augustana will remain a sponsor, it will not manage the organization of the event.

VIKING CUP '81
Gold Medal Game: TPS (Finland) 8, Prince Albert (WHL) 6; Bronze Medal Game: Red Deer 6, Centennial (3)

Order of Placement: TPS Juniors, Prince Albert Raiders, Red Deer College Kings, Centennial College Colts, AIK Juniors, Camrose Lutheran College VikingsFuture NHLers included: James Patrick, Hannu Virta, Dave Tippett, Mats Thelin, and Greg Paslawski"'VIKING CUP '82"'
Gold Medal Game: CSSR 11, Prince Albert 3; Bronze Medal Game: Vaestra Frolunda 7, Camrose 3

Order of Placement: CSSR (Czechoslovakia) Junior Selects, Prince Albert Raiders, Vaestra Frolunda Juniors (Sweden), Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, SAIT Trojans, Revelstoke Rockets

Future NHLers included: Petr Klima, Dominik Hasek, Mikael Andersson, Dave Pilon

VIKING CUP '84
Gold Medal Game: NAIT 3, CSSR 0; Bronze Medal Game: Camrose 7, St. Paul 5

Order of Placement: NAIT Ooks, CSSR Junior Selects, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, St. Paul Vulcans, IFK Juniors, St. Albert Saints

Future NHLers: David Volek

VIKING CUP '86
Gold Medal Game: NAIT 5, Camrose 1; Bronze Medal Game: CSSR 15, Karpat 5

Order of Placement:NAIT Ooks, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, CSSR Juniors, Karpat Juniors, AIK Juniors, Notre Dame HoundsFuture NHLers: Kev Lovsin, Dean Clark, Frantisek Kucera

VIKING CUP '88
Gold Medal Game: University of Alberta 6, CSSR 2; Bronze Medal Game: USSR 7, AIK 4

Order of Placement: University of Alberta Golden Bears, CSSR Junior Selects, USSR Junior Selects, AIK Juniors, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, Red Deer College Kings, TPS Juniors, University of Arizona Ice Cats

Future NHLers: Sergei Zubov, Roman Turek, Brent Severyn, Igor Korolev, Alexander Godynyuk, Bobby Holik, Andrei Kovalenko

VIKING CUP '90
Gold Medal Game: McGill 6, CSSR 3; Bronze Medal Game: USSR 5, University of Lethbridge 3

Order of Placement: McGill University Redmen, CSSR Junior Selects, USSR Junior Selects, University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, Red Deer College Kings, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings

Future NHLers: Boris Mironov, Sergei Zholtok, Martin Straka, Jozef Stumpel, Robert Petrovicky, Milan Hnilicka, Darius Kasparitis, Ziggy Palffy

VIKING CUP '92
Gold Medal Game: University of New Brunswick 4, CIS 2; Bronze Medal Game: NAIT 3, CFSR 2

Order of Placement: UNB Red Devils, CIS Junior Selects, NAIT Ooks, CFSR (Czechoslovakia) Junior Selects, Farjestad Elite Juniors, Augustana University College Vikings

Future NHLers: Sergei Brylin, Pavol Demitra, Jozef Cierny, Andrei Nazarov, Sergei Gonchar, David Vyborny

VIKING CUP '94
Gold Medal Game: Russia 7, Dauphin 1; Bronze Medal Game: Mount Royal 6, Vaestra Froelunda 3

Order of Placement: Russia National Junior "18" Selects, Dauphin Kings, Mount Royal College Cougars, Vaestra Froelunda Juniors, Czech Republic National Junior "18" Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, Finland National Junior "18" Selects, Augsburg College Auggies

Future NHLers: Milan Hejduk, P.J. Axelsson, Jan Hrdina, Patrick Elias, Vaclav Varada, Tomas Vokoun

VIKING CUP '96
Gold Medal Game: Finland 6, USA 2; Bronze Medal Game: Augustana 6, AJHL 5

