Viking Cup


The Viking Cup was 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, 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 two to three weeks the tournament occurs. The tournament enjoys great support from the community as many others volunteer to assist with the tournament.
Notable NHL players to have appeared in the tournament include Dominik Hašek, Petr Klíma, Sergei Zubov, Tuukka Rask, Henrik Zetterberg, Milan Hejduk, Kari Lehtonen 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 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 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.
Year Gold Silver BronzeFourthParticipating Teams Future NHLers
1981TPS Turku Juniors 8Prince Albert Raiders 6Red Deer College Kings 6Centennial College Colts 3TPS Turku Juniors, Prince Albert Raiders, Red Deer College Kings, Centennial College Colts, AIK Juniors, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings James Patrick, Hannu Virta, Dave Tippett, Mats Thelin, and Greg Paslawski
1982CSSR Junior Selects 11Prince Albert Raiders 3Västra Frölunda Juniors 7Camrose Lutheran College Vikings 3CSSR Junior Selects, Prince Albert Raiders, Västra Frölunda Juniors, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, SAIT Trojans, Revelstoke RocketsPetr Klíma, Dominik Hašek, Mikael Andersson, David Pilon
1984NAIT Ooks 3CSSR Junior Selects 0Camrose Lutheran College Vikings 7St. Paul Vulcans 5NAIT Ooks, CSSR Junior Selects, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, St. Paul Vulcans, IFK Juniors, St. Albert Saints David Volek
1986NAIT Ooks 5Camrose Lutheran College Vikings 1CSSR Juniors 15Kärpät Juniors 5NAIT Ooks, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings, CSSR Juniors, Kärpät Juniors, AIK Juniors, Notre Dame Hounds Kevin Lovsin, Dean Clark, František Kučera
1988University of Alberta Golden Bears 6CSSR Junior Selects 2USSR Junior Selects 7AIK Juniors 4University 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 CatsSergei Zubov, Roman Turek, Brent Severyn, Igor Korolev, Alexander Godynyuk, Bobby Holík, Andrei Kovalenko
1990McGill University Redmen 6CSSR Junior Selects 3USSR Junior Selects 5University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 3McGill University Redmen, CSSR Junior Selects, USSR Junior Selects, University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, Red Deer College Kings, Camrose Lutheran College Vikings Boris Mironov, Sergejs Žoltoks, Martin Straka, Jozef Stümpel, Róbert Petrovický, Milan Hnilička, Darius Kasparitis, Žigmund Pálffy
1992University of New Brunswick Red Devils 4,CIS Junior Selects 2NAIT Ooks 3CFSR Junior Selects 2University of New Brunswick Red Devils, CIS Junior Selects, NAIT Ooks, CFSR Junior Selects, Färjestad Elite Juniors, Augustana University College Vikings Sergei Brylin, Pavol Demitra, Jozef Čierny, Andrei Nazarov, Sergei Gonchar, David Výborný
1994Russia National Junior "18" Selects 7Dauphin Kings 1Mount Royal College Cougars 6Västra Frölunda Juniors 3Russia National Junior "18" Selects, Dauphin Kings, Västra Frölunda Juniors, Czech Republic National Junior "18" Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, Finland National Junior "18" Selects, Augsburg College Auggies Milan Hejduk, P. J. Axelsson, Jan Hrdina, Patrik Eliáš, Václav Varaďa, Tomáš Vokoun
1996Finland Junior "18" Selects 6USA Junior "20" B Selects 2Augustana University College Vikings 6AJHL All-Star Selects 5Finland Junior "18" Selects, USA Junior "20" B Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, AJHL All-Star Selects, Czech Republic Junior "18" Selects, North Battleford North Stars, Russia Junior "18" Selects, Sweden Junior "18" SelectsMika Noronen, Kristian Huselius, Olli Jokinen, Oleg Kvasha, Fernando Pisani, Maxim Afinogenov, Niko Kapanen, Andrei Markov
1998SJHL All-Star Selects 5AJHL All-Star Selects 1Finland Junior 18 Selects 4Slovakia Junior 19 Selects 1SJHL All-Star Selects, AJHL All-Star Selects, Finland Junior 18 Selects, Slovakia Junior 19 Selects, Sweden Junior 18 Selects, Czech Republic Junior 18 Selects, USA Junior 18 Selects, Augustana University College Vikings Henrik Zetterberg, Ossi Väänänen, Jordan Leopold, Milan Kraft, Mike Comrie, David Tanabe, Christian Bäckman, Christian Berglund, Mark Hartigan, Antero Niittymäki, Mattias Weinhandl
2000USA Junior 19 Selects 5AJHL All-Star Selects 2Sweden Junior 18 Selects 5MJHL Pride 4USA Junior 19 Selects, AJHL All-Star Selects, Sweden Junior 18 Selects, MJHL Pride, SJHL All-Star Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, BCHL All-Star Selects, Czech Republic Junior 18 Selects, Finland Junior 18 Selects, Slovakia Junior 19 SelectsDavid Hale, Kari Lehtonen, Tomáš Plekanec, Tuomo Ruutu
2002Augustana University College Vikings 5BCHL All-Star Selects 4AJHL All-Star Selects 7MJHL All-Star Selects 3Augustana University College Vikings, BCHL All-Star Selects, AJHL All-Star Selects, MJHL All-Star Selects, USA National Junior Selects, SJHL All-Star Selects, Czech Republic Junior 18 Selects, Finland Junior 18 Selects, Sweden Junior 18 Selects, Slovakia Junior 19 SelectsJeff Tambellini
2004Finland Junior 18 Selects 8USA National Junior Selects 2Slovakia Junior 18 Selects 4Czech Republic Junior 17 Selects 1Finland Junior 18 Selects, USA National Junior Selects, Slovakia Junior 18 Selects, Czech Republic Junior 17 Selects, Augustana University College Vikings, Switzerland Junior 18 Selects, Germany Junior 18 Selects, Norway Junior 18 SelectsTuukka Rask
2006 - University PoolUniversity of Guelph Gryphons Augustana University College Vikings University of Lethbridge Pronghorns N/AUniversity of Guelph Gryphons, Augustana University College Vikings, University of Lethbridge Pronghorns
2006 - Junior PoolAJHL North All-Stars 4AJHL South All-Stars 3USA Under-18 Selects 6Switzerland Junior Selects 2AJHL North All-Stars, AJHL South All-Stars, USA Under-18 Selects, Switzerland Junior Selects, Finland Junior Selects, Germany Junior Selects, Slovakia Junior SelectsTrevor Lewis, Kyle Okposo

TOURNAMENT MVPs:

1981 - Hannu Virta

1982 - Petr Klíma

1983-

1984 - Cleo Rowein

1986 - Mark Schultz

1988 - Brent Severyn

1990 - Jamie Reeve

1992 - Sergei Brylin

1994 - Sergei Luchinkin

1996 - Olli Jokinen

1998 - Mark Hartigan

2000 - Rick Gorman

2002 - Jeff Tambellini

2004 - Tuukka Rask *

2006 - Patrick Ouelette
TOP GOALTENDER:'''

1981 - Jouni Rokama

1982 - Dominik Hašek

1984 - Ivo Capek

1986 - Radek Toth

1988 - Roman Turek

1990 - Jiří Podešva

1992 - Chris Somers

1994 - Anton Zelenov

1996 - Jani Riihinen

1998 - Rob Schrader

2000 - Henrik Lundqvist

2002 - Chad Rycroft

2004 - Tuukka Rask *

2006 - Ken Ritson

2006 - Kyle Richter