1.
Montreal
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Montreal, officially Montréal, is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the 2nd-most populous in Canada as a whole. Originally called Ville-Marie, or City of Mary, it is believed to be named after Mount Royal, the city has a distinct four-season continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold, snowy winters. In 2016, Montreal had a population of 1,704,694, Montreals metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927 and a population of 1,958,257 in the urban agglomeration, with all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal included. Legally a French-speaking city,60. 5% of Montrealers speak French at home,21. 2% speak English and 19. 8% speak neither, Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 56% of the population able to speak both official languages. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris, historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, culture, tourism, gaming, film, Montreal was also named a UNESCO City of Design. In 2009, Montreal was named North Americas leading host city for international events, according to the 2009 preliminary rankings of the International Congress. According to the 2015 Global Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit, in the 2017 edition of their Best Student Cities ranking, Quacquarelli Symonds ranked Montreal as the worlds best city to study abroad. Also, Montreal has 11 universities with 170,000 students enrolled, the Greater Montréal region has the highest number of university students per capita among all metropolitan areas in North America. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics, currently, the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival. In 2012, Montreal was ranked as a Beta+ world city, in Kanien’kéha, or Mohawk language, the island is called Tiohtià, ke Tsi or Ka-wé-no-te. In Anishinaabemowin, or Ojibwe language, the land is called Mooniyaang, though the city was first named by French colonizers Ville Marie, or City of Mary, its current name comes from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The most popular theory is that the name derives from Mont Réal, Cartiers 1535 diary entry, naming the mountain, according to the Commission de toponymie du Québec and the Geographical Names Board of Canada, Canadian place names have only one official form. Thus, Montreal is officially spelled with an accent over the e in both English and French. In practice, this is limited to governmental uses. English-speaking Montrealers, including English-language media, regularly omit the accent when writing in English, archaeological evidence demonstrates that First Nations native people occupied the island of Montreal as early as 4,000 years ago. By the year AD1000, they had started to cultivate maize, within a few hundred years, they had built fortified villages. Archeologists have found evidence of their habitation there and at locations in the valley since at least the 14th century
2.
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
3.
Winger (ice hockey)
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Winger, in the game of ice hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward, originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink. Nowadays, there are different types of wingers in the game — out-and-out goal scorers, checkers who disrupt the opponents and they tend to be bigger than centreman and smaller than defenceman. This position is referred to by the side of the rink that the winger normally takes. On the backcheck, it is essential that they cover the last free opposing player rushing in, once the puck is controlled by the opposing team in the defensive zone, however, wingers are responsible for covering the defenceman on their side of the ice. Prior to the puck being dropped for a face-off, players other than taking the face-off must not make any physical contact with players on the opposite team. After the puck is dropped, it is essential for wingers to engage the players to prevent them from obtaining possession of the puck. Once a team has established control of the puck, wingers can set themselves up into an appropriate position, some wingers are also employed to handle faceoffs. Rover Centre Defenceman Forward Goaltender Power forward List of NHL players
4.
