Hockey

Not only is hockey the fastest sport on ice, it's the "Coolest Sport on Earth" (do you understand what I mean?). There is much debate about how hockey started, how its name came to be, and who invented it. Well, none of those questions are answered. No one knows who invented hockey. The game that most resembles hockey is the old sport of hurling. Is that where the word "hockey" came from? This game is played with two teams who chase a flat rock or a hardened cow dropping down a surface (usually frozen) that is used as the rink. To win, they must shoot the object into a net made of vines and branches. Those who believe in this theory point to the curved branch they used as a stick called a hurley. Could this be the origin of the word "hockey"? Regardless to who invented the game, hockey has always been one of the world's favorite sports. The NHL as we know it today is constructed of 30 teams. Not only is hockey fun to watch, it has some of the most exciting players to watch. For example, in current times, you can see star players like "Super Mario" Lemieux, Sergei Federov, Mike Modano, and Brett Hull. There have also been some amazing players who have retired or stopped playing for one reason or another. For example, Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky, Bobby "The Golden Jet" Hull, Howie "The Stratford Streak" Morenz, and Gordie "Mr. Hockey" Howe. My page will bring you a few of the great players of now and then, equipment, positions, and more!




Great Hockey Players  Sergei Federov A highly skilled two-way center, Sergei Federov has long been know as one of the greatest hockey players to ever to step on the ice. Hockey fans got a preview of the "new breed" of players from the Soviet Union during the recent Olympic and World Championship tournaments, but nothing could prepare them for the speed and mobility of Sergei Federov, who carries the banner for all Russian skating masters. His ability to skate and stickhandle the puck at top speed always leaves defenders sprawling in his wake. Sergei was selected by the Red Wings in 1989 for the 1990-91 season. He instantly became a star player with thirty-one goals in his rookie season! In the 1993-94 season, Sergei was awarded the Hart Trophy. Some hockey fans suggest that the Selke Trophy is a non glamour award. Federov proved that notion wrong when he was awarded the NHL MVP in the 1993-94 season along with the Lester B. Pearson Award thanks to his 120 points. He was also awarded the Frank Selke Trophy (the one I mentioned earlier) as hockey's greatest defensive forward. He took the Selke three times in a row, which was a clear celebration of his brilliance as a legimate two-way threat. In the 1997-98 season and the 1998-99 season Federov won the Stanley Cup with Detroit and he led the Flying Wheels with twenty goals in 1998 postseason. Also in 1998, he won the silver medal with Russia in the Olympics. This season was his fourth All-Star Game, and he popped in two goals during the game. What a great player!

 Mario Lemieux In the 1984-85 season, Mario Lemieux was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Since his NHL debut when he scored his first goal on his first shot on his first shift against Boston on October 11th, he was destined to be one of the greatest players to ever wear a Penguins uniform. A native of Quebec, Mario was a junior scoring master and a Canadian Junior Player of the Year. As a rookie, he piled up 100 points which gave him obvious Rookie-of-the-Year honors. As a sophomore, he won the Pearson Award as the players' choice for MVP. In 1986-87, he broke the fifty goal barrier with fifty-four goals. Though Wayne Gretzky continued to own the overall scoring race for the next two years, Mario finally crested in 1987-88 with a league-high 70 goals, 98 assists, and 168 points that ended Gretzky's seven year Art Ross Trophy domination. In the 1989-90 season, injuries began to plague Mario, and he only played 59 games in that season. Despite his 123 points, the Penguins failed to make the playoffs, and there were rumors that, unlike his rival Gretzky, Lemieux couldn't take his team to a playoff title. Though diminished by a herniated disc that caused extreme pain, Mario continued to battle. He was cut to only 26 games in the 1991-92 season, but he returned in time for the playoffs. With 16 goals and 44 points in 23 playoff games, he took the Pens to their first even Stanley Cup. Lemieux was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. In 1992-93, Mario was on the road to another scoring title when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He had to sit out 24 games while undergoing radiation therapy. In a legendary comeback, he took his fourth Art Ross Trophy, his third Pearson Award, his second Hart Trophy, and the Bill Masterton Trophy. "Super Mario" took a year off to recuperate, and then he rejoined the Pens in the 1995-96 season and received his fifth scoring title with 69 goals and 161 points in 70 games. He also won the Hart Trophy for the third time. Mario retired from the game in 1997 after getting another scoring title. But, in 2000-01, "Super Mario" returned to the Pens as a player and the owner. He netted two goals and had one assist in his first return game. Mario was elected to be in the All Star Game, and he did an awesome job. It seems like his return has somewhat moved the Penguins, or at least some of their players, and they seem to be playing harder than ever.
Interesting Fact: Mario was the first player ever to score a goal in an empty net.

Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky The most accomplished player in the history of the NHL, Wayne Gretzky arrived in the NHL in 1979 and soon began rewriting the record books, winning every award, capturing championships, and reviving hockey in a part of the country where shinny was all but dead. Wayne was born in Ontario and he spent his childhood and teenage years competing against older and stronger competition. Yet, for some reason, he was always the best. In 1978, after two years of junior hockey, Wayne signed a contract with the WHA's Indianapolis Racers. Sold to the Edmonton Oilers, this is when he entered the NHL in 1979-80. As a rookie, he tied Kings veteran Marcel Dionne for the scoring lead, but lost the Art Ross Trophy when Dionne barely beat him in goals. In his third NHL season (1981-82), he scored his 50th goal in December. In 1983-84, Wayne took the Oilers to their first Stanley Cup. In the next four years, Edmonton won three more Cups with a brief interruption when Montreal won the Cup. In nine amazing seasons with the Oilers, Gretzky tallied 583 goals, 1,086 assists, 1,669 points in 696 games, notched 43 hat tricks, and scored 55 short-handed goals. He won seven Art Ross Trophies, eight Hart Trophies, five Pearson Awards, a pair of Conn Smythe Trophies, and his first Lady Byng Trophy. In 1998, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky transformed the Kings from doormats to playoff contenders. In 1993, he carried the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal where they lost because of sudden-death goals. However, Gretzky proved he was "The Great One", winning three more scoring titles and three more Lady Byng Trophies. On October 15th, 1989, Wayne notched his 1,851st point, passing his hero Gordie Howe to become the NHL's all-time leading scorer. Five years later, on March 23rd, 1994, he netted the 802nd goal of his career to become the all-time leader in that department as well. He was traded to St. Louis in late 1995-96, but Wayne failed to work with right winger Brett Hull. As a free agent in the summer of 1996, he signed with the New York Rangers, where he reunited with ex-Oiler teammates Mark Messeir and Jari Kurri. Though 36 years old, "The Great One" was still among the league leaders in scoring. Like all players, he eventually retired and he is currently the owner of the Phoenix Coyotes.

                                      Howie "The Stratford Streak" Morenz

 One of the largest crowds ever to fill the Montreal Forum didn't come to watch a hockey game. They came to pay respects to maybe the most thrilling player to ever skate their rink. In March 1937, thousands of fans passed the coffin of Howie Morenz as he lay at center ice. Morenz, who died suddenly at age 35, was arguably the greatest player ever to wear the bleu, blanc, et rouge, of Les Habs. Morenz joined Montreal at age 21 and made his NHL debut in 1923-24. With excellent skating and stickhandling skills, Howie quickly won over the Canadians fans. As a rookie, he got his name on Montreal's first Stanley Cup when the Habs won a two-game set against Calgary of the Western Canada Hockey League. Morenz scored a hat trick in Game 1 and then scored the winning goal in Game 2. With explosive skating speed that earned him the nickname "The Stratford Streak" (after the Ontario town that he was born in), Howie began to dominate in 1927-28, when he led the National Hockey League in goals and he won his first scoring title. He also took home the Hart Trophy as the MVP. As played on the front line with Aurel Joliat and Art Gange (and later, Johnny "Black Cat" Gagnon), Morenz became one of the game's prominent snipers. In 1928-29, he was third overall in points, then he scored a career-high 40 goals the following year. Morenz led Montreal to another Stanley Cup over Boston in the two-game Cup Finals. In 1930-31, Montreal ruled the NHL. Howie Morenz led all scorers, taking his second scoring crown and second Hart Trophy. Morenz and the rest of the Habs went to the Stanley Cup Finals. They won the Cup again with a 2-0 victory. On January 28, 1937, Morenz crashed into the boards, braking his ankle and shattering bones in his leg. Morenz was hospitalized for several weeks. As he watched his hockey days end, he went into severe depression. On March 8th, he died in his sleep from a fatal heart attack. Those who knew him though, said that he died of a broken heart. All of NHL mourned the fallen hero.