Ice hockey is a sport in which
two teams of
six players
participate on an
ice rink while
wearing skates. The goal is to get a
vulcanized rubber disc, known as a
puck, past a
goal line and into a net guarded by a
goaltender, also known as a
goalie.
Ice hockey has become one of the
most popular worldwide sports
due to its speed and frequent
physical contact. The game is an
Olympic sport, and there are over a million
registered players who compete in leagues on a regular basis across the world. It is, without a doubt,
Canada's
most popular
sport.
In 1908, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) was established in
Europe. Great Britain, Bohemia, Switzerland, France, and
Belgium were the five founding members.
In 1910, the first European tournament was contested in Avants,
Switzerland, with Great Britain emerging victorious. Since then, the federation has expanded its membership by accepting applicants from all over the world.
In
1920,
Canada
won the
first Olympic Games and the
first IIHF world championship
at the same time.
Canada
dominated the international competition until the
Soviet squad emerged
in the early
1960s, having also won the
first Olympic Winter Games in
1924.
Until the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the Soviets were the most powerful team in
world hockey.