Arizona Coyotes
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The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, since December 2003, the Coyotes have played their home games at Gila River Arena after having spent 7½ seasons at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix. On June 10,2015, the Glendale City Council voted to end their agreement with the Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Coyotes were founded on December 27,1971, as the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association, after the WHA had ceased operations, they were one of four franchises absorbed into the National Hockey League and then granted membership on June 22,1979. The Jets moved to Phoenix on July 1,1996, and were renamed the Phoenix Coyotes, the NHL took over ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise in 2009 after owner Jerry Moyes turned it over to the league after declaring bankruptcy. The sale to IceArizona Acquisition Co, LLC. was completed on August 5,2013. On June 27,2014, the changed its geographic name from Phoenix to Arizona. On June 26,2015, the team introduced updated jerseys for the 2015–16 NHL season, the team began play as the Winnipeg Jets, one of the founding franchises in the World Hockey Association. The Jets were the most successful team in the short-lived WHA, winning the Avco World Trophy and it then became one of the four teams admitted to the NHL as part of a merger when the financially struggling WHA folded in 1979. However, the club was never able to translate its WHA success into the NHL after the merger, as a result, they finished last in the NHL during their first two seasons, including a nine-win season in 1980–81 that is still the worst in franchise history. They recovered fairly quickly, however, making the playoffs 11 times in the next 15 seasons, however, the Jets only won two playoff series, largely due to being in the same division as the powerful Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Because of the way the playoffs were structured for much of their Winnipeg run, in 1984–85, for instance, they finished with the fifth-best record in the league, only to be bounced by the Oilers in the division finals. Two years later, they dispatched the Flames in the first round, the franchise would not win another playoff series for 25 years. The Jets ran into trouble when player salaries began spiraling up in the 1990s. In addition, the home arena, Winnipeg Arena, was one of the smallest in the league. Despite strong fan support, several attempts to keep the team in Winnipeg fell through, after the franchise considered Mustangs, Outlaws, Wranglers and Freeze, a name-the-team contest yielded the nickname Coyotes, which finished ahead of the second-place Scorpions. In the summer that the move took place, Jets star Alexei Zhamnov left the team, Roenick teamed up with power wingers Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet to form a dynamic 1–2–3 offensive punch that led the Coyotes through their first years in Arizona. Also impressive were young players like Shane Doan, Oleg Tverdovsky and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, another key addition to the squad was veteran forward Mike Gartner, who had come over from the Toronto Maple Leafs
5.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the leagues original expansion from six to twelve teams. The Penguins played in the Civic Arena, also known to Pittsburgh fans as The Igloo and they moved into their new arena, PPG Paints Arena, to begin the 2010–11 NHL season. They have qualified for five Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup four times – in 1991,1992,2009, and 2016. Before the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHLs Pirates from 1925 to 1930, in the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, and his brother Bruce Norris, the effort was successful, and on February 8,1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million for their entry and $750,000 more for start-up costs, the Civic Arenas capacity was then boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Pens also paid a bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings. The investor group named McGregor president and chief officer. A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked Penguins as the nickname for the team, mark Peters had the winning entry, a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. The Pens, along with the rest of the teams, were hampered by restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing Original Six teams. Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, All-Star defenseman Leo Boivin and Ranger veteran Earl Ingarfield, a number of the players had played for the Hornets the previous season, Bathgate, wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was named the coach for the clubs first two seasons, and McDonald was named the teams first captain. On October 11,1967, league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens. On October 21,1967, they became the first team from the class to beat an Original Six team. However, the Penguins went 27–34–13 and finished in place in the West Division, missing the playoffs
6.
Atlanta Thrashers
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The Atlanta Thrashers were an American professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25,1997 and they were members of the Southeast Division of the NHLs Eastern Conference, and played their home games at Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta. The Thrashers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs only once, during the 2006–07 season in which won the Southeast Division. In May 2011, the Thrashers were sold to Canadian-based ownership group True North Sports & Entertainment, the group moved the franchise to Winnipeg, Manitoba, which became the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets. The sale and relocation were approved by the NHL on June 21,2011, with the sale and relocation of the team, Atlanta became the first city in the NHLs modern era to have two ice hockey teams relocate to different cities. In both cases, the team moved from Atlanta to Canada, the citys previous NHL team moved to Calgary, Alberta and this also included teams in Nashville, Columbus and St. Paul, in which each new franchise would begin play as its respective new arena was completed. The birth of the new franchise marked NHL hockeys return to Georgia, as the Atlanta Flames, established in 1972, departed for Canada in 1980 to become the Calgary Flames. The Flames had been the Leagues first foray into the southern U. S. the nickname Thrashers, after Georgias state bird, the brown thrasher, was selected from a fan poll. Thrashers had actually been runner-up to Flames in the poll, and Philips Arena, the Thrashers new home, was built on the site of the former Omni, which had been home to the Flames. The newly formed Thrashers selected Patrik Stefan with the first overall selection, the Thrashers played their first game on October 2,1999, losing 4–1 to the New Jersey Devils. Atlanta had the second pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. The team also had a choice in the 2001 Draft. Tragedy struck the team just eight days after the sale, as star forward Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari in an accident that seriously injured both himself and Thrashers center Dan Snyder. Heatley suffered a jaw and arm, a sprained wrist. The Thrashers dedicated their entire 2003–04 season to Snyders memory, and Thrashers players wore patches with Snyders number,37. Heatleys blood alcohol content was below the limit, but his combination of speeding and recklessness led to criminal charges. He eventually received three years probation and community service, led by captain Shawn McEachern, the Thrashers jumped quickly out of the gate with some notable highlights. Eleven games into the season, the Thrashers were alone in first place both the Southeast Division and the NHL
7.
