The Viking Cup is an international ice hockey tournament based in Camrose, Alberta, Canada. The original tournament was hosted by Camrose Lutheran College, later Augustana University College and now the University of Alberta Augustana Campus, and operated from 1981 to 2006. The tournament brought university, college, junior and under-18 national teams from Europe and North America to Camrose.
History
The Viking Cup was founded by LeRoy Johnson, who was athletic director at Camrose Lutheran College. Johnson had started the college's Vikings hockey program in 1967 and later developed the idea for an international tournament after travelling to Europe with the team in the late 1970s. Canada's College Hockey History described the event as having included players who later appeared at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, IIHF World Championship and Winter Olympic Games.
The original tournament ended after the 2006 event.
Revival
In 2025, organizers announced the return of the Viking Cup after a hiatus of nearly 20 years. The revived event was organized by the Augustana Vikings Hockey Alumni Association and scheduled for December 27, 2025, to January 4, 2026, at Encana Arena in Camrose.
Legacy
A number of future professional and international players competed in the Viking Cup. Hockey Canada listed Dominik Hašek, Sergei Zubov, Bobby Holík, Žigmund Pálffy, Pavol Demitra, Tomáš Vokoun, Olli Jokinen and Henrik Zetterberg among the tournament's alumni.
Results
The following table lists tournament champions and most valuable players for the original Viking Cup. Canada's College Hockey History published a retrospective list of Viking Cup champions and MVPs from 1981 to 2006.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Champion
! Most valuable player
|-
| 1981
| TPS Juniors
| Hannu Virta, TPS Juniors
|-
| 1982
| CSSR Junior Selects
| Petr Klíma, CSSR
|-
| 1984
| NAIT Ooks
| Cleo Rowein, NAIT
|-
| 1986
| NAIT Ooks
| Mark Schultz, NAIT
|-
| 1988
| University of Alberta Golden Bears
| Brent Severyn, University of Alberta
|-
| 1990
| McGill University Redmen
| Jamie Reeve, McGill
|-
| 1992
| University of New Brunswick Red Devils
| Sergei Brylin, CIS
|-
| 1994
| Russia National Junior 18 Selects
| Sergei Luchinkin, Russia
|-
| 1996
| Finland National Junior 18 Selects
| Olli Jokinen, Finland
|-
| 1998
| SJHL Selects
| Mark Hartigan, SJHL
|-
| 2000
| United States National Junior 19 Selects
| Rick Gorman, United States
|-
| 2002
| Augustana University College Vikings
| Jeff Tambellini, BCHL
|-
| 2004
| Finland National Junior 18 Selects
| Tuukka Rask, Finland
|-
| 2006
| University of Guelph Gryphons
| Patrick Ouelette, Augustana
|}
The NAIT Ooks were the only team to win consecutive Viking Cup championships, winning the tournament in 1984 and 1986.
|}
The SJHL U20 Selects won the revived tournament, defeating the SAIT Trojans 5–4 in overtime in the final.
The tournament's most valuable player award was recorded for each original Viking Cup from 1981 to 2006 by Canada's College Hockey History.