Hockey (Ice)

Hockey is Canada's national game and its greatest contribution to world sport. A major winter preoccupation of Canada's male youth for almost 100 years, ice hockey is now played seriously by men and women in 20 countries. The word "hockey" is probably derived from the French hoquet ("shepherd's crook"), referring to the shape of the stick, and the nickname "shinny" for informal hockey likely comes from the game's origins in shinty.

Keywords

Olympic Games, Winter

Sports

Ice hockey doubtless originated in the stick and ball games of bandy, shinty and hurley, each of which was brought to the colonies in one form or another by students or the military since the 10th century. Of these, it is likely bandy, which is played on ice with goalkeepers, stick and ball, that is the truest forerunner of hockey. The oldest record of bandy is a 13th-century painted glass window in Canterbury Cathedral, where a boy is seen holding a curved stick in one hand and a ball in the other. A similar game called "kolv" is pictured in many Dutch 16th- and 17th-century paintings. However, kolv was not a team sport and seems to have been more like "golf on ice."Bandy was introduced into Scandinavia, Switzerland and Germany in the early 1890s. Indeed, when the teams from those regions arrived at the first winter Olympic games, they intended to play a game more like bandy than Canadian ice hockey.

Wherever there is pictorial or literary evidence that a game of bandy was played on ice in early Canada, local enthusiasts claim to have discovered the birthplace of ice hockey. Thus, Halifax and Windsor, Nova Scotia, and Kingston, Ontario, have variously put forward their claim. (Dutch immigrants played a version of kolv in colonial New York as well.) The last quarter of the 19th century was the great period of social organization, and during this time many sports moved out of long periods of unwritten rules and widely differing local variation towards standardization. Shinty's rules were set in 1879 and those for bandy in 1891. Organized ice hockey, as we would recognize it today, has its true origins in Montréal in 1875, where J.G.A. Creighton, a McGill student, established a set of formal rules.The key innovation was the substitution of a flat, wooden disk (puck), which offered the players far more control than they had over a ball. No sensible origin has been found for the word "puck."

Hockey Team, 1881
McGill University, 1881. The game of hockey as we know it today was developed at McGill in 1875 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-81739).

Organization of the Sport and Origins of the Stanley Cup

In 1879 the first organized team, the McGill University Hockey Club, was formed, and with the advent of a basic set of rules the sport quickly spread across Canada. The first "world championship" was held in 1883 at the Montreal Ice Carnival and was won by McGill. The first national association, known as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, was formed in 1886, with representatives from Québec City, Montréal and Ottawa. A group of colleges, universities and military and athletic clubs formed the Ontario Hockey Association in 1890. Governor General Lord STANLEY donated a trophy in 1893 for the national championship, and the first STANLEY CUP game was played 22 March 1893, with Montreal AAA victorious before a crowd of 5000.

Winnipeg Falcons
The Winnipeg Falcons hockey club, the 1920 gold medallists at the Antwerp Olympics. The Falcons won Canada's first-ever Olympic medal in hockey (courtesy Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame & Museum).

Early hockey was played in rudimentary conditions, mostly outdoors on patches of natural ice, with snowbanks for boards and wooden posts for goals. There were 9 players per side on the ice, and the puck could not be passed forward. The onside rule and primitive face-off ("bully") were adapted from RUGBY.

With speed and rough play the game had immediate attraction, and strong local rivalries developed. The sport spread to US universities, beginning with Yale in 1893. Europe's hockey origins date to Vienna in 1885. Belgium, Bohemia, France, Great Britain and Switzerland formed the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1908, and Germany joined in 1909. The Winnipeg Falcons won the first international world championship, held at the Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920. The Toronto Granites overwhelmed all opposition to win the first Winter Olympics in 1924, and U of T Grads won again for Canada in 1928.

Growth of Professionalism

The development of hockey in Canada was profoundly changed by the growth and final ascendancy of professionalism. In the prevailing climate of the late 19th century playing for money was considered immoral, but many players accepted money secretly. The first overtly professional league was formed in 1903 with teams from Pittsburgh, Pa.; Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; and Houghton, Calumet and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Most of the best players were Canadian; they commanded extravagant salaries, lived nomadically from one season to the next and played for the highest bidder. At one time, Fred "Cyclone" TAYLOR was the highest-paid athlete in North America.

