International hockey has been played for several decades. Different countries put their best players on the ice for world hockey supremacy every four years in the Winter Olympics and roster their best players younger than the age of 20 each year in the International Ice Hockey Federation's World U-20 Championships. Countries that commonly compete in international hockey tournaments are Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.
IIHF
The International Ice Hockey Federation was created in 1908 in France as the Ligue Inernational de Hockey sur Glace. The document that created the IIHF featured signiatures of ice hockey representatives from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia and Switzerland, according to the Hockey-Information website. Louis Magnus of France was the inaugural President of the IIHF. Rene Fasel of Switzerland is the current president. The IIHF has more than 65 members and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Olympic Ice Hockey
Chamonix, France, was the site of the original Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Ice hockey made it's first Winter games appearance that year with Canada taking home the gold medal, the U.S. winning the silver and Great Britain winning the bronze. The Winnipeg Falcons, an amateur hockey team in Canada, represented Canada at these games and in hockey's first appearance in any Olympics at the 1920 Summer Olympic games in Antwerp, Belgium. The first appearance of NHL players was in the 1998 Olympic games in Nagano, Japan. The Czech Republic won the gold medal with reigning NHL MVP Dominik Hasek in goal. The women's ice hockey tournament made its first appearance at these games with the U.S. edging Canada for the gold medal.
World U20 Championships
One of the most prestigious tournaments for junior hockey players, those between the ages of 16 and 20, is the annual IIHF World U20 Championship. The U.S. won the 2010 tournament with Canada winning the previous five. Current NHL stars that have represented their country in this tournament include Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Zach Parise. This tournament is also a showcase for NHL draft-eligible players to showcase their skills and also for players that have already been drafted to show team management their abilities on a grand stage. Canada has won far more gold medals than any other country in this tournament with 15. The next highest is Russia with three.
Famous Tournaments
Canada won the 2010 Men's Olympic ice hockey tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a 3-2 overtime victory over the U.S. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal on a shot through Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller's leg pads. The U.S. edged the U.S.S.R, thought to be one of the most powerful hockey teams in the world, in the semifinals at the 1980 games. The U.S. went on to defeat Finland in the gold medal game.
References
- Hockey-Information: History of IIHF
- Sports-Reference: Ice Hockey at the 1924 Chamonix Winter Games
- Canada 2010: The Winnipeg Falcons
- Sports-Reference.com: Ice Hockey at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games
- Sports-Reference.com: Ice Hockey at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games
- Sports-Reference.com: Ice Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games
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