The history of hockey
The game originated in Canada around 1855, when the game on ice was first played with a puck rather than a ball, distinguishing it from field hockey, as played by British soldiers in Canada. A sport similar to ice hockey, bandy, also uses a ball.
In eastern Canada there is a different belief, which is that ice hockey originated around 1800 in Windsor, Nova Scotia, where students at King's College School, adapted the exciting field game of Hurley to the ice of their favorite skating ponds and created a new winter game, Ice Hurley. Over a period of decades, Ice Hurley gradually developed into Ice Hockey. It is believed that following this development that British soldiers picked up the game.
A man who is one of North America's most quoted authors, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, born in Windsor in 1796, told of King's College boys playing "hurley on the ice" when he was a young student at the school around 1800.
Nevertheless, ice hockey quickly gained popularity in Canada, and in the North Central and North Eastern United States. In 1893, the Stanley Cup was established as the trophy emblematic of the Canadian senior championship; it became the award of the winner of the playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1926. In 1908, after the competition for the Stanley Cup had become professional, the Allan Cup became the trophy awarded to the national amateur champion. In 1919 the Memorial Cup was established as the trophy for the national junior (under 21) men's champion.
The sport also became known in Europe, and in 1908, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) was founded.
At the 1920 Summer Olympics, ice hockey was introduced to the Olympics, and it has been part of the Winter Olympics ever since. Canada dominated Olympic play in the early years, being undefeated until 1936. After the Second World War, teams from Eastern Europe became stronger, notably the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, although this was also due to the fact that only amateur players were allowed to play in the Olympics. Communist countries frequently entered teams consisting largely of servicemen whose military duties consisted of playing hockey. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Red Army team was for many years one of the premier teams in the world.
At the 1998 Winter Olympics, an agreement was made to stop the NHL for a few weeks to allow the professional players to compete in the Olympics. Despite hopes from Canada and the US, the Czech Republic won the Olympic title on that occasion, although Canada would come out on top 4 years later in Salt Lake City. In 1998, women's ice hockey also made its appearance at the Olympics, with the United States beating Canada for the gold medal in that year, and Canada beating the United States in 2002.
Before the Olympics were opened up for professional athletes, the World Cup of Hockey and its predecessor the Canada Cup displayed the highest level of hockey, since only these tournaments were open to all the world's best players. Featuring the very best players from the six competing countries (Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, the USSR, Sweden and the USA) the Canada Cup was played for in 1976, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991. The 1987 event is referred to as one of the most spectacular in hockey history. In 1996, the Canada Cup was replaced by the World Cup of Hockey, which featured all six nations above and Germany (though Czechoslovakia had by then split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia). The World Cup of Hockey will be played for again in 2004. Except for 1981, when the USSR won, all Canada Cups were won by Canada. The 1996 World Cup of Hockey event was won by the USA.
The annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships are formally open to the best players in the world, but many cannot attend because they are playing in the Stanley Cup tournament, which is held at the same time. The IIHF championships pit national men's and women's teams against each other in multiple divisions.
At present the game is most popular in Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland. The premier league is the National Hockey League (NHL), with teams in the United States and Canada. Other leagues providing a high calibre of play are the Finnish SM-Liiga, the Swedish Elitserien, and the Czech and Russian national competitions. Many players of North American origin, among them former NHLers, compete in European leagues. The highest number of American and Canadian players overseas can be found in the German Elite League DEL.
Hockey is also played by colleges in the United States as a part of the NCAA culminated in the Frozen Four. The American Hockey League (AHL) is the leading American minor league; it has teams in both Canada and the United States. The Canadian Hockey League or CHL is a major Canadian junior (under 21) league, and is the parent group of the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. It is the chief preparation league for the NHL, and also awards the Memorial Cup to the Canadian junior hockey champion.
However these leagues are not alone. According to The Internet Hockey Database, there are over 100 leagues ever to be formed and play games (and a few more, because the site does not show European minor leagues or smaller NCAA leagues). Also the World Hockey Association has been revived for 2004-2005. The New World Hockey Association has Bobby Hull for a commissioner. The league has been revived just in time for the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring.