The origin of the term ‘ Hockey ‘  is, at best, undetermined…but it’s accepted that the term began in Windsor, Nova Scotia in the mid 1800’s by the troops at Fort Edward who named the game after their Colonel ( John Hockey ) who used the game as a means to condition his troops. And historical records held at the Library of Nova Scotia’s General Assembly confirm, in the British Army list, that a John Hockey did serve during that period.

James Creighton is largely considered responsible for the first organized rink hockey game. Born in Halifax in 1850 he then relocated to Montreal in 1873. The game followed ‘ Halifax Rules ‘ ( written by Creighton himself ) and was played by 9 skaters a side. Originally, a hockey game could consist of as many as 100 players. This debut, of sorts, was highly successful and soon spread across the Country.

Hockey began it’s professional debut in 1904 with the International Pro Hockey League, which was founded in the US, and folded three years later in 1907. Another three years later the National Hockey Association was born, and shortly after the Pacific Coast League. In 1914 the two decided to confront each other in a series with the winner getting the coveted Lord Stanley Cup.
After World War 1 the newly formed NHL would see it’s first game played on December 19th, 1917. The NHL consisted of 5 teams ( the Montreal Wanderers, the Quebec Bulldogs, the Toronto Arenas, the Ottawa Senators, and the Montreal Canadians ).
The modern day ‘ Original Six ‘ teams ( Montreal Canadians, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers ) didn’t get it’s start until the 1942-43 season, the 26th season of the NHL. These ‘ six ‘ teams commanded professional hockey until the 1967 expansion.

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Tags: History, Hockey