Ice hockey facts you might not be aware of!

05 May 2018 | Fredrik Pålsson

It’s no news that ice hockey is extremely popular and age-old sport loved by millions of people all over the world. Furthermore, there are several interesting legends and facts associated with this beautiful game, as well as the players who play it.

A great multitude of fans not just play, watch and enjoy ice hockey, they also bet actively on the hockey matches. Popular aggregator websites like Betfreebets have made it very easy for the starting out ice hockey bettors, helping them avail the best free bet offers at the most reputed betting platforms.

Let’s take you over some of the most interesting ice hockey facts you might not be aware of. For instance, do you know about the longest games in the history of ice hockey?

The origins

Talking about the history of ice hockey, there is still no clarity about its exact origins. Unlike as in case of other popular sports, there are several versions of both the history of the modern-day ice hockey as well as its earlier versions.

Many people believe that ice hockey originated from Europe, while others claim that Europeans borrowed the game’s idea from Native Americans.

There is another version as per which none of the games played prior to 1800 can be considered the early form of the modern-day ice hockey.

First organised ice hockey tournament

The first organised ice hockey tournament was played in the year 1875 in Montréal, Canada. It only had two participating teams, with 9 players in each side. Majority of these players were actually students of the same university!

Canada’s popularity as the game’s birthplace

Till today, a great number of people consider Canada as the primary centre and birthplace of ice hockey. The Hockey Hall of Fame associated with the sport is also situated in Toronto, Canada. Furthermore, Canada has produced some of the best hockey players of the world, although, many other countries including that of Europe, have proved their mettle in the sport.

Stanley Cup

Stanley Cup is considered the most professional and prestigious ice hockey tournament since 1914. It is played each year, except in two instances, 1919 in 2005. The tournament wasn’t played in the year 1919 owing to the Spanish flu epidemic, which also impacted the Montréal Canadians team players. The 2005 edition was cancelled because of some unavoidable reasons. Here’s a brief history of Stanley Cup.

There have been many accidents associated with the Stanley Cup. The most talked about among them is when it was accidentally left by roadside. On one occasion it was forgotten at an airport and at one time thrown into a swimming pool! Despite all such mishaps, the original Stanley Cup is still used in the form of award presented to the best ice hockey team.

Furthermore, the Stanley Cup from the earlier times was just 22 cm in height. As it features the name of every player of the winning team (at the base), the organisers felt that there was a need to have a bigger cup. Nowadays, the cup’s base which lists out the names of all the players, is almost 80 cm in height.