The Ontario Professional League, organized for the 1908 season, was the first openly professional league in Canada. The Eastern Canada Hockey Association turned professional in November 1908. The rival National Hockey Association was formed in 1909 and was reorganized in 1917 as the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE. Professional hockey soon required indoor stadiums, artificial ice and large payrolls. Successful teams in smaller centres, such as the Renfrew Millionaires, disappeared; the NHL teams were all in larger cities; for example, the MONTREAL CANADIENS, Montreal Wanderers, OTTAWA SENATORS, Toronto St. Pats and, briefly, Quebec Bulldogs and Hamilton Tigers.

Expansion into the US

The Montreal Maroons entered the NHL in 1924 and the league successfully moved into the lucrative urban market of the US, adding the Boston Bruins (1924), the New York Americans (1925), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1925), the New York Rangers (1926), the Chicago Black Hawks (1926) and the Detroit Cougars (1926). However, almost every one of the players came from Canada.

The NHL dominated hockey, monopolized players and controlled salaries and player movement. A few exceptional players were paid up to $10 000 per season, but in the 1920s the average salary had dropped to $900, despite player protests and a threatened strike. After 1945 the controversial C-Form gave NHL teams exclusive control over the future careers of boys from age 15. The sole purpose of amateur junior hockey became the development of players for the NHL - not to win titles or to represent a community, but to identify individual prospects.

Towards the Modern Game: Rule Changes

The present form of the sport took shape in the professional leagues, the NHL and the Pacific Coast League. Key innovations were 3 20-minute periods (1910), 6 players (1911) and a gradual relaxation of the stricture against the forward pass: allowed between blue lines (1918), within any of the 3 zones (1929-30), and across blue lines (1930-31). The red line was added in 1943-44. The result was a faster game and more team play.

Although competition remained keen in smaller centres for the amateur trophies, the Allan Cup and Memorial Cup, the focus remained on the NHL. The number of teams dwindled to 6, however, with only the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS and the Montreal Canadiens in Canada. The Ottawa Senators dominated the 1920s, with 4 league titles and 4 Stanley Cup victories, but the team folded in 1934.

Some early exploits live on: Joe MALONE scored 7 goals in 1 game in 1920; George HAINSWORTH won the VÉZINA TROPHY in its first 3 years; and in March 1923 Foster HEWITT broadcast a game on radio for the first time. Outstanding players of the era included Frank "King" CLANCY, Charlie CONACHER, Bill COOK, Aurèle JOLIAT, Lester PATRICK and Nels STEWART. Howie MORENZ was the flashiest player, and Eddie SHORE the premier defenceman.

Toronto Maple Leafs
The official program from the Toronto Maple Leafs' first game at Maple Leaf Gardens on 12 November 1931 (public domain).

Hewitt, Foster, Video
Legendary hockey announcer Foster Hewitt is profiled in a segment of the CBC series "Telescope" entitled "The World of Mr. Hockey", broadcast on 19 March 1965 (courtesy CBC).

The 1940s and 1950s

The schedule continued to increase, to 48 games in the 1930s and 70 games in 1949-50. The Toronto Maple Leafs, led by Walter "Turk" BRODA, Syl APPS, Ted KENNEDY and Max BENTLEY, were the dominant team of the 1940s, winning the Stanley Cup 6 times in 10 years. But Maurice "Rocket" RICHARD of the Canadiens was clearly the outstanding offensive player, scoring 50 goals in 50 games in 1944-45, including 5 goals and 3 assists in 1 game.

Richard, Maurice
"Rocket" Richard on one of his famous drives to the net (courtesy Canada's Sports Hall of Fame).

The outstanding team of the early 1950s was the Detroit Red Wings, led by Gordie HOWE (who won the scoring championship 5 times and the HART TROPHY 4 times in the decade), Red KELLY, Ted LINDSAY and Terry SAWCHUK. In the mid-1950s the Montreal Canadiens built possibly the most powerful team in NHL history, with Maurice and Henri Richard, Bernie GEOFFRION, Jean BÉLIVEAU, Jacques PLANTE, Dickie Moore, Doug HARVEY and others. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 6 times, including a record 5 straight.

