History of Ice Hockey
Ice hockey, a fast-paced variant of hockey played on ice, is the most popular sport in places like Canada, Northern USA, Norway, Finland and Russia, where seasonal ice cover is typical. Today, the game is by and large played on indoor artificial ice rinks throughout the year. Ice hockey is played between two teams with six skaters who use sticks to move the puck into the opponent’s goal. Injuries are very common in this ‘collision sport’ and safety equipment is now mandatory for all players and referees. Combined with penalties for rule infractions, this highly competitive sport is a sure-bet thriller. It is believed that the Micmac Indians of Nova Scotia (Canada) played a game very similar to ice hockey in the early 1800s.
In 1877, the students of the McGill University codified the first rules of ice hockey. Lord Stanley of Preston introduced a trophy called the Stanley Cup in 1892, which went on to become the oldest professional sports trophy in North America and is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) champion at the end of each season. The National Hockey League is the premier ice hockey league in the world and consists of only North American teams, though the teams include players from all parts of the world. Apart from NHL, the other prominent ice hockey league is the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) whose players are predominantly Russian. Other championships include Victoria Cup, Continental Cup, Super Cup, Hockey Europe and the Spengler Cup. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are legendary ice hockey players known of their speed and finesse.
Previous Ice Hockey season(s)
The IIHF has 66 members, but 162 IIHF World Championships out of the total 177 have been won by Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States. The story is much the same for IIHF World Women Championships. In 2008, the IIHF World Championship was held in Canada for the first time and it was won by Russia. The 2009 championship was again claimed by Russia who defeated Canada 2-1 in the final. The 2008–09 NHL season belonged to the Pittsburgh Penguins and their captain Sidney Crosby. Sidney became the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.
