Punch Imlach Memorial Trophy

The Punch Imlach Memorial Trophy is awarded to the North American Conference playoff champions of the Victory Hockey League. It is named after George Imlach who was a coach and general manager in the National Hockey League, and is a member of the hockey hall of fame. This trophy is the counterpart to the Vladimir Kostka Trophy, which is awarded to the European Conference playoff champions.

The Toronto Legion are the current holders of the trophy after their season 20 sweep of the Seattle Bears.

History
The Punch Trophy, for short, has been awarded since the inaugural season of the VHL. It is the award given to the North American Conference team that will be represented in the VHL finals. The winner is decided by a best-of-7 game series between the top two teams in the conference as decided by the regular season standings.

There was much debate on the actual naming of the award. It was a clear decision that the award would be named after George Imlach, however there was disagreement with whether it was a 'trophy', or a 'bowl'. Initially it was named a trophy, but a member of the front office brought up the fact that it is visually very similar to the Clarence S. Cambpell Bowl of the NHL. Ultimately, the league decided to name it a trophy to show difference between the VHL and NHL.

Winners

 * (*) went on to win the Continental Cup, which is the VHL Playoff Champion

The Calgary Wranglers franchise has won the trophy 8 times, followed by the Seattle Bears with 6, the Toronto Legion with 4, and the New York Americans with 2. The now defunct Hamilton Canucks were the only team that did not win the trophy, but the franchise was moved to New York where they've won twice.

Superstition
In season one, Calgary Wranglers forward Brett Slobodzian was selected to receive the trophy from commissioner Scotty Campbell and pose for a complimentary picture. Following the picture Brett grabbed the trophy and hoisted it around the rink, skating and showing it off with confidence that they would go on to win the Continental Cup. In the finals, the Wranglers were beaten by the Vasteras IK in 6 games. Since then, no player has touched or skated with the trophy. This is because there is superstition that the trophy isn't satisfying and the only trophy that should be hoisted is the Continental Cup.

In season two, the Calgary Wranglers once again won the trophy. However, due to security issues at the Calgary International Airport, the trophy was seized by the CSIS. The Wranglers went on to win the Continental Cup, maybe because Brett didn't get the chance to touch the trophy.