The 1960s and Expansion

The NHL expanded into 6 American centres in 1967: Los Angeles, Oakland, St. Louis, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The VANCOUVER CANUCKS were added in 1970-71, with Buffalo. Toronto won the Stanley Cup 4 more times before expansion, and Montreal began another string. Chicago managed its first Stanley Cup victory in 23 years in 1960-61, led by the brilliant Bobby HULL, Stan MIKITA and Glenn HALL.

Scoring increased in the diluted league, and Phil ESPOSITO of the Boston Bruins set new records for goals (76) in a season and points (152), while defenceman Bobby ORR revolutionized his position, becoming the first defenceman to win the scoring championship. The offensive emphasis of the sport was typified in the 1980s by the incredible scoring feats of Wayne GRETZKY, which are perhaps unmatched in any sport, and of Mario LEMIEUX.

Hull, Robert
Hall of Famer Bobbie Hull in a game between the Black Hawks and Maple Leafs, 1960 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-29558).

Lemieux, Mario
Mario Lemieux's brilliant hockey career was interrupted in 1994 by injury and illness.

The Rival League

The NHL's monopoly of professional hockey was broken in 1971 when the WORLD HOCKEY ASSOCIATION was organized, signing more than 70 players from the NHL, including Bobby Hull. It began with 12 teams and grew to 14 before rising expenses and dwindling crowds reduced it to 7. Fighting had always been tolerated in Canadian hockey, but with the dilution of talent the increased brawling severely tarnished the sport. A number of well-publicized incidents even brought players into court.

In 1979 the feud between the rival leagues ended with a merger, as the WINNIPEG JETS, EDMONTON OILERS, QUÉBEC NORDIQUES and Hartford Whalers were assimilated by the NHL. The competition for players had substantially raised salaries and finally brought NHL teams to more Canadian cities. In 1980 a team was moved from Atlanta, Ga., to become the CALGARY FLAMES.

Further expansion in the 1990s resulted in Ottawa re-establishing the Senators. In 1983-84 Edmonton became the first of the ex-WHA teams to win the Stanley Cup, ending a 4-year reign by the New York Islanders; the high-scoring Oilers captured the cup 4 of the next 6 seasons before being dismantled by its owner. In the early 1990s, Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins became the dominant team. Skyrocketing salaries led to financial difficulties for several franchises. The Nordiques succumbed in 1995 and were relocated to Denver. In 1996 the Jets were also sold, to a group in Phoenix.

International Hockey

After winning the world championship with senior amateur teams against the world's best players 15 of 19 times from 1920 to 1952, Canada managed victories in 1955, 1958 and 1961, but then not again until 1994 and 1997. After the Soviets won the world championship in 1954 and the Olympic gold medal in Cortina in 1956, they began to dominate international hockey. From 1963 to 1973 the Soviets won 11 of 12 Olympic and world championships, but Canadians still believed that the Soviets would collapse in competition with professionals. Finally an NHL all-star team met the Soviets in the 1972 CANADA-SOVIET HOCKEY SERIES, perhaps the most dramatic sports event in Canadian history. Canada's narrow victory (with 4 victories, 3 losses and 1 tie) was tantamount to a national identity crisis. The 25th anniversary of the series (ie, Canada's victory) was widely celebrated in Canada in 1997.

Canadian teams had continued success in the CANADA CUP and its successor, the World Cup, an international competition of national all-star teams held every 3 or 4 years, winning in 1976, 1984, 1987 and 1991 (losing only in 1980 and 1996). Canada's Olympic team won Olympic silver medals without NHL players in both 1992 and 1994 (see CANADIAN OLYMPIC HOCKEY TEAMS), but Soviet (later Russian) teams continued to dominate the world championships and the Olympics (winning again in 1992).

The spread and growing proficiency of hockey in Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the US is reflected in the increasing number of players from these countries in the NHL, including many of its brightest new stars, such as Russians Pavel Bure and Sergei Federov, Swedes Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin, the Finn Teemu Selanne and Czechs Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek.

Since 1994 Canada has won the world championship twice, Finland and Sweden once, and the Czech Republic 4 times. Sweden won the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and the Czechs won it in 1998.

