Hockey’s place in Canada
Hockey as we now know it may draw on many sources, but it was born, and it evolved here in Canada. Hockey is our game!
Madame Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters, most welcome guests, and especially newcomers to this great country, let me introduce you to our game.
Timeline
The boys of hockey laced up their skates to play the first documented official hockey game in March of 1875, but the game only vaguely resembled what we see played today.
The Stanley Cup, named after Governor-General Frederick Stanley, who bought the first trophy – the silver bowl that sits on top of the cup today – is awarded each year to the winning team of the NHL Play-offs. The Cup was first awarded in the 1893-94 season by Mr. Stanley, to recognize this great game by awarding a prize to the best team in Canada each year.
In 1917, the NHL was created with an initial roster of 4 teams. It grew, then contracted through the depression, and stayed quite small through Second World War, but in 1942 the “Original Six” were born. These six teams; the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, were the only 6 teams in the league until 1967.
In 1923, Foster Hewitt appeared on the scene as the play-by-play announcer of the game, and remained the biggest voice in hockey until 1963. He was the first one to use the phrase “He shoots, He scores!”
In 1994, Hockey legally became the national winter sport of Canada … ironically, this was also the year of the hockey lockout, when people realized that salaries needed to be capped, and a major overhaul of some of the organization of the NHL was required.
Obviously, this lockout made the country realize that we desperately needed to do something to ensure that this game continued on in Canada, so we made it official.
A Canadian Icon
I’m going to take you with me on a very short journey. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and picture yourself at home, on a Saturday night. If you’re like countless thousands Canadians, you’ll be headed to the couch, with a beer in hand, or maybe even a cup of Tim Hortons coffee. You’re ready to settle down for the night, so you reach for the remote, and turn on the game. Now, open your eyes.
Ah, speaking of Tim Horton, there was a true Canadian. Everyone knows about the chain Tim Horton’s, and many people get their daily fix of coffee there, but how many people know how many Stanley Cups Timmy brought to Toronto?
Who was Tim Horton exactly? Well, he was born nine hours north of here, in Cochrane Ontario. He grew up playing hockey there. When he was 18, his family moved to Sudbury, and it was there that the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him on to their junior team. He donned a Leafs jersey in the fall of 1952 and remained a Leaf until 1970, winning four Stanley Cups over his career.
In 1964, Horton opened his first Tim Horton Doughnut Shop in Hamilton. That first one shop has grown to become today’s multi-million dollar chain boasting more than 3,000 locations across Canada and the United States. But enough about coffee. Back to hockey!
Why is hockey the most popular sport in Canada?
Well, as we’ve already seen, it’s steeped in tradition. But there’s more than just that.
Our country’s geography and climate lend themselves to the game, as most of the country is below 0 degrees from November to March, creating a lot of natural ice! Combine the 2500 listed ice rinks across the country, with all the unlisted ice surfaces in parks and backyards across the country, and you get an ice rink the size of British Columbia. That’s a lot of hockey!
The next proof of how much we love hockey is in the bottom line. Hockey, as an industry, generates a revenue of many millions of dollars a year, impacting more than one other industry.
There are: arena rentals, maintenance and construction, player registrations, equipment sales, training courses for everyone from age 3 to age 63, Tim Horton’s revenue, hotels accommodations for teams, families and fans, food and beverages for those hockey tournaments, BEER, transportation (from the family mini-van to the Maple Leaf’s bus), concessions at arenas, physiotherapy, chiropractors, gate revenue (ticket sales for the NHL), team merchandise revenue, property rights, cable fees, hockey pools, The list could go on for a very long time. Hockey in Canada has a huge impact on our economy.
Where else in the world would you watch a mini-series about a hockey player-turned coach-turned perhaps the most iconic hockey critic in the country? Love him or hate him, we’ve all heard of Don Cherry. Where else in the world would there be a “game show” based on hockey skaters teaming up with figure skaters, with all the winnings going to charity?
That’s right, only in Canada, where the temperatures really DO go down to -50 below, and where one night each week, houses across the country go crazy watching the game.
So whether you lace up skates yourself , or you just cheer on your own favourite team out on the ice, I invite you to celebrate the good old hockey game, and celebrate with me the country that started it all – to hockey, in Canada!
