1.
Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponents net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of six each, one goaltender. A fast-paced, physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas of North America, Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. In North America, the National Hockey League is the highest level for mens hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking, worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed, such as shinny and ice polo. The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, 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. Amateur ice hockey began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion, in international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in mens competition at the Olympics, in the annual Ice Hockey World Championships,177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. In Russia and the Ukraine, where hockey can also refer to bandy, the name hockey has no clear origin. The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word hockey when he translated the proclamation in 1720, the 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves. A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage. According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck. Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times, in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the closely related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on a surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age. It was played with a curved bat, a wooden or leather ball
2.
National Hockey League
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Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all in Canada, the league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the Boston Bruins joined, and has since consisted of American and Canadian teams. After a labour-management dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, in 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, attendance, and television audiences. The league draws many highly skilled players from all over the world, canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons. The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association, founded in 1909, the NHA began play one year later with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey. Realizing the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, frank Calder was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943. The Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto, the first games were played on December 19,1917. The Montreal Arena burned down in January 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations, the NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, which was an interleague competition back then. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the 1918 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won the title in 1919, however their Stanley Cup Final against the PCHAs Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned as a result of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Montreal in 1924 won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL, the Hamilton Tigers, won the regular season title in 1924–25 but refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus. The league refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after defeated the Toronto St. Patricks in the semi-final. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1925 Stanley Cup and it was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy, as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926 after the WCHL ceased operation. The National Hockey League embarked on rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons, the Bruins were the first American team in the league. The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers, the New York Rangers were added in 1926. The Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars were also added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL, a group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and immediately renamed them the Maple Leafs. The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, the second was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenzs family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game
3.
Taylor Hall
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Taylor Strba Hall is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft selected by the Edmonton Oilers, Hall had a highly successful junior career, helping the Ontario Hockey League s Windsor Spitfires to two consecutive Memorial Cup championships in 2009 and 2010. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Memorial Cup tournament both years, Halls agent is former NHL defenceman Bobby Orr. Hall was born in Calgary, Alberta, the son of Steve Hall and his mother introduced him to organized hockey at the age of five while his father maintained a backyard rink every winter which Hall and his friends practised on relentlessly. His family moved to Kingston, Ontario, in 2005, where he attended school at Frontenac Secondary School. Hall started playing hockey in Calgary, Alberta. When he was 13, his family moved to Kingston, Ontario, Hall captured a Bantam AAA Calgary city championship with the North East Canucks during the 2004–05 season. In 2005–06 and 2006–07 Hall played Bantam and Minor Midget hockey for the Greater Kingston Predators of the ODMHA league, Hall was named to the ODMHA Midget AAA All-Star team. After the season, Hall was the overall choice in the 2007 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection by the Windsor Spitfires. Ryan OReilly was selected first overall ahead of Hall by the Erie Otters, Hall made his OHL debut in 2007–08, scoring a team-high 45 goals and adding 39 assists for 84 points, which was third in team scoring. In March, he was named OHL Player of the Week twice and he was named OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year after the season. During the 2008–09 OHL season, Hall was selected to represent the OHL in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge and he scored 38 goals and added 52 assists to finish with 90 points. Windsor had a season on the ice, capturing the OHL Championship as well as the Memorial Cup. During the OHL playoffs, Hall scored 16 goals and added 20 assists while being awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as Playoff MVP and he scored the game winning overtime goal in the fifth and deciding game of the OHL Finals against the Brampton Battalion to clinch the title. At the 2009 Memorial Cup, Hall recorded eight points in six games, after the tournament, Hall was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Tournament MVP and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team along with his teammate Ryan Ellis. Though the odds of him playing in Russia were remote, Hall was drafted 89th overall by the Kontinental Hockey League s Ak Bars Kazan on June 1,2009. He was one of three Canadian junior players taken in the 2009 KHL Draft, which begins selecting players a year younger than the NHL does, Hall was an early favourite to be the top pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft since entering the junior ranks. He was praised early in his career on Hockey Night in Canada by commentator Don Cherry during his Coachs Corner segment
4.
