In men's international ice hockey, the Big Six is a group comprising the six national teams that have dominated play throughout the history of international ice hockey, especially since the 1950s. It is composed of the North American countries of Canada and the United States and four European countries: Czechia, Finland, Russia, and Sweden. [1] [2] During the Cold War and for two years afterwards, the Soviet Union/CIS and Czechoslovakia held the places of Russia and Czechia, respectively, within the group. The four European members are sometimes referred to as the "European Big Four" or "Big Four", especially to distinguish them from the North American teams. [3]
Out of the 210 Ice Hockey World Championships medals awarded by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), 187 have been won by the Big Six teams. Since 1953, only eight medals have been won by teams outside the Big Six (four by Slovakia, two by Switzerland, and one each by Germany and Latvia). [4] Of the 75 Olympic ice hockey medals awarded, 67 have been won by a Big Six team. [5]
Despite the big medal haul between the 6 teams, being a member of the Big Six does not automatically guarantee success. As of August 2023, the United States' last appearance in an international final was the 2010 Winter Olympics, after which point Switzerland and Germany have reached three and two finals respectively.
The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes. However, the advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. [6] In 1986, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to allow professional athletes to compete in the Olympic Games starting in 1988. The National Hockey League (NHL) was initially reluctant to allow its players to compete because the Olympics are held in the middle of the NHL season, and the league would have to halt play if many of its players participated. Eventually, NHL players were admitted starting in 1998. [7] However, the NHL again refused to release its players in 2018, citing financial reasons. On September 3, 2021, NHL announced that its players will return to the Olympics and participate in 2022 tournament. [8] Later, in December 2021, NHL and NHL Players’ Association agreed to not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics due to COVID-19 surge. [9]
Year | Canada | Czechoslovakia/ Czechia | Finland | Soviet Union/ CIS/ Russia | Sweden | United States |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 | 1 | 3 | - | - | 4 | 2 |
1924 | 1 | 5 | - | - | 4 | 2 |
1928 | 1 | 5 | - | - | 2 | - |
1932 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
1936 | 2 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 3 |
1948 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 4 | DQ |
1952 | 1 | 4 | 7 | - | 3 | 2 |
1956 | 3 | 5 | - | 1 | 4 | 2 |
1960 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
1964 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
1968 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
1972 | - | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
1976 | - | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | 5 |
1980 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
1984 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
1988 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
1992 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 [n 1] | 5 | 4 |
1994 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
1998 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
2002 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
2006 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
2010 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
2014 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
2018 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 [n 2] | 5 | 7 |
2022 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 [n 3] | 4 | 5 |
Nation | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canada | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Czechia | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
Finland | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Russia | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | DQ | DQ |
Sweden | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
United States | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
The Canada Cup served as an ice hockey world championship that was governed by National Hockey League (NHL) rules rather than IIHF rules, and was open to professionals so that NHL players could participate. The 1976 Canada Cup was, therefore, the first time that the best players from the leading ice hockey countries were able to face each other. The tournament was held five times between 1976 and 1991. Only one team outside of the Big Six, West Germany, was ever allowed to compete in the Canada Cup; this occurred in 1984 when West Germany replaced Finland because it had finished higher in the IIHF World Championship. [11]
The World Cup of Hockey replaced the Canada Cup in 1996. It has been held three times so far (1996, 2004, and 2016), though its future is uncertain. [2] Eight teams compete at the World Cup: Germany and Slovakia participated in the first two editions, whereas Team Europe, made up of European players whose countries did not have their own team in the event and Team North America, composed of players 23 years old and younger from Canada and the United States, played in 2016.