Nashville Predators
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The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the Predators joined the NHL as an expansion team in the 1998–99 season, and play their home games at Bridgestone Arena. In late 1995, rumors began to circulate that the New Jersey Devils would be relocating to the planned Nashville Arena. Nashville offered a $20 million relocation bonus to any team that would relocate, after the attempt to get the Devils, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman noted that Nashville would probably at least be considered in upcoming expansion. The arena was opened in 1996, and after an attempt to bring the National Basketball Association s Sacramento Kings did not go through, in January 1997, a group led by Wisconsin businessman Craig Leipold made a formal presentation before the NHL requesting an expansion franchise. When Bettman and league officials visited Nashville to tour the arena, in June, the league granted conditional franchises to Nashville, Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, and Minneapolis – Saint Paul. The Nashville team would be scheduled to play in 1998 if they met the NHL requirement of selling 12,000 season tickets before March 31,1998. Of the four cities, Nashville was the one with a completed arena. A month later, Leipold named former Washington Capitals general manager David Poile as the franchises first general manager, portland Pirates head coach Barry Trotz was named the franchises first head coach on August 6. Mitch Korn was named the first goaltending coach for the franchise, on September 25,1997, Leipold and team president Jack Diller held a press conference where they unveiled the franchises new logo, a saber-toothed cat. The logo was a reference to a partial Smilodon skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971 during construction of the First American National Bank building, once the logo was unveiled, the franchise held a vote among fans to choose a name. Three candidates were culled from 75, Ice Tigers, Fury, Leipold added his own submission to the vote, Predators. On November 13, Leipold revealed at a conference that his submission had won out. At one point, rumors began to circulate that the team would move before the first puck ever hit the ice, one rumor had Leipold trading franchises with the Edmonton Oilers, with the Oilers moving to Nashville and the Nashville expansion franchise moving to Houston, Texas. Leipold shot this rumor down, saying here is no chance, when awarded a franchise, the city of Nashville paid 31. 50% of the $80 million fee to join the League. The city has engaged an affiliate of the team to operate the arena, the $15 million payroll of the team was the lowest of the NHL. The Predators first took the ice on October 10,1998 and it was the only sold out game of the Predators first five bouts in Nashville. Three nights later, on October 13, they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3–2 for their first win, forward Andrew Brunette scored the first goal
8.