New Jersey Devils
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The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the club was founded as the Kansas City Scouts in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1974. The Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies, in 1982, they moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey and took their current name. For their first 25 seasons in New Jersey, the Devils were based at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, beginning with the 2007–08 season, the Devils relocated to Newark and now play their home games at the Prudential Center. Their fortunes began to turn following the hiring of president. They have won the Atlantic Division regular season title nine times, most recently in 2009–10, the Devils have reached the Stanley Cup Finals five times, winning in 1994–95, 1999–00 and 2002–03. The Devils were known for their defense-first approach throughout their years of Cup contention, the Devils have a rivalry with their cross-Hudson River neighbor, the New York Rangers, as well as a rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils are one of three NHL teams in the New York metropolitan area, the two teams are the New York Islanders and New York Rangers. The franchise is the major league team in any sport that explicitly identifies itself as a New Jersey team. In 1972, the NHL announced plans to add two teams, including one in Kansas City, Missouri. Edwin G. Thompson led the group that purchased ownership of the team, with 41 points in their inaugural season, the Scouts finished last in the Smythe Division, only the Capitals had fewer points in the NHL. Kansas City fell to 36 points the season, and had a 27-game losing streak. The Scouts had difficulty drawing fans to games, and National Hockey League Players Association leader Alan Eagleson publicly expressed concerns about whether Scouts players would be paid. After two seasons in Kansas City, the moved to Denver and was renamed the Colorado Rockies it played at the McNichols Sports Arena. The team won its first game as the Rockies, 4–2, the Rockies were in position to qualify for the playoffs 60 games into the 1976–77 season, but a streak of 18 games without a win caused them to fall from contention. The Rockies ended the campaign last in the division with a 20–46–14 record and 54 points, despite having the sixth-worst record in the League, the Rockies beat-out the Vancouver Canucks for second in the Division by two points and gained a playoff berth. The Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Rockies from the playoffs in the preliminary rounds, a lack of stability continually plagued the team. The franchise never won more than 22 games and did not return to the playoffs after 1977–78 in its six seasons in Colorado
5.
Montreal Canadiens
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The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the clubs official name is le Club de hockey Canadien. The team is referred to in English and French as the Habs. French nicknames for the team include Les Canadiens, Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, La Sainte-Flanelle, Le Tricolore, Les Glorieux, Les Habitants, Le CH and Le Grand Club. Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the longest continuously operating professional ice hockey team worldwide, the franchise is one of the Original Six teams, a description used for the teams that made up the NHL from 1942 until the 1967 expansion. The teams championship season in 1992–93 was the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, the Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times than any other franchise. They have won 24 Stanley Cups,22 of them since 1927, on a percentage basis, as of 2014, the franchise has won 25. Since 1996, the Canadiens have played their games at Centre Bell. The team previously played at the Montreal Forum which housed the team for seven decades and all, the Canadiens were founded by J. Ambrose OBrien on December 4,1909, as a charter member of the National Hockey Association, the forerunner to the National Hockey League. It was to be the team of the community in Montreal, composed of francophone players. The teams first season was not a success, as they placed last, after the first year, ownership was transferred to George Kennedy of Montreal and the teams fortunes improved over the next seasons. The team won its first Stanley Cup championship in the 1915–16 season, in 1917, with four other NHA teams, the Canadiens formed the NHL, and they won their first NHL Stanley Cup during the 1923–24 season, led by Howie Morenz. The team moved from the Mount Royal Arena to the Montreal Forum for the 1926–27 season, the club began the 1930s decade successfully, with Stanley Cup wins in 1930 and 1931. The Canadiens and its rival, the Montreal Maroons, declined both on the ice and economically during the Great Depression. Losses grew to the point where the team owners considering selling the team to interests in Cleveland, Ohio, the Maroons still suspended operations, and several of their players moved to the Canadiens. Led by the Punch Line of Maurice Rocket Richard, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach in the 1940s, the Canadiens added ten more championships in 15 seasons from 1965 to 1979, with another dynastic run of four-straight Cups from 1976 to 1979. In the 1976–77 season, the Canadiens set two still-standing team records — for most points, with 132, and fewest losses, by losing eight games in an 80-game season. The next season, 1977–78, the team had a 28-game unbeaten streak, scotty Bowman, who would later set a record for most NHL victories by a coach, was the teams head coach for its last five Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s
6.