Year | Canada | Czechoslovakia | Finland | Soviet Union | Sweden | United States |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
1981 | 2 | 3 (tie) | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 (tie) |
1984 | 1 | 5 | - | 3 (tie) | 2 | 3 (tie) |
1987 | 1 | 3 (tie) | 6 | 2 | 3 (tie) | 5 |
1991 | 1 | 6 | 3 (tie) | 5 | 3 (tie) | 2 |
Year | Canada | Czech Republic | Finland | Russia | Sweden | United States |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | 2 | 7 (tie) | 5 (tie) | 3 (tie) | 3 (tie) | 1 |
2004 | 1 | 3 (tie) | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 (tie) |
2016 [n 5] | 1 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding team sports. It is distinct from field hockey, in which players move a ball around a non-frozen pitch using field hockey sticks.
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the Canada Cup, which was held every 3 to 5 years from 1976 to 1991 and was the first international hockey championship to allow nations to field their top players. The World Cup has occurred thrice before on an irregular basis, with the United States winning in 1996 and Canada winning in 2004 and 2016. Following the 2016 tournament, it was uncertain if the series would be continued, after the cancellation of the 2020 tournament. It is tentatively scheduled to be held in 2028, and every four years afterward.
The Canada men's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. From 1920 until 1963, Canada's international representation was by senior amateur club teams. Canada's national men's team was founded in 1963 by Father David Bauer as a part of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, playing out of the University of British Columbia. The nickname "Team Canada" was first used for the 1972 Summit Series and has been frequently used to refer to both the Canadian national men's and women's teams ever since.
The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ranked 4th in the IIHF World Rankings, behind Russia, Finland, and Canada.
The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. Since 2021, the team has been officially known in English as Czechia. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 85,000 male players officially enrolled in organized hockey.
The Russian men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Russia, overseen by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. As of 2021, they were rated third in the IIHF World Ranking. The team has competed internationally from 1992 until a 2022 ban, and is recognized by the IIHF as the successor to the Soviet Union team and CIS team. Russia has been one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six," the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. The European nations of the Big Six participate in the Euro Hockey Tour, which Russia won nine times since 2005. Since September 2021, the head coach is Alexei Zhamnov, who took over from Valeri Bragin.
The German men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Germany and is controlled by the German Ice Hockey Federation. It first participated in serious international competition at the 1911 European Hockey Championship. When Germany was split after World War II, a separate East Germany national ice hockey team existed until 1990. By 1991, the West and East German teams and players were merged into the United German team. The team's head coach is Harold Kreis.
The Soviet national ice hockey team was the national men's ice hockey team of the Soviet Union. From 1954, the team won at least one medal each year at either the Ice Hockey World Championships or the Olympic hockey tournament.
Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, in France. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held in late December, ending in early January. The tournament usually attracts the top hockey players in this age category.
The CIS national ice hockey team was an ephemeral national ice hockey team that represented the Commonwealth of Independent States. Essentially the former Soviet team under a different name, the CIS team existed in the few months between the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of new ice hockey federations for the former Soviet states, now independent countries. Most notably, the team competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics as part of the Unified Team, winning the gold medal. However, the International Ice Hockey Federation would later attribute this gold medal to Russia as the successor state. The International Olympic Committee does not attribute that medal to Russia. After the Olympics, the CIS team ceased to exist and was replaced by the Russian team. In the 13 games the CIS played, they won 11 and lost 2.
The ice hockey (hockey) competitions of the 2018 Winter Olympics were played at two venues within the Gangneung Coastal Cluster in Gangneung, South Korea. The Gangneung Hockey Centre, which seats 10,000, and the Kwandong Hockey Centre, which seats 6,000, were both originally scheduled to be completed in 2016 but appear to have been completed in early 2017. Both venues contain Olympic-sized rinks.
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held in Gangneung, South Korea between 14 and 25 February 2018. Twelve countries qualified for the tournament; eight of them did so automatically by virtue of their ranking by the International Ice Hockey Federation, one, South Korea, automatically qualified as hosts, while the three others took part in a qualification tournament.
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics took place in Beijing, China between 9 and 20 February 2022. Twelve countries qualified for the tournament; eight of them did so automatically by virtue of their ranking by the International Ice Hockey Federation, one, China, automatically qualified as hosts, while the three others took part in a qualification tournament.