SC Bern
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Schlittschuh Club Bern is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League A, it is the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system, for the 16th time in a row, the club is the most attended team in Europe for the 2016–17 season, averaging 16,399 spectators. They are traditional rivals with HC Fribourg-Gottéron, EHC Biel, the ice hockey section of the Bern Sports Club, which was established on November 3,1930, officially began playing on January 1,1931. Today, SC Bern is a popular team and regularly fills its home stadium. In 2006, they set a new record among European clubs for average attendance, although, league rules allow only four players without Swiss passports to suit up in a single game. After a disappointing run in the 2006 playoffs, the club replaced head coach Alpo Suhonen with John van Boxmeer, Leuenberger had previously played thirteen seasons of defence with the club, totaling 67 goals,145 assists, and four national championships. His jersey number 16 is one of many that has been retired by SC Bern, on September 30,2008, SC Bern faced off against the National Hockey Leagues New York Rangers to celebrate one hundred years of ice hockey in Switzerland. Forty-nine years since the Rangers last visit to Switzerland, the beat the home team 8-1 in front of a sellout crowd. Despite the slanted score, SC Bern played a game with a 2-0 score at the end of the second. Former Phoenix Coyotes Canadian-born defenceman Travis Roche scored SC Berns goal early in the third period, SC Bern only allowed two even-strength goals, but could not withstand the Rangers potent power play in the final frame. We played for our pride tonight, said center Sébastien Bordeleau after the exhibition game, christian Dubé wore the captains C because Ivo Rüthemann was injured. During the 2012 NHL lockout, Roman Josi, Mark Streit, Tavares quickly became the PostFinance Top Scorer tallying 42 points in 28 games. During the 2013-14 season, Guy Boucher signed a contract as coach of the SC Bern for the current year, Leuenberger was then replaced by former Finnish national team coach Kari Jalonen prior to the 2016-17 campaign. com Retrieved 03-21-07
9.
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
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The Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland and are members of the Swiss National League B. They play their games at Diners Club Arena. Ex-NHL player Doug Gilmour skated for them during the NHL lockout-shortened season in 1994 and they had survived relegation in every NLA season since last making the playoffs in 2007-08 until 2014-15 when they were swept by the SCL Tigers in the promotion/relegation round. They will play in National League B for the 2015–16 season, NLB Championship,1994 Updated January 23,2013
10.
Traktor Chelyabinsk
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The Traktor Ice Hockey Club, also known as HC Traktor commonly Traktor Chelyabinsk, is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League, founded in 1947 as a team of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Traktor have played for the Soviet and Russian championships since 1948. From 1948-1953 they were called Dzerzhinets and Avangard between 1954 and 1958, the current name was adopted starting with the 1958–59 season. Traktor played its first game in the top league on December 12,1948 against CDKA Moscow, viktor Shuvalov, a future star of Moscow clubs VVS and CSKA, led the team in scores during its first season in the championship. In 1955 Chelyabinsk reached the place for the first time. Between 1965 and 1968, Traktor played in the division of the Soviet hockey championships. The team returned to the first division in 1968, in 1973, Traktor played in the USSR Cup finals against the CSKA. Although Traktor led 2-0, they lost the game with a score of 2-5, Valery Belousov and Gennadi Tsygurov, who subsequently went on to become head coaches of the team, were among the players of that roster. Traktors performance greatly improved after Anatoly Kostryukov became the head coach. In the 1976-77 season Traktor won bronze in the Soviet hockey championships, at that time, Traktor produced several players who achieved international prominence. One of the best Soviet forwards of all times, Sergei Makarov, was born in Chelyabinsk, along his teammate, defenseman Sergei Starikov, he regularly played on the Soviet national team from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Starikov and Makarov each won over 10 international tournaments with Team USSR, makarovs older brother Nikolai was also one of the best Soviet defensemen and played several times in various international competitions. Vyacheslav Bykov, a member of the Soviet national team and later the head coach of Team Russia. Traktors goaltender, Sergei Mylnikov, was named the best goaltender of the Soviet championship. He was the Soviet team starting goalie at the 1987 Canada Cup and his son played several seasons for Traktor as a goaltender as well. In the early 1990s, Traktor twice finished third in the International Hockey League under head coach Valery Belousov, a group of Traktor players, including Sergei Gomolyako, Valeri Karpov, Igor Varitsky, Ravil Gusmanov and others, appeared on Team Russia at several world championships. During the late 1990s ice hockey in Chelyabinsk entered a period of decline, in 1998 Traktor was relegated to the Vysshaya Liga and was replaced in its role as the major hockey team of Chelyabinsk by Mechel. The team found its way back to the only in 2006
11.