Elmer Lach
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Elmer James Lach was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League. A centre, he was a member of the Punch line, along with Maurice Richard, Lach led the NHL in scoring twice, and was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1945 as the leagues most valuable player. He won three Stanley Cups with Montreal, when Lach retired in 1954, he was the leagues all-time leading scorer and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame twelve years later. His number 16 was retired on December 4,2009, during the Montreal Canadiens centennial celebrations. On January 1,2017, in a prior to the Centennial Classic. Lach was born in Nokomis, Saskatchewan, a small town 133 kilometres north of Regina, Elmer was the youngest of two boys and four girls born to William and Mary-Ann Lach, who arrived in Canada from Eastern Europe in 1910. Lachs father was at first a farmer, then took a job as the head of works for Nokomis. Lach played ice hockey for his team, starting at age 12. Against the wishes of his Baptist parents, Elmer would sneak away to play ice hockey on a pond instead of attending church on Saturday mornings. Lach began playing ice hockey with the Regina Abbotts in the 1935–36 season. In Regina, Lach would work at the teams owners pool hall and he played the two following seasons with the senior Weyburn Beavers of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League. In his first season with the Millers, he led them in assists, with 20 and he also scored 17 regular-season goals. The next season, he scored 15 goals and 29 assists, Lach was also noted for his defensive contributions. In 1937, Lach, along with future Hockey Hall of Fame member Doug Bentley attended the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp, both were rejected as too small for the National Hockey League. According to Lach, Conn Smythe, manager of the Leafs, saw Lach and Bentley and said “They were sending me big guys from the West, Lach had a job reading meters for the National Light & Power Co. and one day he met Kay in her home. That same year, Lachs mother died and his moved to Vancouver. In 1945, Elmer and Kay celebrated the birth of their only child, Ron was born while Elmer was on the road with the Canadiens. According to Montreal Gazette columnist Dave Stubbs, Elmer wired Kay the message Nice going, rejecting the Maple Leafs assessment, the Montreal Canadiens signed Lach as a free agent on October 24,1940
7.
Ottawa Senators (original)
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The Ottawa Senators were a professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a member of the National Hockey League. The club, which was officially the Ottawa Hockey Club, was known by nicknames, including the Generals in the 1890s, the Silver Seven from 1903 to 1907. Generally acknowledged by historians as one of the greatest teams of the early days of the sport. Ottawa HC played in the first season during which the Stanley Cup was challenged in 1893, the club repeated its success in the 1920s, winning the Stanley Cup in 1920,1921,1923 and 1927. In total, the won the Stanley Cup eleven times. In 1950, Canadian sports editors selected the Ottawa HC/Senators as Canadas greatest team in the first half of the 20th century. The club competed in the NHL until the 1933–34 season, when it relocated the NHL franchise to St. Louis, Missouri, the organization continued the Senators as an amateur, and later semi-professional, team in Quebec senior mens leagues until 1954. The Ottawa Hockey Club was founded by a group of like-minded hockey enthusiasts. A month after witnessing games of hockey at the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival, Halder Kirby, Jack Kerr and Frank Jenkins met, being the first organized ice hockey club in Ottawa, and also the first in Ontario, the club had no other clubs to play that season. The only activities that winter were practices at the Royal Rink starting on March 5,1883, the club first participated competitively at the 1884 Montreal Winter Carnival ice hockey tournament wearing red and black uniforms. Future Ottawa mayor Nelson Porter is recorded as the scorer of the clubs first-ever goal, Frank Jenkins was the first captain of the team, he later became the president of the Hockey Club in 1891 and of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1892. For the 1885 season, the club adopted gold and blue as its colours, Ottawa earned its first-ever victory at the tournament over the Montreal Victorias, but lost its final match to the Montreal Hockey Club to place second in the tournament. The 1886 Montreal tournament was cancelled due to an outbreak of smallpox, on December 8,1886, the first championship league, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was founded in Montreal. It was composed of clubs from Montreal plus a Quebec City club. Ottawas Thomas D. Green was named the first president of the league, under the format, Ottawa lost the one challenge it played in that first 1887 season to the Montreal Victorias. After that season, Ottawa HC became inactive, the Royal Rink, which had been their primary facility, had been converted to a roller skating rink, and ice rink facilities were at a shortage. This changed with the opening of the Rideau Skating Rink in February 1889, One of the principal organizers in the restarting of the team was Ottawa Journal publisher P. D. Ross, who also played on the team
8.
