LETHBRIDGE, Alberta, Canada — The Walter Cup awarded to PWHL champion Montreal Victoire has gone missing after failing to arrive at its planned stop in Alberta, according to the Professional Women’s Hockey League and people familiar with the arrangements. The league said Friday it was working with the shipping company to locate the trophy.
- Montreal Victoire’s Walter Cup was expected in Lethbridge but did not arrive as planned.
- The trophy was scheduled to spend the day with Victoire forward Dara Greig.
- A container arrived in Alberta, but it was reportedly not the one carrying the trophy.
- The missing trophy is the championship version kept by the winning team, not the trophy permanently housed at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Walter Cup fails to arrive in Alberta
The PWHL said the Walter Cup “did not arrive as expected at its latest stop” and that league officials were working closely with the shipping company to find it. The league did not provide further details about where the trophy may have gone or when it was last confirmed to be in transit.
The trophy was scheduled to travel to Lethbridge, Alberta, where Montreal Victoire forward Dara Greig was due to spend the day with it. The planned visit included a public event at VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Thursday.
That event was postponed after the trophy failed to arrive. Greig was therefore unable to carry out the planned day with Montreal’s championship trophy in Lethbridge.
What happened to the championship trophy?
A person familiar with the arrangements told The Associated Press that the trophy had been shipped to Lethbridge for Greig’s scheduled appearance. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not been publicly disclosed by the league.
A second person familiar with the situation provided another detail about the shipment. According to that person, a container did arrive, but it was not the container sent by the PWHL with the trophy inside.
The circumstances have left the trophy’s whereabouts unclear. The league has not said where the Walter Cup was last seen or provided a timeline for its recovery.
PWHL says it is working with shipping company
The league’s statement focused on locating the trophy rather than explaining how it disappeared during the shipment. The PWHL said it was working directly with the shipping company as efforts continued to determine where the trophy is.
The situation also highlights a difference between the PWHL’s trophy arrangements and the system used by the NHL for the Stanley Cup. Unlike the NHL, the PWHL does not have a person specifically assigned to travel with its championship trophy when it is taken on the road to visit players.
That means the Walter Cup is transported through shipping arrangements rather than being accompanied by a dedicated trophy custodian during its travels.
Which Walter Cup is missing?
The trophy involved in the incident is not the Walter Cup that is presented to the championship-winning team immediately after the PWHL final. That trophy has a permanent home at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Instead, the missing item is the version issued to championship-winning teams for them to keep. Montreal Victoire, as the PWHL champion, received that team version as part of its championship recognition.
The distinction is important because the trophy at the Hockey Hall of Fame is not the one that was being transported to Alberta. The missing trophy is the championship version intended for the winning organization.
Montreal Victoire’s championship celebration interrupted
The planned Lethbridge visit was intended to give Greig an opportunity to spend time with the trophy and bring it to a public event. The failure of the shipment meant those plans had to be postponed.
For the Victoire, the incident comes after winning the PWHL championship and while the Walter Cup is being taken to different locations connected with the team’s players and celebrations. The trophy’s next stop will depend on when and where it is located.
For now, the PWHL has not disclosed a confirmed location for the missing Walter Cup. The league and shipping company are continuing efforts to locate the trophy, while the postponed Lethbridge appearance remains unresolved.
Praveen Yadav is the Founder and Content Creator of The Nation Bulletin, an independent digital news platform focused on delivering timely, reliable and meaningful news from India and around the world.
