Tatra Cup

Tatra Cup
SportIce Hockey
Founded1929
First season1929
No. of teams6 (group stage)
CountriesSlovakia (usually HK Poprad), Czech Republic, various other European countries
Venue(s)Poprad Ice Stadium (Poprad, Slovakia)
Most recent
champion(s)
HC Košice
Most titles HK Poprad (14 titles)
QualificationInvitation only
Official websitehkpoprad.sk/tatransky-pohar

The Tatra Cup (Slovak: Tatranský pohár) is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Poprad, Slovakia. It is the second oldest club tournament in Europe, after the Spengler Cup.

The first installment of the Tatra Cup took place in 1929 in Starý Smokovec. Between the years 1932 and 1935 there were two different tournaments held, a national one and an international one. There were only two installments held from 1952 to 1968 because of problems with organization of the tournament. In later years international teams started to participate as well, e.g. Kölner EC in 1969. One year later for the first time a Swedish team played at the Tatra Cup – Surahammars IF, together with German SC Riessersee.

When a new ice hockey stadium was built in Poprad in 1973, conditions for the organization of the tournament improved considerably. In the anniversary year of the tournament 1979 a hockey club from East Germany Dynamo Weißwasser was invited.

Nowadays, the Tatra Cup is taking place every year in late August as a preparatory tournament for the upcoming season, at which mostly Czech and Slovak teams take part.[1]

Tatra Cup winners

Season/Year Type Winner
1929/1930 international Slavia Praha
1930/1931 international LTC Praha
1931/1932 international LTC Praha
1932/1933 international SK Prostějov
1932/1933 national Skiklub Bratislava
1933/1934 international Slavia Praha
1933/1934 national AC Nitra
1934/1935 international EKE Wien
1934/1935 national ŠK Vysoké Tatry
1935/1936 national Unfinished due to adverse weather conditions and ineligible ice
1935/1936 international AC Sparta Praha
1936/1937 national HC Tatry
1937/1938 national HC Tatry
1938/1939 national HC Tatry
1940/1941 international ŠK Slávia Prešov
1941/1942 national HC Tatry
1942/1943 Tournament not held[2]
1945/1946 national SK Prostějov
1946/1947 national HC Tatry
1949/1950 national LTC Praha
1950/1951 national Sparta Praha Sokolovo
1951/1952 national SK Prostějov
1958/1959 international Sparta Praha Sokolovo
1959/1960 international Sparta Praha Sokolovo
1968/1969 international VŽKG Ostrava
1969/1970 international Slovak National Team
1974 international Slovan CHZJD Bratislava
1975 national Slovan CHZJD Bratislava
1976 international Czechoslovak National Team
1977 international Czechoslovak National Team
1978 international VSŽ Košice
1979 international VSŽ Košice
1980 international Sparta Praha
1981 international Slezan STS Opava
1982 international VSŽ Košice
1983 international Dinamo Riga
1984 international Tesla Pardubice
1985 international HC Dukla Trenčín
1986 international VSŽ Košice
1987 international VSŽ Košice
1988 international VSŽ Košice
1989 international HK Sokol Kiev
1990 international ŠK Slovan Bratislava
1991 international Czechoslovakia U-20
1992 international HC Košice
1993 international HC Košice
1994 international Slovakia U-20
1995 international HC ŠKP PS Poprad
1996 international HC Dukla Trenčín
1997 international HC Slovan Bratislava
1998 international HC Slovan Bratislava
1999 international Slovak Olympic Team
2000 international HC ŠKP Poprad
2001 international HC ŠKP Poprad
2002 international HC Vítkovice
2003 international HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
2004 international Slovakia U-23
2005 international HK Tatravagónka ŠKP Poprad
2006 international HC Vítkovice
2007 international HC Vítkovice
2008 international HC Košice
2009 international HC Vítkovice Steel
2010 international HC Oceláři Třinec
2011 international Kölner Haie
2012 national HK Poprad
2013 international Graz 99ers
2014 international HK Poprad
2015 international Graz 99ers
2016 international Lahti Pelicans
2017 international HC Košice
2018 international HK Poprad
2019 international DVTK Jegesmedvék
2020 national HK Poprad
2021 international HC Pustertal
2022 international HC '05 Banská Bystrica
2023 international HK Poprad
2024 national HC Košice

Performances

By club (international tournaments)

Club Won Years won
HC Košice 10 1978, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2008, 2017
HK Poprad 7 1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2014, 2018, 2023
HC Vítkovice 5 1968/1969, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009
Slovak National Team 4 1969/1970, 1994, 1999, 2004
HC Slovan Bratislava 4 1974, 1990, 1997, 1998
HC Sparta Praha 4 1935/1936, 1958/1959, 1959/1960, 1980
Czechoslovak National Team 3 1976, 1977, 1991
HC Slavia Praha 2 1929/1930, 1933/1934
LTC Praha 2 1930/1931, 1931/1932
HK Dukla Trenčín 2 1985, 1996
Graz 99ers 2 2013, 2015
SK Prostějov 1 1932/1933
EKE Wien 1 1934/1935
ŠK Slávia Prešov 1 1940/1941
Slezan STS Opava 1 1981
Dinamo Riga 1 1983
Tesla Pardubice 1 1984
HC Sokol Kiev 1 1989
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 2003
HC Oceláři Třinec 1 2010
Kölner Haie 1 2011
Lahti Pelicans 1 2016
DVTK Jegesmedvék 1 2019
HC Pustertal 1 2021
HC '05 Banská Bystrica 1 2022

By club (national tournaments)

Club Won Years won
HC Tatry 5 1936/1937, 1937/1938, 1938/1939, 1941/1942, 1946/1947
SK Prostějov 2 1945/46, 1951/1952
HK Poprad 2 2012, 2020
Skiklub Bratislava 1 1932/1933
AC Nitra 1 1933/1934
ŠK Vysoké Tatry 1 1934/1935
LTC Praha 1 1949/1950
HC Sparta Praha 1 1950/1951
Slovan CHZJD Bratislava 1 1975
HC Košice 1 2024

By country (international tournaments)

Nation Winners
 Czechoslovakia 27
 Slovakia 17
 Czech Republic 5
 Austria 3
 Soviet Union 2
 Russia 1
 Germany 1
 Finland 1
 Hungary 1
 Italy 1

References

  1. ^ "History of Tatra Cup". tatranskypohar.estranky.sk (in Slovak).
  2. ^ "Tatra cup in 1942/1943" (in Slovak). www.tatranskypohar.estranky.sk.