Martin St. Louis is a Canadian hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He is the current head coach of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, St. Louis played 1,134 games and scored 391 goals and 1,033 points in an NHL career that began with the Calgary Flames in 1998 and ended with the New York Rangers in 2015. St. Louis is best remembered for having played with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2000 until being traded to the Rangers in 2014. He also briefly played with HC Lausanne of the Swiss National League A. He was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup championship team. St. Louis was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018; his first year of eligibility. He was one of two players inducted into the Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Fame in their inaugural year on March 17, 2023. St. Louis is widely considered one of the best undrafted players of all time.
Mark John Douglas Messier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years (1979–2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He also played professionally with the World Hockey Association (WHA)'s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He also played a short 4 game stint in the original Central Hockey League with the Houston Apollos in 1979. He was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active player in any of the major North American professional sports leagues to have played in the 1970s. After his playing career, he served as special assistant to the president and general manager of the Rangers.
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 an exhibition game in any of the major North American pro-sports leagues.
Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey.
Expo Hall is an indoor arena located at the Florida State Fairgrounds in East Lake-Orient Park, Florida. It is used primarily as an exhibition hall during the Florida State Fair, but has also hosted concerts and sporting events.
The Detroit Vipers were an International Hockey League team. The team was founded in 1994, and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Their mascot was a polar bear named Vipe-bear.
Alain R. Gabriel Côté is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and Roller Hockey player.
Martin Cibák is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player.
Louis Dennis DeBrusk is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is currently a colour analyst for Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on Sportsnet and the late game of Hockey Night in Canada.
The St. Louis Vipers are a professional roller hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Paul Edmond Messier is a British-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is the older brother of the NHL player Mark Messier.
Daniel Girardi is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Undrafted, Girardi played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning as a stay-at-home defenseman. He is currently a development coach for the Buffalo Sabres.
Dieter Kochan, is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 2002 IIHF World Championship as well as 21 games for the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild between 2000 and 2003. He was the first player to be called up directly from the UHL to the NHL. He notably scored a goal for the B.C. Icemen, on January 5, 1999. He was a member of the Calder Cup champion Houston Aeros in 2002–03. Internationally Kochan played for the American national team at the 2002 World Championship.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. They formerly played in USSF Division 2 and the North American Soccer League (NASL), which were also second-tier leagues. The Rowdies play their home games at Al Lang Stadium on St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront.
The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.
The Premier League is the main competition in England Roller Hockey. It has a long history, and it has existed since 1930. It has some of the most historic European teams like Herne Bay and Herne Bay United. The top teams usually compete in European Club Competitions like European League or Cers Cup now organised by World Skate Europe - Rink Hockey.
Tampa Roller Derby (TRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in the Tampa Bay Area. Founded in 2005, Tampa Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
England Roller Hockey, which originated in England, is a game played on roller-skates with a ball and stick. It was first played at The Lava Rink in Denmark Hill, London in 1885. The National Rink Hockey Association of England (NRHA) is the roller hockey governing body in England.
The Lightning–Panthers rivalry, also known as the Battle of Florida, is an American professional ice hockey rivalry between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. Both the Lightning and the Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Atlantic Division. In past seasons, the rivalry has been recognized in a trophy known as the Governor's Cup, also called the Sunshine Cup and later the Nextel Cup Challenge.
