Stanley Cup One of Most Prestigious Trophies.
Hockey played on ice has to be one of the fastest, most skilful games in the world. Not only do players have to be able to play the game of hockey at an incredibly fast pace, but it has to be done while skating around an ice rink. This a favourite game all over North America and Canada, and in fact all over the northern hemisphere with their icy winters, ice hockey has grown tremendously in popularity. There are several tournaments that take place every year and are taken very seriously, but the most prestigious prize that can be won in North America is the Stanley Cup.
Stanley Cup Competition Associated with Excitement
The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. It was originally a challenge trophy, and the champions held on to the cup until they lost the league title to another club. A champion team from another club or league could issue a formal challenge to a special match, and the Stanley Cup would be the prize. Beginning in 1915, however, the Cup was awarded to the winner of the annual interleague championship between the National Hockey Association and the Pacific Hockey Association. After the two leagues merged in 1926, the winners of the championship round of the National Hockey League is between the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences. That takes place between the two in a playoff in a best of seven series. The Stanley Cup is the prize awarded to the winners.
The ice hockey Stanley Cup has been won and contested since 1893, when the Montreal Hockey Club was the first winner. The Ice Hockey Stanley Cup final winner would then have to defend its trophy through the league championships and the challenge matches or series organizes by the Stanley Cup trustees. After 1912 the trustees ordered that challenges only take place after league season matches were completed.
Previous Winners of the Stanley Cup Final
The Montreal Canadiens is the team that has won the Stanley Cup the most times, twenty four times in all. They have a few other records as well, one being the team with the most appearances without a loss. The Detroit Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs are the second and third most frequent winners, although a long way behind the Montreal side. The first winner of the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Amateur Association Hockey club, in 1893. Lord Stanley unfortunately never had the chance to watch a championship game or even to attend a presentation of his trophy, as he had to return to his native England during the 1893 season. The competition for the Stanley Cup has become one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.
The winner of the ice hockey Stanley Cup Final in 2015 was the Chicago Blackhawks team.
The Internet has completely changed the sports betting outlook, and has become so much easier for everyone to take part on an online site. Punters of America are turning to ice hockey as a great opportunity for sports betting, as Ice hockey excels in that it provides a wide range of betting options as well as a large community eager to wager on the different league matches and tournaments, and on the ice hockey Stanley Cup final.