Ice hockey in the United States

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

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

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

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

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

Pop 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