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Ice hockey in the United States

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Ice hockey in the United States
Joe Louis Arena, home to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League
CountryUnited States
Governing bodyUSA Hockey[1][2]
National team(s)Men's national team
Women's national team
First played1893
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Ice hockey, usually referred to in the U.S. simply as "hockey", is a popular sport in the United States.[3][4][5][6] In the U.S. the game is most popular in regions of the country with a cold winter climate, namely the northeast and the upper Midwest.[7] However, since the 1990s, hockey has become increasingly popular in the Sun Belt due in large part to the expansion of the National Hockey League to the southeast and southwest U.S., coupled with the mass relocation of many residents from northern cities with strong hockey support to these Sun Belt locations.[8][9][10][11][12]

History of ice hockey in the United States

The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, where the first indoor hockey game was played on March 3, 1875. Some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day.[13][14] The game soon spread to United States.[15]

National Hockey League

Main article: History of the National Hockey League

The NHL is the major professional hockey league in North America, with 23 U.S.-based teams and 7 Canadian-based teams competing for the Stanley Cup.[16] While NHL stars are still not as readily familiar to the general American public as are stars of the NFL, MLB, and the NBA, average attendance for NHL games in the U.S. has surpassed average NBA attendance in recent seasons,[17][18] buoyed in part by the NHL Winter Classic being played in large outdoor stadiums.[19][20] [21]

Willie O'Ree became the first black ice hockey player in the NHL for the Boston Bruins.[22] while Val James was the first African American player to compete in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.[23]

Minor league professional hockey leagues in the U.S. include the American Hockey League and the ECHL. Additionally, nine U.S.-based teams compete in the three member leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. USA Hockey is the official governing body for amateur hockey in the U.S. The United States Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth, Minnesota.[24]

Amateur ice hockey

College hockey has a regional following in the northeastern and upper midwestern United States. It is increasingly being used to develop players for the NHL and other professional leagues (the U.S. has junior leagues, the United States Hockey League and North American Hockey League, but they are more restricted to protect junior players' college eligibility). The Frozen Four is college hockey's national championship.

Winter Olympics

Main article: Ice hockey at the Winter Olympics

One of the nation's greatest ever sporting moments was the "Miracle on Ice",[25][26][27] which came during the 1980 Winter Olympics when the U.S. men's hockey team beat the Soviet Union. 4–3 in the first game of the medal round before going on to beat Finland to claim the gold medal.[28][29][30][31]

In the Olympics, as of spring 2016, the United States men's team has won two gold medals (1960, 1980), eight silver medals (1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 1956, 1972, 2002, 2010 and one bronze medal (1936). The women's team has won one gold medal (1998), three silver medals (2002, 2010, 2014) and one bronze medal (2006).

Women's Ice hockey

Main article: History of women's ice hockey in the United States

Women's ice hockey is less popular.[32] The National Women's Hockey League, founded in 2015, is the first in the country to pay its players, and featured four teams from the Northeast.[33]

Television Coverage

Main article: History of the National Hockey League on United States television

The NHL is gaining new television deals.[34][35]

Pop Culture

Main article: Ice hockey in popular culture

Movies such as the The Mighty Ducks, Youngblood and Soul on Ice have become part of American culture regarding hockey.[36][37]

Fanbase

Traditionally, ice hockey has been played predominantly by Caucasians in the United States and attended by White Americans and the fans are the most affluent of the 4 major team sports watched in the United States.[38][39][40][41]

Ice hockey is traditionally popular in Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota within the United States.[42][43][7]

The NHL is trying to grow the sport of ice hockey by attempting to diversify the fanbase and expand from its traditional demographic.[44][45][46] A notable example is the Chicago Blackhawks has seen a significant increase in attention from ethnic minorites groups since their Stanley cup successes in the 2010's, which has resulted in the team setting up outreach programs for urban youths and low income neighbourhoods.[47][48][49][50] The Washington Capitals also have noteworthy outreach programs for to garner interest ice hockey.[51][52][53]

The NHL has outreach programs like "Hockey is for Everyone" to make ice hockey more accessible to urban youth and low income communities.[54][55]

Present day

The U.S. now has more youth hockey players than all other countries, excluding Canada, combined.[56] The legacy of the Miracle on Ice is believed to be influential in popularizing the sport from a fringe sport to a mainstream sport.[27]

