Big Six (ice hockey)

The Big Six in men's international ice hockey are the six national teams that have been dominant in competitive play throughout the history of international hockey and especially since the 1950s. The group is composed of the North American countries of Canada and the United States, and four European countries: Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden. Before the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union/CIS and Czechoslovakia held the places of Russia and the Czech Republic. The four European members are sometimes referred to as the "European Big Four" or "Big Four", especially to distinguish them from the North American teams.

Out of the 204 IIHF World Championships medals awarded, only twenty have been won by teams outside the Big Six and only five of those have been won since 1953 (four by Slovakia, one by Switzerland). Of the 72 Olympic ice hockey medals awarded, only 7 have not been won by a Big Six team.

The Olympics were closed to professionals before 1988. NHL players were not allowed to play until 1998 and were also barred from competing in 2018.

Only the tournaments since the formation of the modern Czech Republic team are shown above.

The Canada Cup served as an ice hockey world championship that was governed by NHL rules rather than IIHF rules, and was open to professionals so that NHL players could participate. The 1976 Canada Cup was, therefore, the first time that the best players from every country were able to meet on the ice. The tournament was held five times between 1976 and 1991. Only one team outside of the Big Six, West Germany, was ever allowed to compete in the Canada Cup; this occurred in 1984.

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