Hockey Hall of Fame Part Three: International Flair

Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden are all commonly known power houses in the hockey world.

Thailand?, Australia? South Africa? or Spain? Probably not so much.

Nonetheless, all teams recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have their recognition in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s World of Hockey exhibit acknowledges all 63 current members (Men’s Ranking and Women’s Rankings) of the IIHF with an individual cards along the display cabinets with each country’s history and national champions.

The primary focus in the exhibit is on the Olympics and World Championships, but all the major historical international tournaments, the World Cup of Hockey and the Canada Cup, as well as other significant worldwide hockey events are included.

The Challenge Cup, Canada Cup, World Cup, and Rendez-vous ‘87 trophies

A display of Olympic Hockey jerseys,including one from the inaugural 1920 games

 

A Belleville McFarlands Jersey, from the winning 1959 World Championships, (left) and PK Subban’s jersey and pucks from the 2009 WJC.

A rather significant part of the exhibit is the IIHF Honour Roll, which marks the contributions of players and builders in international hockey.

You can see the Honour Roll in the video I took on my visit below.

Canada and Russia are still the dominant two countries in International Hockey. A multitude of memorabilia and photos highlight these two nations.

A large mural showing the 1972 Canada/Russia Summit

Russian hockey memorabilia at the HHOF(clockwise from top left); a Russian Hockey poster, Kharlamov’s helmet, Anatoli Tasarov’s book and the flag presented to Vladisalv Tretiak when he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

A collection of international awards (Jr., Men’s and Women’s) won by Canadian teams in recent years.

An assortment of International Hockey cards in the Upper Deck Collectors section

As I said, several other countries (common and uncommon) are represented. Most impressive is the array of hockey jerseys worn all over the world.

Jersey from the 1936 Gold Medal team from Great Britain. Note: All but two players were of Canadian descent, just thought I’d mention it :)

My complete collection of photos that I took on my trip can be seen here.

Something else that is unique is how they used the corners of the displays to showcase small photos from games played in different parts of the world. Truly a nice touch.

For those looking to learn more on International Hockey, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a great place to start. If you are in Toronto, I strongly suggest taking time to visit.

I have also included links to the first two parts of my trip below:

Part One: A must visit for Montreal Canadiens Fans

Part Two: Awards and History in Every Corner