Allan Cup facts for kids
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1909 |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Dundas Real McCoys (2023) |
| Most titles | Port Arthur Bearcats/Thunder Bay Twins (9) |
| TV partner(s) | TSN |
| Official website | HockeyCanada.ca |
The Allan Cup is a special trophy given out every year to the best senior ice hockey team in Canada. Senior ice hockey is for players who are usually older than junior players but are still amateurs, meaning they don't play for money. Sir H. Montagu Allan from Montreal donated this cup in 1909, and teams have been competing for it ever since. The current champions are the Dundas Real McCoys, who won the 2023 Allan Cup in Dundas, Ontario.
Contents
History of the Allan Cup
How the Cup Started
Back in 1908, there was a big change in Canadian ice hockey. The best amateur teams decided to leave a league that allowed professional players. They formed a new league just for amateur players called the Inter-Provincial Amateur Hockey Union (IPAHU). At that time, the famous Stanley Cup was given to professional champions. This meant there was no trophy for the best amateur team in Canada.
To fix this, a businessman from Montreal named Sir H. Montagu Allan stepped in. In early 1909, he donated the Allan Cup. It was meant to be like the Stanley Cup, passed from one champion team to the next. Three people were chosen to look after the trophy: Sir Edward Clouston, Dr. H. B. Yates, and Graham Drinkwater.
The very first team to officially win the Allan Cup was the Ottawa Cliffsides hockey club in 1909. After that season, the Cliffsides were challenged by the Queen's University team from Kingston, Ontario, who then won the Cup from them.
Changes to the Competition
In the early days, it was hard to organize a national hockey competition across such a huge country. So, in 1914, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) was created. This group became the main organization for amateur hockey in Canada.
One of the CAHA's first big decisions in 1915 was to stop the "challenge system." Instead of teams challenging each other, they started national playoffs. This made the competition more organized and fair.
From 1920 to 1964, the team that won the Allan Cup often got to represent Canada in major international events. This included playing ice hockey at the Olympic Games and the Ice Hockey World Championships. The money made from Allan Cup games even helped pay for the national team.
At first, the Allan Cup final was just one game, then two games where the total goals decided the winner. But in 1925, because the games were so popular, the CAHA changed it to a "best-of-three" series. This meant teams had to win two out of three games to take the Cup.
In 1945, the Allan Cup playoffs were cancelled for the first time since 1909. This happened because of World War II. It was difficult for players to travel, and many were busy working or serving their country.
Modern Allan Cup Play
Since 1984, the Allan Cup has been played for by teams in the Senior AAA category. Even though senior ice hockey isn't as popular as it once was, the Allan Cup is still a very important part of Canadian hockey history.
Today, the Allan Cup championship is decided in a yearly tournament. A host city or town welcomes teams from different regions of Canada, and they play against each other to find the champion.
Teams from every Canadian province and even Yukon have won the Cup. Two teams from the United States have also won it because they played in Canadian leagues. The city of Thunder Bay has won the most Allan Cups, with 10 victories (including wins when it was known as Port Arthur).
The original Allan Cup is now kept safe in the Hockey Hall of Fame. A copy of the trophy is given to the champions each year.
Most Championships by Province
This table shows how many Allan Cups have been won by teams from different provinces, territories, or states.
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(*) Two championships won by teams from Lloydminster are included only in the total for Saskatchewan.
Images for kids
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The T. B. Patton Cup was the championship trophy for amateur senior ice hockey in Western Canada.
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The G. P. Bolton Memorial Trophy was the championship trophy for amateur senior ice hockey in Eastern Canada.
See Also
- Clarkson Cup
- Hardy Cup (ice hockey)