EC Red Bull Salzburg
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EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that currently plays in the Austrian Hockey League. The club play their games at the Eisarena Salzburg. The history of ice hockey in Salzburg at the highest level dates back to 1977–78, influential players such as Rick Cunningham and Roger Lamoureux helped to massively increase the popularity of Salzburg ice hockey, and in December 1977 saw the ice rink sold out for the first time. Ten years later in 1988, the Salzburg ice hockey club, EC Salzburg were founded in 1995 by the merger of two small clubs EC Morzg and EC Tiefenbach. The EC Morzg originally arose after the bankruptcy of Salzburg EC in 1988 as a refuge for the youth players, shortly after the foundation, the company Kaindl presented the club with its first major sponsor and the club was renamed to Kaindl EC Salzburg. From the beginning of 2000, drinks manufacturer Red Bull became the major sponsor. It was later transitioned to EC Red Bull Salzburg in 2005, until three years later, that is. The Red Bulls fought their way back to the championship in the Nationalliga, in the end, however, they lost to VSV, taking the runner-up spot in the sixth game of the best-of-seven series. Salzburg were finally rewarded in their third 1st division season, after a fabulous regular season contested by eight teams, where the Red Bulls conceded just one out of 28 home games, Salzburg went on to put in a sterling performance in the play-offs as well. The finals games in Villach, where VSV were backed by an enthusiastic crowd. The secret of their success was consistency, the team having been perfectly prepped by head coach Hardy Nilsson, the 59-year-old Swede subsequently retired from active coaching, celebrating the Red Bulls title and his tenth championship as a coach. For their fourth 1st division season, the Red Bulls were joined in Salzburg by new head coach and sporting director Pierre Pagé as well as a number of new international coaches. On 25 September 2007, in preparation for the new season, Red Bull played a match against National Hockey League team. After a regular season full of ups and downs the Red Bulls began the newly introduced intermediate round in third place, then going on to drop another place. The final against Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana became a real thriller, Salzburg therefore managed to bag the title for the second year running, the farm teams second place in the Österreichische Nationalliga also underlining a strong performance. The 2008–09 season saw the Red Bulls narrowly miss out on retaining their title, after an incredibly exciting finals series spanning seven games, they suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat in the final game in Klagenfurt, losing their crown to KAC.8. In the context of the Red Bull Hockey Model several talented farm team players were given their chance in the 1st division. The Red Bulls fielded a total of 43 players in the 1st division, the farm team, which largely comprised U-20 players this year, was knocked out in the quarter-final of the Österreichische Nationalliga by EK Zell am See
12.
Grizzlys Wolfsburg
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Grizzlys Wolfsburg are a professional ice hockey club of the German professional ice hockey league Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play their games at Eisarena in Wolfsburg, the professional team is named after the title character of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, while the parent club is known as EHC Wolfsburg. The team enjoys substantial support from the Czech automobile manufacturer Škoda Auto. Grizzlys themselves have been engaged in providing support to a nearby bear park, Wolfsburg earned their first promotion to the DEL in 2004. However after one season, they were relegated back to 2. Bundesliga due to their arena not meeting league standards, in 2006, Eisarena Wolfsburg opened, allowing the club to return to the DEL, where they have remained since. The 2010–11 season marked the first time the club advanced to the championship series. Deutsche Eishockey Liga Championship,2011 Updated August 19,2016
13.
