Kenora Thistles
Donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, the Stanley Cup was originally awarded to the top amateur team in Canada, who would then accept challenges from the winners of other leagues. From its inception until 1912, the Cup was nearly always won by teams from Montreal, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. In 1903 Ottawa won the Cup, after finishing the season tied for first in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League with the Montreal Victorias. They played a two-game, total-goal series for the league championship. The Montreal Hockey Club, who had held the Cup, finished third in the league and therefore lost the right to keep it.
Stanley Cup winning players
This is a complete alphabetic list of all players who won the Stanley Cup ice hockey trophy with years and total wins. The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893, and since 1926 it has been the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The list includes all known players from each winning team from 1893 to 1923. Since 1924, all players whose names were actually engraved on the Stanley Cup are listed. The list also includes any player who qualified but whose name was not engraved on the Stanley Cup, and any player who did not qualify but who dressed in the playoffs