Canada's failures in international competition, particularly their losses to the Americans in the World Cup in 1997 and to the Czechs in the Nagano Olympics in 1998, set off a new round of hand-wringing in Canada. Phone-in shows, newspaper articles and television documentaries warned that Canadians could no longer dominate or even remain among the best in their national sport. While the debate helped to focus attention on the lack of time spent teaching Canadian youngsters to play the game with skill and on the outdated emphasis on rugged individualism or on the meaningless grind of the NHL season, this outburst of angst overlooked a number of factors. Canada still has the largest number of young people playing hockey. Canada has won the World Junior Championships 10 times since the Championships first began in 1977, and won the prestigious title 5 years in a row from 1993 to 1997. Interest in women's hockey was growing fast with the sport's acceptance at the Olympic level (Canada won the silver medal in Nagano). In the ebb and flow of great players, many of Canada's greatest players were long past the apex of their careers in 1997-98. Mario Lemieux had just retired. Canadian teams still lacked the experience of the Europeans on the large ice surface and in the infamous shootout, which cost Canada against the Czech team.

Just as after their loss of innocence in 1972, Canadians were not about to lose their passion for hockey or cease to consider it an intimate part of their northern identity after the Olympic failure. Even the puzzling economics of the professional sport, in which owners seemed to benefit more from playing to empty stands in Carolina than to full arenas in Edmonton and Calgary, did not seem to diminish Canadians' love for the game.

Canada's Olympic hockey gold-medal drought officially ended when the women's team defeated the Americans 3-2 at Salt Lake City in 2002. In a reversal of the circumstances at the Nagano games, when the Canadians were heavily favoured to win, but lost, Canada came to Salt Lake City with a recent 0-8 pre-Olympic record against the US. Focused, intense, and fired up by rumours that the Americans had abused the Canadian flag on their dressing-room floor, the Canadians prevailed 3-2 despite an endless stream of penalties called by the American referee.

The Canadian men's team had a more difficult road, since there were at least five other teams with legitimate chances to win gold. Wayne GRETZKY was chosen to manage the team in November of 2000 and he and his staff, including his chosen coach Pat Quinn of the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS, determined to choose skilled players who could play on the wider international surface. The team's performance in the preliminary round did not inspire confidence in the media or among fans, as Canada lost to Sweden 5-2, eked out a 3-2 victory over a weak German team, and then tied the Czechs 3-3. Stung by criticism, Gretzky delivered a diatribe against the team's detractors, especially those in the media. In the quarterfinal game against the Finns, who had beaten the Russians, Canada took a 2-0 lead and held on to win 2-1. Confidence grew as Canada had outplayed the Finns, outshooting them 34-19. Canada's route to the gold-medal game opened fortuitously when goalie Tommy Salo allowed a fluke goal and Belarus defeated Sweden. Canada beat Belarus easily, 7-1. Although Canada controlled play early in the gold-medal game, the US scored first. Canada tied the game with a goal by Paul Kariya 6 minutes later and Joe Sakic fed a pass to Jerome Iginla for the lead before the end of the first period. The Americans tied the game in the second period, but Joe Sakic scored to give Canada a lead, which it nursed into the third period. Late goals by Iginla and Sakic gave Canada a 5-2 win. Sakic was named MVP of the tournament.

After decades of not being allowed to have their best players perform, or at Nagano having their best players not perform well, Canada had captured what for them is the crown jewel of Olympic honours, the men's hockey gold medal. The hand-wringing over Olympic failure would be left to the Russians and Swedes.

See STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 1892-1944; STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 1944-present.

Winning Goal, 1972
Paul Henderson scored the dramatic goal in Moscow to give the Canadians the series victory (photo by Frank Lennon/Toronto Star).

Men's Olympic Hockey Team, 1994
1994 Canadian Olympic hockey team in action against Sweden (photo by Claus Andersen/Canadian Sport Images)

Henderson, Paul
September 28, 1972: Paul Henderson's memorable goal with 34 seconds remaining in the final game of the Canada-Soviet hockey series (courtesy of Hockey Canada).

Canada Cup Winning Goal
Canada Cup winning goal by Mario Lemieux (photo courtesy Dan Hamilton).

Women's Olympic Hockey Team, Torino, 2006
Canada's women's hockey team poses for an official team photo following their gold medal win at the Torino Olympics (courtesy CP Archives).