NHL Entry Draft
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The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior, collegiate, the first draft was held in 1963, and has been held every year since. The NHL Entry Draft was known as the NHL Amateur Draft until 1979, the entry draft has only been a public event since 1980, and a televised event since 1984. Up to 1994, the order was determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. In 1995, the NHL Draft Lottery was introduced where only teams who had missed the playoffs could participate, the chances of winning the lottery were weighted towards the teams at the bottom of the regular season standings. The first NHL Entry Draft was held on June 5,1963 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, any amateur player under the age of 20 was eligible to be drafted. In 1979, the rules were changed allowing players who had played professionally to be drafted. This rule change was made to facilitate the absorption of players from the defunct World Hockey Association, consequently, the name of the draft was changed from NHL Amateur Draft to NHL Entry Draft. Beginning in 1980, any player who is between the ages of 18 and 20 is eligible to be drafted, in addition, any non-North American player over the age of 20 can be selected. S. College and high school, or European hockey, in 1980, the Entry Draft became a public event, and was held at the Montreal Forum. Prior to that year the Entry Draft was conducted in Montreal hotels or league offices and was closed to the general public, the first draft outside of Montreal was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, in 1985. Live television coverage of the began in 1984 when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation covered the event in both English and French for Canadian audiences. The 1987 Entry Draft, held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, sportsChannel America began covering the event in the United States in 1989. Prior to the development of the Draft, NHL teams sponsored junior teams, the C form could only be signed by the player at age eighteen or by the players parents, often in exchange for some signing bonus. The first drafts were held to assign players who had not signed with an NHL organization before the sponsorship of junior teams was discontinued after 1968, the selection order in the NHL Entry Draft is determined by a combination of lottery, regular season standing, and playoff results. The order of picks discussed in this section always references the original team, the basic order of the NHL Entry Draft is determined based on the standings of the teams in the previous season. Subject to the results of the NHL Draft Lottery, the pick in the same order each round. The teams in group are ordered within that group based on their point totals in the preceding regular season
14.
Colorado Avalanche
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The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the Avalanche are the only team in their division not based in the Central Time Zone, the team is situated in the Mountain Time Zone. Their home arena is Pepsi Center and their general manager is Joe Sakic. The Avalanche were founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques and were one of the franchises of the World Hockey Association. The franchise joined the NHL in 1979 as a result of the NHL–WHA merger, following the 1994–95 season, they were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group and relocated to Denver. Among teams in the major North American professional sports leagues, only the National Football League s Washington Redskins have also accomplished the feat and this was the first major professional sports championship a Denver-based team would bring to the city. In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3 to win their second, as a result, they are the only active NHL team that has won all of its Stanley Cup Final appearances. Coincidentally, the Devils had preceded the Avalanche in Denver, they were called the Colorado Rockies, the Avalanche have won nine division titles and qualified for the playoffs in each of their first ten seasons in Denver, this streak ended in 2007. The Quebec Nordiques were one of the World Hockey Associations original teams when the league play in 1972. Though first awarded to a group in San Francisco, the team moved to Quebec City when the California deal soured because of financial. During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco World Trophy once, in 1977 and lost the finals once, in 1979, the franchise entered the NHL, along with the WHAs Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets. After making the postseason for seven years, from 1981 to 1987. From 1987–88 to 1991–92, the finished last in their division every season. This included a dreadful 12-win season in 1989-90 that is still the worst in franchise history, as a result, the team earned three consecutive first overall draft picks, used to select Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Eric Lindros. Lindros made it clear he did not wish to play for the Nordiques, to the extent that he did not wear the jersey for the press photographs. On advice from his mother, he refused to sign a contract, on June 30,1992, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for five players, the rights to Swedish prospect Peter Forsberg, two first round draft picks and US$15 million. The Eric Lindros trade turned the moribund Nordiques into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight, in the first season after the trade, 1992–93, the Nordiques reached the playoffs for the first time in six years. Two years later, they won the Northeast Division and had the second best regular-season record during the strike-shortened season, while the team experienced on-ice success, it spent most of its first 23 years struggling financially
15.