Hockey Hall of Fame
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The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is a museum and it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup. Founded in Kingston, Ontario, the Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1943 under the leadership of James T. Sutherland, the first class of honoured members was inducted in 1945, before the Hall of Fame had a permanent location. It moved to Toronto in 1958 after the NHL withdrew its support for the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston and its first permanent building opened at Exhibition Place in 1961. In 1993, the hall was relocated to a former Bank of Montreal building in Downtown Toronto, an 18-person committee of players, coaches and others meets annually in June to select new honourees, who are inducted as players, builders or on-ice officials. In 2010, a subcategory was established for female players, the builders category includes coaches, general managers, commentators, team owners and others who have helped build the game. As of 2016,271 players,105 builders and 16 on-ice officials have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame has been criticized for focusing mainly on players from the National Hockey League and largely ignoring players from other North American and international leagues. The Hockey Hall of Fame was established through the efforts of James T. Sutherland, Sutherland sought to establish it in Kingston, Ontario as he believed that the city was the birthplace of hockey. In 1943, the NHL and CAHA reached an agreement that a Hall of Fame would be established in Kingston, originally called the International Hockey Hall of Fame, its mandate was to honour great hockey players and to raise funds for a permanent location. The first nine honoured members were inducted on April 30,1945, although the Hall of Fame still did not have a permanent home. The first board of governors consisted of Red Dutton, Art Ross, Frank Sargent, Lester Patrick, Abbie E. H. Coo, Wes McKnight, Basil E. OMeara, J. P. Fitzgerald and W. A. Hewitt. Kingston lost its most influential advocate as permanent site of the Hockey Hall of Fame when Sutherland died in 1955, by 1958, the Hockey Hall of Fame had still not raised sufficient funds to construct a permanent building in Kingston. Clarence Campbell, then President of the NHL, grew tired of waiting for the construction to begin and withdrew the NHLs support to situate the hall in Kingston. The temporary Hockey Hall of Fame opened as an exhibit within the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in August 1958, due to the success of the exhibit, NHL and CNE decided that a permanent home in the Exhibition Place was needed. The NHL agreed to fund the building of the new facility on the grounds of Exhibition Place. The first permanent Hockey Hall of Fame, which shared a building with the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, was opened on August 26,1961, over 750,000 people visited the Hall in its inaugural year. Admission to the Hockey Hall of Fame was free until 1980, by 1986, the Hall of Fame was running out of room in its existing facilities and the Board of Directors decided that a new home was needed. The Hall vacated the Exhibition Place building in 1992, and its half was taken over by the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the building was eventually demolished — a portion of the buildings facade was preserved as an entrance to BMO Field stadium
9.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
10.
Barry Bonds
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Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. Bonds received seven NL MVP awards and 14 All-Star selections, and is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Bonds was regarded as an exceptional hitter, and finished his regular season career with a very high on-base percentage and isolated power. He holds many MLB hitting records, including most career runs, most home runs in a single season. He also received eight Gold Gloves for his defense in the outfield and he is ranked second in career Wins Above Replacement among all major league position players by both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. com, behind only Babe Ruth. Bonds led a career, notably as a central figure in baseballs steroids scandal. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to the grand jury during the federal governments investigation of BALCO. The perjury charges against Bonds were dropped, and he was initially convicted of obstruction of justice. Bonds has not been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first four years of eligibility, in the 2016 season, Bonds served as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. He played on the varsity team during his freshman year. He batted for a.467 batting average his senior year, Bonds attended Arizona State University, hitting.347 with 45 home runs and 175 runs batted in. In 1984 he batted.360 and had 30 stolen bases, in 1985, he hit 23 home runs with 66 RBIs and a.368 batting average. He was a Sporting News All-American selection that year and he tied the NCAA record with seven consecutive hits in the College World Series as sophomore and was named to All-Time College World Series Team in 1996. He graduated from Arizona State in 1986 with a degree in criminology and he was named ASU On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player, other winners include Dustin Pedroia, Willie Bloomquist, Paul Lo Duca, and Ike Davis. During college, he played part of one summer in the amateur Alaska Baseball League with the Alaska Goldpanners, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Bonds as the sixth overall pick of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft. He joined the Prince William Pirates of the Carolina League and was named July 1985 Player of the Month for the league, in 1986, he hit.311 in 44 games for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League. Before Bonds made it to the leagues in Pittsburgh, Pirate fan attendance was low. Bonds made his league debut on May 30,1986. In 1986, Bonds led National League rookies with 16 home runs,48 RBI,36 stolen bases and 65 walks and he played center field in 1986, but switched to left field with the arrival of centerfielder Andy Van Slyke in 1987
11.
