Brian Rafalski
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Brian Rafalski
Brian Christopher Rafalski (born September 28, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, in the SM-liiga for HPK and HIFK, in the Elitserien for Brynäs IF, and in the ECHL for the Florida Everblades. After failing to enter the NHL, Rafalski spent four seasons in Europe - winning the Finnish SM-liiga with HIFK in 1998. After Entering the NHL in 1999 with the New Jersey Devils, Rafalski was part of 3 Stanley Cup Championship teams with the New Jersey Devils in 2000 and 2003; and with the Detroit Redwings in 2008. In total he played in five Stanley Cup finals in his NHL career (2000, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2009). Rafalski also played for the United States national team in three Olympic ice hockey tournaments ( 2002, 2006, and 2010). Playing career Amateur As a youth, Rafalski played in the 1987 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ic ...
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Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference, and are one of the Original Six teams of the league. Founded in 1926–27 NHL season, 1926, the team was known as the Detroit Cougars until 1929–30 NHL season, 1930. For the 1930–31 NHL season, 1930–31 and 1931–32 NHL season, 1931–32 seasons, the team was named the Detroit Falcons, before changing their name to the Red Wings in 1932–33 NHL season, 1932. , the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships of any NHL franchise based in the United States (11), and are third overall in total Stanley Cup championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). The Wings played their home games at Joe Louis Arena from 1979 until 2017, after playing for 52 years ...
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2003 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2003 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2002–03 season, and the culmination of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. The second-seeded Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils defeated the seventh-seeded Western Conference champion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games and were awarded the Stanley Cup. It was New Jersey's first appearance since 2001 and third in four years. It was Anaheim's first-ever appearance. The Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games to win their third Stanley Cup in less than a decade. For the first time since 1965, all seven games were won by the home team. As of the end of 2022, this is the latest Stanley Cup Finals in which this happened. The Devils' win was the last in a series of wins they, along with the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings, established in the era from 1995 to 2003. The three teams won a combined eight of nine Stanley Cups during that time. The Devils won in 1 ...
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Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area, and the 14th-largest in the United States. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. ''Time'' named Detroit as one of the fifty World's Greatest Places of 2022 to explore. Detroit is a major port on the Detroit River, one of the four major straits that connect the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The City of Detroit anchors the second-largest regional economy in t ...
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Minor Ice Hockey
Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from class to class. In North America, the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region. Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments, and the highest age groups in Canada and USA also participate in national championships. Minor hockey is not to be confused with minor league professional hockey. Canada In Canada, the age categories are designated by each provincial hockey governing body based on Hockey Canada's guidelines, and each category may have multiple tiers based on skill. In November 2019, Hockey Canada announced that beginning in 2020 (officially taking effect in the 2020–21 season), i ...
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Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to players less than 12 years old. The tournament raises funds for the local Patro Roc-Amadour foundation, and is mostly run by volunteers and a few staff. The event takes place each year in February at Videotron Centre, and previously spent 56 seasons at Quebec Coliseum. As of 2018, the event has showcased the talent of over 1,200 future professionals in the National Hockey League or the World Hockey Association. Tournament history 1960 to 1974 Gérard Bolduc was inspired to begin a youth ice hockey tournament after travelling with teams to tournaments in Goderich, Ontario and Duluth, Minnesota, and then founded the Quebec International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament in 1960 along with Paul ...
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Ice Hockey At The 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's Tournament
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from February 16–28, 2010. Games were hosted at two venues – Canada Hockey Place (renamed from "General Motors Place" for the Olympics due to IOC rules disallowing host venues to be named after non-Olympic sponsors) and UBC Thunderbird Arena. These Olympics were the first to take place in a city with an NHL team since then, which meant players on the Vancouver Canucks who were competing in the Olympics were playing in their home arena: Roberto Luongo for Canada, Ryan Kesler for the United States, Pavol Demitra for Slovakia, Sami Salo for Finland, Christian Ehrhoff for Germany, and Daniel and Henrik Sedin for Sweden. Teams from twelve national hockey associations competed, seeded into three groups for the preliminary round. The tournament consisted of 30 games: 18 in the preliminary round (teams played the other teams in their own group); 4 qualification playoff ...
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Ice Hockey At The 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's Tournament
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held in Turin, Italy, from 15 to 26 February. Twelve teams competed, with Sweden winning the gold medal, Finland winning silver, and the Czech Republic winning bronze. It was the third Olympic tournament to feature National Hockey League (NHL) players and the tenth best-on-best hockey tournament in history. United States defenseman Chris Chelios set a standard for longest time between his first Olympic ice hockey tournament and his last—he had competed twenty-two years earlier at the 1984 Olympics. The old record was set by Swiss hockey player Bibi Torriani. who had played twenty years after his debut (1928 and 1948). The tournament format was changed from the 1998 and 2002 tournaments to a format similar to the 1992 and 1994 tournaments. The number of teams was reduced from 14 to 12, which were split into two groups in the preliminary stage (which followed a round robin format). Each team played the other tea ...
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Ice Hockey At The 2002 Winter Olympics
Hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics was held at the E Center in West Valley City and Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, Utah. The men's and women's tournaments were won by Canada, who defeated the host United States in both finals. Medal summary Medal table Medalists Men's tournament Qualifying The final standings at the end of the 1999 IIHF World Championship were used to determine the path to the Olympic tournament. The top six places were given direct entry to the first round, places seven and eight were given direct entry to the preliminary round, and all other participants were seeded in qualifying tournaments to fill the remaining six spots.This chartshows the seeding path for all nations, in detail. Final rankings These standings are presented as the IIHF has them, however both the NHL an IOC maintain that all quarterfinal losers are ranked equal at 5th. Women's tournament Qualification The qualification process, and seedings for the Olympic tournament, cam ...
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United States Men's National Ice Hockey Team
The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ranked 4th in the IIHF World Rankings. The U.S. won gold medals at the 1960 and the 1980 Olympics and more recently, silver medals at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics. The U.S. also won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, defeating Canada in the finals. The team's most recent medal at the World Championships came with a bronze in 2021. They won the tournament in 1933 and 1960. Unlike other nations, the U.S. doesn't typically use its best NHL players in the World Championships. Instead, it provides the younger players with an opportunity to gain international experience. Overall, the team has collected eleven Olympic medals (two of them gold), nineteen World Championship medals (two of them gold), and it re ...
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2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, 2008, after the 2007–08 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The Buffalo Sabres became the second team to miss the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Trophy in the prior season. This would not happen again until 2015. The Finals ended on June 4, 2008, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two to win their eleventh championship and their fourth in eleven seasons. Red Wings winger Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player. Sidney Crosby and Zetterberg led the tournament with 27 points. Highlights The San Jose Sharks were the media's favorite to win the Cup going into the playoffs, having gone the entire ...
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2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 9, 2003, following the 2002–03 regular season. The playoffs concluded on June 9, 2003, with the New Jersey Devils defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games. The 16 qualifying teams played best-of-seven series in the conference quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Each conference champion proceeded to the Stanley Cup Finals. These playoffs marked the first time the Minnesota Wild qualified, in only their third season in the NHL. The Minnesota Wild, a sixth-seed, made an unlikely advance to the Western Conference Final as underdogs after being down three games to one in two consecutive rounds. This, along with the Canucks' comeback against the Blues, made for three 3-1 series comebacks in the playoffs, the second time this had happened in NHL playoff history. Despite losing to the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, Mighty Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere ...
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