References

  1. ^ Maiman, Beth (22 March 2016). "NHL inner city youth hockey programs continue to grow". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  2. ^ Waldron, Travis (22 January 2016). "What A Mostly Black Hockey Club For Kids Tells Us About The Sport's Future". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
  3. ^ Gillis, Charlie (20 February 2012). "Is hockey becoming America's game?". Maclean's. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  4. ^ Campbell, Ken (27 January 2014). "Hockey ranks 6th in popularity survey: Harris Poll". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  5. ^ Wise, Aaron N.; Meyer, Bruce S. (1997). International Sports Law and Business. Vol. Volume 3. Kluwer Law International. p. 1983. ISBN 90-41106022. Retrieved 2016-09-26. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ Helmer, Diana Star; Owens, Tom (2000). The History of Hockey. The Rosen Publishing Group. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  7. ^ a b Klein, Jeff Z.; Hackel, Stu (25 January 2014). "A Blow to the N.H.L.'s Positive Buzz". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  8. ^ Cooper, Josh (10 May 2015). "California puck love: Hockey popularity surging in the Golden State". Puck Daddy (Yahoo Sport). Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  9. ^ Elliott, Helene (2 May 2014). "The ice is greener in Southern California hockey". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  10. ^ Elliott, Helene (21 February 2015). "California has warmed to hockey, and vice versa; Kings, Ducks helped". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  11. ^ Steinberg, Leigh (8 June 2012). "Will Hockey Ever Be Popular in California?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  12. ^ Peters, Chris (3 December 2013). "Sharks, Ducks, Kings turning California into hockey central". CBS Sports. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  13. ^ Hays, Matthew (28 May 2014). "Ice hockey not invented in Canada? That's cold, man". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  14. ^ Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles, eds. (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-59884-300-2.
  15. ^ Glave, Garry (2015). A Brief History Of International Ice Hockey. ShieldCrest Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-911090-10-6.
  16. ^ Cayton, Andrew R. L.; Sisson, Richard; Zache, Chris, eds. (2007). The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. p. 912. ISBN 978-0-253-34886-9. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  17. ^ Dunkak, Ashley (9 January 2014). "Why Is Hockey More Popular Than Basketball – In Detroit And Across The Country?". CBS Detroit. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  18. ^ Glasspiegel, Ryan (8 January 2014). "The NHL is Reportedly Selling Out More Markets Than the NBA This Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  19. ^ Berr, Jonathan (10 November 2014). "How the NHL got on a scoring streak". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  20. ^ Burdetskiy, Igor (21 September 2015). "Hockey Continues to Grow in the United States". Hooked on Hockey Magazine. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  21. ^ Brough, Jason (22 April 2008). "NHL Popularity Rising – Here's the Proof". The Province. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  22. ^ Thompson, Harry (November 2013). "Equal Ice: Diversity in Hockey". USA Hockey Magazine. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  23. ^ Borzi, Pat (3 February 2015). "N.H.L. Trailblazer Finds Forgiveness in the Tip of a Pen". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  24. ^ "USA Hockey encourages kids with NHL dreams to play other sports - ESPN The Magazine". Espn.co.uk. 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  25. ^ "All living 'Miracle' members reunite". ESPN. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  26. ^ Mifflin, Lawrie (23 February 1980). "Miracle on Ice! Mike Eruzione's goal, Jim Craig's heroics lead U.S. to stunning upset over the Russians in Lake Placid, 4–3". New York Daily News. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  27. ^ a b Peters, Chris (24 February 2015). "American hockey has come a long way since 1980's miraculous gold". CBS Sports. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  28. ^ Shapiro, Leonard (23 February 1980). "U.S. Shocks Soviets in Ice Hockey, 4–3". The Washington Post. Washington Post. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  29. ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (23 February 1980). "U.S. Defeats Soviet Squad In Olympic Hockey by 4–3". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
  30. ^ Farrey, Tom (26 June 2013). "Miracle on ice". ESPN. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  31. ^ Gordon, Stefanie (23 February 2015). "Poignant reunion for the Miracle on Ice team at Lake Placid". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  32. ^ Berkman, Seth (4 March 2016). "Obstacles for Global Talent in National Women's Hockey League". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  33. ^ "Women's Hockey Takes Stage As New Pro Sports League". NPR. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  34. ^ Price, Somers (9 March 2015). "ESPN's Hockey Deal Confirms it Can't Ignore NHL Any Longer". Section215.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  35. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (27 January 2012). "Don't tell ESPN, but new poll finds hockey as popular as basketball in U.S". Puck Daddy (Yahoo Sport). Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  36. ^ Dodds, Eric (9 June 2014). "Quack, Quack, Quack: An Oral History of the Mighty Ducks Trilogy". Time. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  37. ^ "Top 10 Hockey Movies". Watchmojo. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  38. ^ Judd, Wes (19 June 2015). "Why the Ice Is White". Psmag.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  39. ^ Settimi, Christina (24 November 2015). "The NHL's Least Engaged Fans". Forbes. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  40. ^ Thompson, Derek (10 February 2014). "Which Sports Have the Whitest/Richest/Oldest Fans?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  41. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (27 January 2014). "NHL has least diverse, but most advertiser friendly, TV audience". Puck Daddy (Yahoo Sport). Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  42. ^ Klein, Jeff Z. (20 February 2011). "Where Hockey is Growing, State by State". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  43. ^ Johnson, Erik (23 March 2011). "The State of Hockey: Ranking the Top 10 Hockey States in America". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  44. ^ "NHL Aims To Include More Minority Players To Expand Fan Base". NPR. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  45. ^ Bater, Martin (1 May 2016). "Hockey eyes Hispanic fans for growth". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  46. ^ Yates, Clinton (2 March 2012). "I'm a black hockey fan. We do exist". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  47. ^ Ryan, Shannon (11 June 2015). "African-American fans have the highest growth rate among NHL fans". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  48. ^ "How Chicago, Chicago Blackhawks are trying to diversify youth hockey". Espn.com. 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  49. ^ "Hockey interest among minorities gaining speed, NHL says". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  50. ^ Powers, Scott (19 June 2015). "Chicago Blackhawks see increase in minority hockey fans". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  51. ^ El, Tarik (8 February 2012). "Capitals' Alex Ovechkin has made ice hockey cool for Washington area's youth athletes". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  52. ^ Marron, Brian (14 May 2015). "Hockey Growing in Maryland as Washington Capitals, Ovechkin Make Waves In NHL". Capital News Service. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  53. ^ Lewis, Angie. ""Hockey in The Hood": But Is The Hood in Hockey?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  54. ^ Reid, Jason (6 October 2011). "NHL diversity: An idea that needs to be heard". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  55. ^ Diamosnov, Jason (13 November 2005). "The NHL's Diversity Program is Beginning to Pay Dividends". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  56. ^ Dryden, Ken (February 20, 2014). "Miracle Off Ice". Grantland.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
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