The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times since the league became eligible to compete for the trophy. Many players have been drafted from WHL teams, and have found success at various levels of professional hockey, including the National Hockey League (NHL).
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements. The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior or collegiate leagues and professional players from European leagues.
Gilbert Perreault is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who played for 17 seasons with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. Known for his ability to stickhandle in close quarters, he is regarded as one of the most skillful playmaking centres of all time. He was the first draft pick of the Sabres in their inaugural season in the NHL. He is well known as the centre man for the prolific trio of Sabres forwards known as The French Connection. In 2017 Perreault was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
George "Punch" Imlach, was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (2004).
The Edmonton Oil Kings were a junior ice hockey team, and founding member of the Western Hockey League. They played at Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta, and later Northlands Coliseum. In 1976 they moved to Portland, Oregon to become the Portland Winter Hawks. A second incarnation of the team played only one season in 1977–78 before moving to Great Falls, Montana.
The HC Nikkō Ice Bucks is an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan.
The 1974 NHL Amateur Draft was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. In an effort to prevent the WHA from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to prevent tampering as information leaked out via agents and other sources over the three days of the draft. As a statement of frustration at the slow, secret conference call format, Buffalo General Manager Punch Imlach claimed "Taro Tsujimoto" of the "Tokyo Katanas" of Japan using the 183rd overall pick. NHL officials immediately validated the selection, but weeks later Imlach admitted that Tsujimoto was a fabrication. The selection was ruled invalid by the NHL and removed from their records.
The 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, in the ballroom of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season: the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues.
The Seibu Prince Rabbits were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Nishitōkyō City in Tokyo, Japan that was folded in 2009. The Rabbits played at the DyDo Drinco Ice Arena from 2006-2009. In December 2008, Prince Hotels, the team's owner, announced that the team would be folded at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season.
Allan Robert Smith was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender.
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an annual international under-18 ice hockey tournament administered by Canada, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia's ice hockey federations. Held since 1991, it has been contested under various titles and in various countries, including Japan, Mexico, and Canada. From 1997 through 2017, hosting duties for the event alternated between, and were later split between, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. During this period, the event was known as the Nations Cup, the U-18 Junior World Cup, and Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. From 2018 through 2022, the tournament will alternate between Edmonton, Canada and Czech Republic/Slovakia.
Hiroyuki Miura is a Japanese retired ice hockey defenceman.
The 1970–71 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' first season in the National Hockey League.
The expansion era of the National Hockey League (NHL) began when six new teams were added for the 1967–68 season, ending the Original Six era. The six existing teams were grouped into the newly created East Division, and the expansion teams—the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues—formed the West Division.
Michael Robert "Shakey" Walton is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. Walton played forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1965 until 1979.
Ice hockey is a minor sport that is gaining popularity in Japan. Baseball and football (soccer) have dominated Japanese sports for decades, but ice hockey has been less popular in Japan since its founding in the 1920s. It is governed by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation
