Hockey Players Research Paper

For many decades, writers and authors have accused the American influence on Canada as one of the reasons why Canada is losing its heritage, with one major aspect being the game of hockey. The institutionalization of American Culture began to take root in Canada during the late 1920’s and 1930s as technological advances, specifically the invention of the radio, allowed Canadians to enjoy American entertainment. American stations were much more reliable than Canadian ones, causing American sporting stations such as NBC and CBS to become extremely popular in Canada (Gruneau et al, 1993). As Canada was becoming intertwined with the United States (U.S.), it was becoming less of a satellite of Britain, which made it tremendously difficult for Canada’s elite to protect British ideals such as self-improvement and participating in sport for the game’s sake. (Gruneau et al, 1993). In the early 1940’s, after the great depression forced many franchises to dismantle, the National Hockey League (NHL) was left with six teams, which made up the famous “original six.” At this time, America had a strong influence on the game, as four of the original six teams were based in the United States, and all of the players in league were paid in American dollars (Gruneau et al, 1993). By the early 1960’s, televised sports were emerging in North America, and NHL players were becoming mainstream stars. Inspired by this, along with the threat of the NHL losing its television contract to the Western

For Canadians, it's difficult to fathom a culture in which hockey is not a defining characteristic, considering it is so inextricably tied to our own culture. This ethnocentric view leads to the assumption that because Canadian television sets and newspapers are dominated by hockey reporting so too should be the case in the United States. Yet while Canadians treat hockey with an almost religious reverence, Americans have never had the same affinity and as such hockey is of little import as a cultural symbol. Furthermore, had a cultural relativistic approach been applied, objectively evaluating what to Canadians is a glaring oversight, the sports network's complete lack of coverage would have resulted in the conclusion it is neither remarkable

The fact that the 1990s were the greatest period of growth for American hockey suggests that the 1980 Olympics did not inspire thousands of kids to strap on the blades right away. But the event certainly took its place in American sports mythology, giving young hockey players a heritage to celebrate and icons to look up to. That kind of legacy is the lifeblood of any sport.

What would you say if I told you that hockey was no longer Canada's national sport? Although it seems that it is on a professional level, where the game and Canada has progressed to become bigger, faster and stronger than ever, this could not be less true compared to the game we all grew up loving. Yes, the game that many grew up on, playing minor hockey and developing lifelong friendships through countless hours on the ice has become less popular in recent years due to many reasons, one major one being cost. Through the alarming costs of equipment and minor hockey that are needed to play organized hockey, it is looking like Hockey is not so much Canada's national sport, but rather one played mostly by the rich.

Hockey is a sport thats origins may be from Persia, Egypt or China, while archaeological evidence shows an early ball-and-stick game played in Greece in the 400s BCE. As civilization spread, so did the games. In 1872, a young man from Halifax, Nova Scotia named James Creighton moved to Montreal, bringing the sport of ice hockey with him bringing with him hockey sticks and skates. Which in turn a man named Lord Stanley created the first national hockey organization. In 1912 the very first professional hockey game. I’ll present my information in chronological order with also talking about how and when hockey affected the country presented.

Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau brought up the idea to Soviet Primer Alexi Kosygni , while he was visiting Canada . Trudeau proposed that Canada's best players would play Russia's best players in a series of friendly games (Rutley), hoping it would relieve some tension between the USA and USSR in there conflict in trying to prove that one's country should be the "super power" nation (Vancouver Island University). The Series was to only played between the Canadians and Russians nobody else because it was based on two nations facing off for the hockey supreme title (CBC Sports). It created a propaganda of Democracy vs. Communism Cold War according to hockey historians who have examine the event . ( Marsh ) After the lost to the Canadians, the USSR made Canada its sport enemy . Even to this day, Russia, has no respect towards Canada in playing them in IIHF Juniors ,IIHF Worlds or Olympics . For example, during both IIHF Gold Medal games in 2015, Canada beat Russia and after shaking with team Canada the Russians would leave the ice ,not staying for the Canadian anthem, which is a lack of respect towards Canada. To conclude , sports played a crucial role in the cold war , providing Russia a reason to hate Canada because of the fact that they've never been beaten before in hockey

Canada has the most medals out of all 12 countries competing; Team USA has the second most with sixteen. All of the rosters of the twelve teams have at least one NHL player on its roster. However, the NHL is thinking about not letting its players play in the Olympics because it cuts into the season, and there is a risk of getting there star players injured.

The NHL saw the increasing population in the Southern states and wanted to take advantage. In Florida, from 1970 to 2010, it is estimated the population will more than triple from six million to 19 million. The NHL saw this huge increase in population and in the late 90’s put two new teams into both California and Florida. The NHL is a business, and when there are huge amounts of people, no matter where it is, they see an opportunity to make money and want to put teams there. The city of Atlanta actually had an NHL team from 1972 to 1980, when the team was moved to Calgary. In 1980 when the team left, there were just over 2 million people in the metropolitan area of Atlanta. In 2004, the city had more than doubled to 5 million, just a few years after another team was given to Atlanta. The NHL tries to put an NHL franchise anywhere where they feel there is a possibility of making money. But what affect are all of these new Southern teams having on the NHL and its fans?

    In March of 2017, the U.S. National Women’s Hockey team said they would “sit out” of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship that would take place later in the month. They threatened this because they wanted more money, which is well deserved, but USA Hockey (USAH) wasn’t willing to make a deal. The athletes were asking for a $68,000.00 salary rather than their original $24,000.00 that USAH set. The women wanted more because “the only money the players get from USA Hockey comes during the six-month period leading up to the Olympics" CNN Money reported. "The organization hasn't offered the women any money for the time the team spends training, competing and making public appearances for USA Hockey outside that six-month time frame, a team spokesperson said." (Ohikuare, Judith).

Sometimes it is easy to forget the game played on frozen ponds and backyard rinks, and get lost in the overwhelming professional sport known as hockey. However, we strive to remember that hockey became Canada's game because it made our never-ending winter months more bearable . The game gradually became a sport, then an entertainment industry. It seems like the lockout was one of the biggest news stories of the year. Part of the amazing nature of the game is that it's origins are fairly vague. However, we always remember that hockey is our game. It may not be our official sport, like lacrosse is, but hockey is what Canada seems to be most well-known for, and it continues to have immense influence on our free society, with its unique style

Hockey has been in Canada for about 140 years and Canada has been taking part in the hockey winter Olympics since the 1920’s. In 1948 Canada’s Olympic hockey team ran into a problem. The Montreal Royals were supposed to represent Canada but declined the offer and couldn’t find a new team due to Olympic rules around amateurs being paid to play hockey. Canada and the Olympic hockey manager Dr. Alexander “Sandy” Watson thought fast to put together a team. Watson recruited Royal Canadian Air Force men to create this team to represent Canada.

All of the rosters of the twelve teams have at least one NHL player on its roster. However, the NHL is thinking about not letting its players play in the Olympics because it cuts into the season, and there is a risk of getting there star players injured.

As a result of the effect that it has on the Canadian economy, hockey should be named Canada’s true national sport. Accounting for roughly one-third of the National Hockey Leagues ticket sale revenue, the seven Canadian hockey teams have a much larger market than the 23 American teams. Not including the newly added Winnipeg Jets, the six Canadian teams account for 31% of the $1.2 billion (U.S) sales ticket revenue of the NHL. This means that $341,000,000.00 (U.S) is contributing to the Canadian economy annually. The Toronto Maple Leafs has the largest franchise revenue at an estimated $119,000,000.00. The ticket revenue of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the highest in the NHL at $1.5 million per game. This is an astonishing amount in comparison to the Dallas Stars at $660,000. The construction of sport facilities could cost upwards to over $1 billion (U.S). With this in mind, Canadian hockey facilities (e.g.: the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario) revenue millions of dollars annually and creates thousands of jobs. Costing $265 million to build, the Air Canada Centre generates revenue of nearly $23 million annually. Additionally, large Canadian sponsors such as Air Canada, Molson Canadian, and Tim Hortons

Ice hockey has in the last hundred years evolved to become international. Canada is in jeopardy of losing its six teams. Tradition run deep in all of the cities and also professional hockey teams create thousands of jobs and help out in the communities. Teams in the Canadian market are having trouble keeping their programs in the black because of higher taxes and a weaker Canadian dollar. In order for professional hockey teams in Canada not to relocate to United States, it is necessary for Ottawa to provide tax cuts for them.

Sports have been and will continue to be an influential factor on cultures around the world. Soccer is influential in Europe, Football influences The United States and for Canada it would be hockey. It was created in Canada and continues today to be a dominating part of Canadian culture as “the sport and national identity are inextricably linked” (Brunt). You could ask almost anyone in Canada if they knew who Wayne Gretzky is or if they have ever played any form of hockey, and undoubtedly you would hear them say yes more often than no. Hockey influences all ages, from youth signing up for minor hockey, to adults taking their children to a game or even the older generations sitting in front of their television in hopes that the Toronto Maple Leafs will beat the Ottawa Senators. The examination of these cultural influences allows the argument to be made that hockey can in fact be deemed “Canada’s game” (Holman 153).Through investigation of the amount of youth that participate in minor hockey, the statistics involving the amount of professional Canadian hockey players and the success that Canada has achieved in the world of professional hockey, such as the Olympics, NHL and IIHF World Juniors, it will become evident that hockey is and will continue to be viewed as “Canada’s game”. (Holman 153)