Team Trottier Wins 3Ice's Inaugural 65-Pound Patrick Cup
3Ice just concluded its first season as the premiere professional 3v3 hockey league in North America. Team Trottier, coached by Hockey Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, took home the inaugural Patrick Cup, which weighs an incredible 65lbs. For reference, the Stanley Cup weighs around 35lbs.
The league's six teams each have an NHL legend at the helm:
- Team Mullen
- Team Trottier
- Team LeClair
- Team Murphy
- Team Carbonneau
- Team Fuhr
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski wrote a great piece about 3Ice's first season, even suggesting the NHL could borrow one or two ideas from the innovative new league.
A handful of former NHLers played in the 3Ice league this past season. Ryan Malone, Joe Whitney, and Bobby Farnham played in the league, as well as Jeremy Brodeur, son of HHoF goalie Martin Brodeur.
One thing the NHL may implement to its 3v3 overtime, according to Wyshinski, is the 'jailbreak penalty shot.' The jailbreak penalty shot is similar to a normal penalty shot, with the small exception that the other team is allowed to chase the shooter, who gets a small head start.
Many NHL fans have outgrown the shootout as a regular season tiebreaker, desiring continuous 3-on-3 to become the sole separator. The jailbreak is an interesting idea, but transitioning from the 3v3-shootout system to a continuous 3v3 overtime could do enough on its own to grow fan engagement. The 3v3 overtime has become so beloved in its short tenure as the NHL overtime setting, and fans want more.
As a result, 3Ice could develop a niche that could draw significant talent should the purses grow large enough. One cool aspect of 3Ice is that winning teams win $50,000 per win. Per Wyshynski, top earners in the league walked away with $170,000 this year, with others securing between $20-50k. Not bad for playing hockey.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Claude Giroux | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Oliver Kylington | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||