Edmonton Oilers
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The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the Oilers were founded on November 1,1971, with the team playing its first season in 1972, as one of the twelve founding franchises of the major professional World Hockey Association. They were originally intended to be one of two WHA teams in Alberta, however, when the Broncos relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, before the WHAs first season began, the Oilers were renamed the Alberta Oilers. They returned to using the Edmonton Oilers name for the following year, the Oilers subsequently joined the NHL in 1979 as one of four franchises introduced through the NHL merger with the WHA. After joining the NHL, the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup on five occasions, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1989–90. This remains the most championships won by any team since the NHL-WHA merger, among all NHL teams, only the Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times since the Leagues 1967 expansion. For their success in the 1980s, the Oilers team of this era has been honoured with dynasty status by the Hockey Hall of Fame, on November 1,1971, the Edmonton Oilers became one of the 12 founding WHA franchises. The original team owner was Bill Hunter, Hunter owned the Edmonton Oil Kings, a junior hockey franchise. He also founded the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, hunters efforts to bring major professional hockey to Edmonton via an expansion NHL franchise had been rebuffed by the NHL. So, he looked to the upstart WHA instead and it was Hunter who chose the Oilers name for the new WHA franchise. This was a name that had previously used as a nickname for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 1950s and 1960s. They won the first game in WHA history 7–4 over the Ottawa Nationals, the Oilers drew fans with players such as defenceman and team captain Al Hamilton, goaltender Dave Dryden and forwards Blair MacDonald and Bill Flett. However, a relatively little-noticed move in 1976 would have an important impact on the history of the franchise and that year, journeyman forward Glen Sather was acquired by the Oilers. It turned out to be his final season as a player, however, he was named player-coach late in the season, moving to the bench full-time after the season. Sather would be the coach or general manager of the Oilers for the next 23 years, although the Oilers on-ice performance for most of the WHAs history was mediocre, they remained relatively well-supported and financially stable by WHA standards. In 1976, the franchise was acquired by wealthy entrepreneur Peter Pocklington, Gretzkys first and only WHA season, 1978–79, saw the Oilers finish first in the WHA standings, posting a league-best 48–30–2 record. However, Edmonton failed to win the championship, as they fell to the Winnipeg Jets in the Avco World Trophy Final, Dave Semenko of the Oilers scored the last goal in WHA history in the third period of the final game, which the Oilers lost 7–3. The Oilers joined the NHL for 1979–80, along with fellow WHA teams Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, originally, Gretzky was not eligible to be protected, under the rules of the time, he normally would have been placed in the Entry Draft pool
12.
Boston Bruins
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The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the team has been in existence since 1924, and is the leagues third-oldest team and is the oldest in the United States. It is also an Original Six franchise, along with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins have won six Stanley Cup championships, tied for fourth most of all-time with the Blackhawks and their home arena is the TD Garden, where they have played since 1995. The Bruins began play in the NHL on December 1,1924, in 1924, at the convincing of Boston grocery magnate Charles Adams, the National Hockey League decided to expand to the United States. Adams had fallen in love with hockey while watching the 1924 Stanley Cup Finals between the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens and the WCHL champion Calgary Tigers. With the Montreal Maroons, the team was one of the NHLs first expansion teams, Adams first act was to hire Art Ross, a former star player and innovator, as general manager. Ross was the face of the franchise for the thirty years. In 1924, Adams directed Ross to come up with a nickname for the franchise, arthur Ross picked a name by himself. According to him, a Bruin is an animal and alliterative with Boston. The background of the Bruins black and gold colorway dates back to their founder, Black and gold were the colors of Adams’ grocery chain, which made Boston Bruins uniforms a spot to advertise on. On December 1,1924, the new Bruins team played their first NHL game against the Maroons, at Boston Arena, but the team only managed a 6–24–0 record in its first season. In their third season, 1926–27, the team markedly improved, the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final despite finishing only one game above.500, but lost to the Ottawa Senators in the first Cup Final to be between exclusively NHL teams. In 1929 the Bruins defeated the New York Rangers to win their first Stanley Cup, standout players on the first championship team included Shore, Harry Oliver, Dit Clapper, Dutch Gainor and goaltender Tiny Thompson. The 1928–29 season was the first played at Boston Garden, which Adams had built after guaranteeing his backers $500,000 in gate receipts over the five years. The 1930s Bruins teams included Shore, Thompson, Clapper, Babe Siebert, the team led the leagues standings five times in the decade. In 1939, the changed its uniform colors from brown and yellow to the current black and gold. That year, Thompson was traded for rookie goaltender Frank Brimsek, Brimsek had an award-winning season, capturing the Vezina and Calder Trophies, becoming the first rookie named to the NHL First All-Star Team, and earning the nickname Mr. Zero
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