The tournament has seen teams from Canada, the United States, Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Belarus, Denmark, Slovakia, Germany, and Latvia.

Canada West captured the first two gold medals in tournament history, while the United States won the next three.

The idea behind the tournament was to showcase players from Canadian Junior "A" to Canadian Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association, and National Hockey League scouts, while also exposing them to an international level and style of play.

That year also marked the first time in tournament history that Canada East failed to medal.

In 2014, the tournament started being played in December as opposed to it usually taking place in early November.