History of Hockey

Wood Pucks

Mar 3, 1860

The first hockey pucks were made out of wood.

First Ice Rink (Mechanically Refrigerated)

Mar 3, 1876

First artificial ice rink (mechanically-refrigerated) was built in 1876, at Chelsea, London, England

First Hockey Rules

Mar 3, 1879

The first set of hockey rules was put together by a group of students at McGill University in 1879

Rubber Pucks

Jun 24, 1880

Later, the wood pucks were changed to a vulcanized rubber puck

Big Spread of Hockey in Montreal

May 1, 1893

By 1893, there were almost a hundred teams in Montreal alone, and leagues throughout Canada.

Hockey's Apperance in Colleges

May 15, 1893

Yale was the first college to be introduced to hockey in 1893

First Ice Hockey League in the U.S.

Nov 26, 1896

First ice hockey league was established in 1896 in USA

A Net is Added

Dec 1, 1900

A net was added to the net that the players had to try to score on.

NHL Founded

Nov 26, 1917

The National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917

First Season

Dec 19, 1917

The first hockey season was 1917-1918

Hockey in the Olympics

Apr 23, 1920

Hockey was added to the Olympics in 1920

Original 6

Dec 4, 1920

•Montreal Canadiens (founded in 1909)
•Toronto Maple Leafs (founded in 1917)
•Boston Bruins (founded in 1924)
•New York Rangers (founded in 1925)
•Detroit Red Wings (founded in 1921)
•Chicago Blackhawks (founded in 1926)

Hockey Came to the USA

Dec 1, 1924

Hockey debuted in the U.S. in 1924

League Expansion

Dec 1, 1924

League expanded into the United States in 1924

First Goalie Mask

Nov 1, 1960

Fibreglass Canada worked with Canadiens Goalie Jaques Plante to develop the first goalie mask in 1960.