Author JAMES MARSH

Links to Other Sites

Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada is the governing body for amateur hockey in Canada. Oversees hockey programming in Canada from the entry level to international competitions, including World Championships, the World Cup of Hockey and Olympic Games. Check out Team Canada and information about national and regional hockey championships.

Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum
Extensive biographical information and data about Canada's greatest hockey stars. From the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum.

Montreal Canadiens
The official website of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team.

National Hockey League
The NHL website features the latest league news as well as highlights of past seasons.

Stanley Cup
A detailed history of the Stanley Cup from the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum.

Toronto Maple Leafs
This site gives you a rinkside seat to all the action with the legendary Toronto Maple Leafs.

Admired in life, revered in death
A tribute to hockey legend Maurice Richard from the CBC Digital Archives.

Science of Hockey
Great site devoted to the science involved in the development of hockey playing skills. From the Exploratorium science centre.

Nativehockey.com
A great website about past and present aboriginal hockey players in Canada.

Hockey: A Nation's Passion
Skate through this interactive multimedia website about the history and cultural impact of Canada’s national sport and pastime. A Virtual Museum website.

Sign Me Up! / Regulation Size Only
An interactive, multimedia Virtual Museum website about hockey history featuring vintage hockey board games.

Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective
Trace the development of Canada's national sport in this collection of historic hockey photographs, stories, and documents. From Library and Archives Canada.

The Spirit of Hockey
This multimedia CBC site is dedicated to Canada's national sport.

The Life of Sir John Franklin, R.N.
This 1825 account of a hockey game played by Sir John Franklin and his expeditionary team is from “The life of Sir John Franklin, R.N.”, by H.D. Traill. A Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions website.

Women in Canadian Sport
This series of biographies of outstanding Canadian women athletes is part of the Celebrating Women’s Achievements series from Library and Archives Canada. Also includes teaching guides and references.

Canadian Olympians
The "Canadian Olympians" website offers a searchable images database of Canadian athletes at the Olympics, from the early 1900s through 2002. From Library and Archives Canada.

The History of Canadian Broadcasting
This site is dedicated to the visionary pioneers who created Canada’s broadcasting industry. Features profiles of members of the CAB Hall of Fame and much more. From the Canadian Communications Foundation.

Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
Born out of a landmark merger between the Canadian Centre for Drug-Free Sport and Fair Play Canada, the CCES is founded on the principles of fair play and drug-free sport

Hockey Night in Canada
Tune into some great audio clips from the early days of hockey broadcasting on CBC Radio.

Mercury Memories
Former members of the Edmonton Mercurys reminisce about bringing home Olympic hockey gold. From the CBC Digital Archives.

Edmonton Mercurys
Search this site for news stories about the Edmonton Mercurys 1952 Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey. From "Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective," Library and Archives Canada.

Hockey Night In Canada Theme
This site is dedicated to the hockey theme originally composed for the CBC program “Hockey Night In Canada.” Features an interview with Dolores Claman and information about sheet music for arrangements for piano and other instruments.

Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game
This link takes you to a digitized copy of Arthur Farrell's landmark 1899 book “Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game.” From Library and Archives Canada. Note: a really, really big PDF file.

Notable Women Hockey Players
Brief profiles of notable women hockey players from the website for the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum.

Hayley Wickenheiser
The official website for medal-winning Canadian athlete Hayley Wickenheiser.

Glossary: Sports Medicine
A glossary of terms related to sports medicine. From the official Web site of The Vancouver Canucks.

Glossary: Ice Hockey
A glossary of terms commonly used in the sport of ice hockey. From the TMLFever.com website.

Glossary: Hockey History
A glossary of historic ice hockey terms. From the website for Hants County in Nova Scotia.

Hockey theme song gets new recording
Listen to the TSN version of the iconic hockey theme. Re-recorded by 54 members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the new reading holds true to the version familiar to Canadians.

Hockey: A People's History
The website for "Hockey: A People's History," a CBC series that brings alive the roots of a game that has shaped a nation. Check out the hockey timeline, the "virtual hot stove," and more.

Town of Windsor
The website for the Town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. Check out the hockey history links in the "Tourism" section of this site.

The death of the wood stick is near
A news story about the growing popularity of composite sticks in professional hockey. From the canada.com website.

TSN
Catch the latest sports news and stats at the website for TSN, a subsidiary of CTVglobemedia.

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