The IIHF European Champions Cup (ECC) was an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which took place during a long weekend in early January. The winner was considered the official club champion of Europe by the IIHF. The Champions Cup was first played in 2005, as a replacement for the defunct European Cup (1965–1997), and the suspended European Hockey League (1996–2000). In the 2008–09 season, it was replaced by the Champions Hockey League, which was the new official European club championship event. Since the Champions Hockey League was cancelled after only one season, there is currently no official competition for the national ice hockey champions of Europe.
Read more about IIHF European Champions Cup: European Cup, European Hockey League, IIHF Continental Cup, IIHF Super Cup, IIHF European Champions Cup, IIHF Champions Hockey League
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“It has become necessary to call the attention of European governments to a fact which is apparently so insignificant that the governments seem not to notice it. The fact is this: an entire people is being annihilated. Where? In Europe. Are there witnesses? One witness, the entire world. Do the governments see it? No.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men’s reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of “the rat race” is not yet final.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)
“I know it does make people happy, but to me it is just like having a cup of tea.”
—Cynthia Paine (b. 1934)