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IIHF Men's World Hockey Championships
World Championships Artifact
World Championships Photo They wore old-fashioned skates and tattered equipment, but the players who represented the Soviet Union in the World Championship for the first time at Stockholm in 1954 made a lasting impression on hockey fans around the world. Defeating Canada, represented by the Toronto East York Lyndhursts, 7-2 on the outdoor articial ice rink at the Royal Stadium, the Soviets won the gold medal in their first attempt. Earlier in the tournament the Soviets had been tied 1-1 by Sweden. Tournament officials were so confident that Canada would defeat the newcomers, that the day of the Canada-USSR game they sold tickets for an additional match the following day, because if Canada beat the Soviets, the team would be required to play off against Sweden to decide the European Championship. The Soviets' style of play was unfamiliar to the Canadians. The Soviets appeared to pass too much and check too little. When it came to scoring goals, even on ice covered with slush, they were clearly superior. An audience of 16,000 watched the historic game. Among the fans was a correspondent for Sport-Informations Dienst named Gunther Sabetzki, a future president of the International Ice Hockey Federation. While the disappointed Canadian players accepted the silver medals, Sweden took the bronze. Although Maurice Galand and Eric Unger of Canada were the top two scorers in the tournament, Soviet captain Vsevolod Bobrov was named the best forward. For the first time the Directorate of the IIHF awarded prizes to the best players. The first winners were goaltender Don Lockhart (Canada), defenseman Lars Bjorn (Sweden), and forward Vsevolod Bobrov (USSR). An IIHF All-Star Team was also selected and, in addition to the player award winners, included; defencemen Vaclav Bubnik (Czechoslovakia), Tom Jamieson, Thomas Campbell, and Doug Chapman (all Canada): forwards Bill Shill, Eric Unger, Maurice Galand (all Canada), Vlastimil Bubnik, Vladimir Zabrodsky, Bronislav Danda (all Czechoslovakia), Victor Shuvalov (USSR) and Sven Johansson (Sweden).
1954 Stockholm Summary
Click on a team below to see its roster and stats.
Rank Country Games Wins Losses Ties Points GDF GF GA
1 USSR 7 6 0 1 13      
2 Canada 7 6 1 0 12      
3 Sweden 7 5 1 1 11      
4 Czechoslovakia 7 4 3 0 8      
5 West Germany 7 2 4 1 5      
6 Finland 7 1 5 1 3      
7 Switzerland 7 0 5 2 2      
8 Norway 7 1 6 0 2      

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