Order of Placement: Finland Jr. "18" Selects, USA Jr "20" B Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, AJHL All Star Selects, Czech Republic Jr. "18" Selects, North Battleford North Stars, Russia Jr. "18" Selects, Sweden Jr. "18" Selects

Future NHLers: Mika Noronen, Kristian Huselius, Olli Jokinen, Oleg Kvasha, Fernando Pisani, Maxim Afinogenov, Niko Kapanen, Andrei Markov

VIKING CUP '98
Gold Medal Game: SJHL 5, AJHL 1; Bronze Medal Game: Finland 4, Slovakia 1

Order of Placement: SJHL All Star Selects, AJHL All Star Selects, Finland Jr. 18 Selects, Slovakia Jr. 19 Selects, Sweden Jr. 18 Selects, Czech Republic Jr. 18 Selects, USA Jr. 18 Selects, Augustana University College Vikings

Future NHLers: Henrik Zetterberg, Ossi Vaananen, Jordan Leopold, Milan Kraft, Mike Comrie, David Tanabe, Christian Backman, Christian Berglund, Mark Hartigan, Antero Nittiymaki, Mattias Weinhandl

VIKING CUP 2000
Gold Medal Game: USA 5, AJHL 2; Bronze Medal Game: Sweden 5, MJHL 4

Order of Placement: USA Jr. 19 Selects, AJHL All Star Selects, Sweden Jr. 18 Selects, MJHL Pride, SJHL All Star Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, BCHL All Star Selects, Czech Republic Jr. 18 Selects, Finland Jr. 18 Selects, Slovakia Jr. 19 Selects

Future NHLers: David Hale, Kari Lehtonen, Tomas Plekanec, Tuomo Ruutu

VIKING CUP 2002"'
Gold Medal Game: Augustana University College 5, BCHL 4; Bronze Medal Game: AJHL 7, MJHL 3

Order of Placement: Augustana University College Vikings, BCHL All Star Selects, AJHL All Star Selects, MJHL All Star Selects, USA National Jr Selects, SJHL All Star Selects, Czech Jr. 18 Selects, Finland Jr. 18 Selects, Sweden Jr. 18 Selects, Slovakia Jr. 19 Selects

VIKING CUP 2004
Gold Medal Game: Finland 8, USA 2; Bronze Medal Game: Slovakia 4, Czech Republic 1

Order of Placement: Finland Jr. 18 Selects, USA National Jr. Selects, Slovakia Jr. 18 Selects, Czech Jr. 17 Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, Switzerland Jr. 18 Selects, Germany Jr. 18 Selects, Norway Jr. 18 Selects

TOURNAMENT MVPs:
1981 - Hannu Virta (TPS)
1982 - Petr Klima (CSSR)
1984 - Cleo Rowein (NAIT)
1986 - Mark Schultz (NAIT)
1988 - Brent Severyn (U of A)
1990 - Jamie Reeve (McGill)
1992 - Sergei Brylin (CIS)
1994 - Sergei Luchinkin (Russia)
1996 - Olli Jokinen (Finland)
1998 - Mark Hartigan (SJHL)
2000 - Rick Gorman (USA)
2002 - Jeff Tambellini (BCHL)
2004 - Tuukka Rask (Finland)*

TOP GOALTENDER:
1981 - Jouni Rokama (TPS)
1982 - Dominik Hasek (CSSR)
1984 - Ivo Capek (CSSR)
1986 - Radek Toth (CSSR)
1988 - Roman Turek (CSSR)
1990 - Jiri Podesva (CSSR)
1992 - Chris Somers (UNB)
1994 - Anton Zelenov (Russia)
1996 - Jani Riihinen (Finland)
1998 - Rob Schrader (SJHL)
2000 - Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden)
2002 - Chad Rycroft (AUC)
2004 - Tuukka Rask (Finland)*

* - the first player to win both MVP and Top Goaltender Awards