Winter Classic often refers to the NHL Winter Classic, a series of in-season outdoor ice-hockey games played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in North American professional ice hockey.
Winter Classic may also refer to:
A number of ice hockey games have similar names, including:
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). As of the 2024–25 AHL season, all 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an AHL team. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises.
The NHL Winter Classic is an annual outdoor ice hockey game played during the National Hockey League's (NHL) regular season on or around New Year's Day. It is generally held in a football or baseball stadium in the United States in an area with a resident NHL team, though for most of the game's existence, they are usually played in a baseball stadium to avoid scheduling and logistical conflicts with football stadiums during the National Football League regular season. The Winter Classic is distinct from the league's two other series of outdoor games, the NHL Heritage Classic and the NHL Stadium Series. The first Winter Classic was held in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. Fifteen Winter Classics have been held as of January 2024. The most recent game was played during the 2023–24 NHL season at T-Mobile Park, with the Seattle Kraken defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3−0.
Nathan David Gerbe is an American former professional ice hockey player. Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Gerbe played for the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. At 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) tall, Gerbe is the shortest skater in NHL history, and the second shortest player in NHL history behind goaltender Roy Worters.
Michelle Karvinen is a Danish-Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team, currently signed with Frölunda HC Dam of the Damettan. Karvinen has been described as "the world's best technical player" and she is considered one of the best currently active ice hockey forwards. With the Finnish national team, she has won three Olympic bronze medals and six IIHF Women's World Championship medals, five bronze and one silver.
The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals four games to three, being the sixth Cup win in Bruins' franchise history. For the fourth consecutive season, the season started with games in Europe. The 58th All-Star Game was held at RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, home arena of the Carolina Hurricanes, on January 30, 2011.
Teams in the American Hockey League first hosted games outdoors in 2010. Paralleling the National Hockey League's Winter Classic and Heritage Classic, these outdoor games frequently pit two regional rivals in a game in an outdoor venue. Inasmuch as the games have carried a unified brand, the most commonly used name for these events has been the Outdoor Classic.
Jenni Hiirikoski is a Finnish ice hockey player and captain of the Finnish national team and Luleå HF/MSSK in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL).
The 2012 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 2, 2012, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The fifth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the New York Rangers against the Philadelphia Flyers, two Atlantic Division rivals; the Rangers won by a score of 3–2. The original plan was to have the contest at the Philadelphia Eagles' home, Lincoln Financial Field; however, the Eagles played there the day before, and the NHL needed at least a week of preparation time to build the ice rink onto the field. The game was broadcast by NBC in the United States and by CBC and RDS in Canada. NBC's announcers were Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, with Pierre McGuire handling sideline duties and Bob Costas as the studio host.
The 2011–12 AHL season was the 76th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 7, 2011, and concluded on April 15, 2012. The 2012 Calder Cup playoffs follows the conclusion of the regular season.
Mark David Van Guilder is an American former ice hockey player. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators during the 2013–14 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2008 to 2021, was mainly spent in the minor leagues, as well as six seasons in Europe.
The 2014 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2014, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The sixth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings; the Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings, 3–2, in a shootout to move past the Red Wings in the Atlantic Division. The game was televised nationally in Canada on CBC and nationally in the United States on NBC. The game set an NHL attendance record of 105,491, surpassing the previous record set during the 2008 NHL Winter Classic.
Outdoor Classic or outdoor classic may refer to:
The Stadium Series is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). This event is distinct from the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic played on New Year's Day in a different NHL city every year, and the NHL Heritage Classic. Games in the Stadium Series have been held in either late January, February, or early March in a football or baseball stadium in the United States. The first Stadium Series was held in 2014 and consisted of seven teams participating in four games held in three venues. In 2015, only one game in the Stadium Series was held, while in 2016 and in 2024, two games were held. From 2017 to 2023 and again in 2025, only one game was scheduled per year.
The National Hockey League (NHL) first held a regular season outdoor ice hockey game in 2003, and since 2008 the league has scheduled at least one per year.
The ice hockey (hockey) competitions of the 2018 Winter Olympics were played at two venues within the Gangneung Coastal Cluster in Gangneung, South Korea. The Gangneung Hockey Centre, which seats 10,000, and the Kwandong Hockey Centre, which seats 6,000, were both originally scheduled to be completed in 2016 but appear to have been completed in early 2017. Both venues contain Olympic-sized rinks.
Petra Nieminen is a Finnish ice hockey player for Luleå HF/MSSK of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and alternate captain of Finland women's national ice hockey team. She is considered one of the top young talents in Finnish ice hockey.
Eeli Tolvanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tolvanen was selected by the Nashville Predators 30th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He was born and grew up in Vihti, Finland.
The 2022 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2022, at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 13th edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the St. Louis Blues against the Minnesota Wild; the Blues won, 6–4. The game was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.