Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.
The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". Originally commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the trophy is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, then-Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club, which the entire Stanley family supported, with the sons and daughters playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC, and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the two professional ice hockey organizations, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. After a series of league mergers and folds, it was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is awarded annually to the "player judged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League (NHL). The original trophy was donated to the league in 1923 by David Hart, the father of Cecil Hart, the longtime head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. The Hart Trophy has been awarded 92 times to 56 different players since its beginnings in 1924. Each year, members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote to determine the player who was the most valuable to his team during the regular season.
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. For the 2017–18 season, its three leagues and 60 teams represent nine Canadian provinces as well as four American states.
Drummondville is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 68,601. The mayor of Drummondville is Alexandre Cusson.
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the Stoney Creek Generals, who captured the 2018 Allan Cup in Rosetown, Saskatchewan.
Hockey Canada, which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994, is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a majority of ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League and U Sports who are partnered with Hockey Canada, but are not members, as well as any of Canada's professional hockey clubs. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, Alberta with a secondary office in Ottawa, Ontario and regional centres in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.
Coach in ice hockey is the person responsible for directing the team during games and practices, prepares strategy and decides which players will participate in games.
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in various sports. They generally have lesser fan bases and smaller budgets.
The Canadian national men's ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. From 1920 until 1963, Canada's international representation was by senior amateur club teams. Canada's national men's team was founded in 1963 by Father David Bauer as a part of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, playing out of the University of British Columbia. The nickname "Team Canada" was first used for the 1972 Summit Series and has been frequently used to refer to the Canadian national team ever since.
The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the midwestern United States.
Junior hockey is ice hockey competition generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur and operate within regions of each country.
Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired.
In sports, a prospect is any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to surpass a threshold where they achieve rookie status, or is not established with the team yet. Prospects can sometimes be assigned to farm teams, or loaned to lower ranked teams. They may also decide to go back to college to play.
The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL), was a semi-professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through the 1910s. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league was the pre-eminent ice hockey league at the time in the United States. It was the first league to openly hire and trade players.
