Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding sports.
The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four 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 NHL is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the English Premier League (EPL).
Robert Marvin Hull was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blonde hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high velocity all earned him the name "The Golden Jet". His talents were such that an opposing player was often assigned just to shadow him.
Gordon Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seasons were spent with the Detroit Red Wings. Nicknamed "Mr. Hockey", Howe is often considered the most complete player to ever play the game and one of the greatest of all time. At his retirement, his 801 goals, 1049 assists, and 1850 total points were all NHL records that stood until they were broken by Wayne Gretzky, who himself has been a major champion of Howe's legacy. A 23-time NHL All-Star, he still holds the NHL record for seasons played, and his all-time NHL games played record of 1,767 was only surpassed in 2021 by Patrick Marleau. In 2017, Howe was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players".
Jaromír Jágr is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger for and the owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames, serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers, between 1990 and 2018. After leaving the Rangers in 2008, he played three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Avangard Omsk. He returned to the NHL in 2011 with the Flyers and remained in the league for seven more years before being assigned by the Flames in 2018 to HC Kladno. Having played in 35 professional seasons and over 2,000 professional games, Jágr has had one of the longest careers in professional ice hockey history. He is the most productive European player who has ever played in the NHL and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first woman to play in exhibition game in any of the major North American pro-sports leagues.
Éric Dazé is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League for eleven seasons.
Roderic Jean Brind'Amour is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Charles Robert Simmer is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, most notably for the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League, who was known for his scoring prowess.
Joseph Henri Richard was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975. He was nicknamed "Pocket Rocket" after his older brother, Canadiens' legend and fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Henri won the Stanley Cup 11 times as a player, the most in NHL history. Richard and Bill Russell of the National Basketball Association are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. In 2017, Richard was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Brock R. Tredway is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He played one playoff game in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings during the 1981–82 season, on April 19, 1982 against the Vancouver Canucks. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1981 until 1986, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League.
Sidney G. "Sid" Veysey is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who played one game in the National Hockey League, with the Vancouver Canucks on October 14, 1977. The rest of his professional career was spent in the minor leagues, mainly in the Central Hockey League. Selected by the Canucks in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, Veysey made his professional debut that year, and played hockey until retiring in 1983. He later became a scout for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the major junior Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Petr Svoboda is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was the first Czech to play over 1,000 games in the NHL.
Edwin Fitzgerald (Gerry) James is a Canadian former professional Canadian football running back and professional ice hockey player. He played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) between 1952 and 1964 and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1955 and 1960. His is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, like his father, Eddie James, who also played for the Blue Bombers. James was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Bruce Allan Boudreau is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He previously served as head coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, and was a third round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 141 games in the NHL with the Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks, and 30 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Boudreau played most of his career in the American Hockey League (AHL) for various teams where he was known for his goals and point-scoring abilities, recording 316 goals and 483 assists for 799 points in 634 games.
Simon Lajeunesse is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators and played a single National Hockey League (NHL) game with the Senators during the 2001-02 season.
Julien Vauclair is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenseman who spent most of his career with HC Lugano in the National League (NL). He made his professional debut in 1996 with HC Ajoie in Switzerland's second tier, Swiss League (SL). He spent three seasons within the Ottawa Senators organization of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators selected him 74th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
Kevin Scott MacDonald is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player.
The history of Black players in North American ice hockey has roots dating back to the late 19th century. The first Black ice hockey star was Herb Carnegie during the Great Depression. Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's Black color barrier with the Boston Bruins in 1958.
Jacob Ryan Trouba is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and captain of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Trouba was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Trouba played the first six years of his career in Winnipeg before he was traded to the Rangers in 2019.