2000 NHL Entry Draft
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This was the second NHL Entry Draft in which a goaltender was taken first overall, when the New York Islanders selected Rick DiPietro with the first overall pick. Previously, Michel Plasse was selected 1st overall in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft, club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted. 2000 NHL Expansion Draft 2000–01 NHL season List of NHL first overall draft choices List of NHL players SLAM,2000 NHL Entry Draft player stats at The Internet Hockey Database prosportstransactions. com,2000 NHL Entry Draft Pick
16.
Canadians
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Canadians are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural, for most Canadians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian. Elements of Aboriginal, French, British and more recent immigrant customs, languages and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada, Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, the United States. Canadian independence from the United Kingdom grew gradually over the course of years since the formation of the Canadian Confederation in 1867. World War I and World War II in particular gave rise to a desire among Canadians to have their country recognized as a sovereign state with a distinct citizenship. Canadas nationality law closely mirrored that of the United Kingdom, legislation since the mid 20th century represents Canadians commitment to multilateralism and socioeconomic development. As of 2010, Canadians make up 0. 5% of the total population, having relied upon immigration for population growth. Approximately 41% of current Canadians are first- or second-generation immigrants, and 20 percent of Canadian residents in the 2000s were not born in the country. Statistics Canada projects that, by 2031, nearly one-half of Canadians above the age of 15 will be foreign-born or have one foreign-born parent. Aboriginal peoples, according to the 2011 Canadian Census, numbered at 1,400,685 or 4. 3% of the countrys 33,476,688 population. The French originally settled New France, in present-day Quebec and Ontario, approximately 100 Irish-born families would settle the Saint Lawrence Valley by 1700, assimilating into the Canadien population and culture. This arrival of newcomers led to the creation of the Métis, after the War of 1812, British, Scottish and Irish immigration was encouraged throughout Ruperts Land, Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Between 1815 and 1850, some 800,000 immigrants came to the colonies of British North America and these new arrivals included some Gaelic-speaking Highland Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances to Nova Scotia. Descendants of Francophone and Anglophone northern Europeans who arrived in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries are often referred to as old stock Canadians. Beginning in the late 1850s, the immigration of Chinese into the Colony of Vancouver Island, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 eventually placed a head tax on all Chinese immigrants, in hopes of discouraging Chinese immigration after completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The population of Canada has consistently risen, doubling approximately every 40 years, from the mid- to late 19th century, Canada had a policy of assisting immigrants from Europe, including an estimated 100,000 unwanted Home Children from Britain. Block settlement communities were established throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some were planned and others were spontaneously created by the settlers themselves. Canada was now receiving a number of European immigrants, predominantly Italians, Germans, Scandinavians, Dutch, Poles
17.
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
18.
Anterior cruciate ligament
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The anterior cruciate ligament is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments in the human knee. They are also called cruciform ligaments as they are arranged in a crossed formation, in the quadruped stifle joint, based on its anatomical position, it is also referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament. The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur and its proximal fibers fan out along the medial wall of the lateral femoral condyle. There are two bundles of the ACL—the anteromedial and the posterolateral, named according to where the insert into the tibial plateau. The ACL attaches in front of the eminence of the tibia. These attachments allow the ACL to resist anterior translation and medial rotation of the tibia, ACL tears are among the most common knee injuries, with over 100,000 tears in the US occurring annually. Most ACL tears are a result of landing or planting in cutting or pivoting sports, most serious athletes will require an ACL reconstruction if they have a complete tear and want to return to sports, because the ACL is crucial for stabilizing the knee when turning or planting. Reconstruction is most commonly done by autograft, meaning the tissue used for the repair is from the patient’s body, other times, a cadaver is used for tissue. The two most common sources for tissue are the tendon and the hamstrings tendon. The surgery is arthroscopic, meaning that a camera is inserted through a small surgical cut. The camera sends video to a large monitor so that the surgeon can see any damage to the ligaments, in the event of an autograft, the surgeon will make a larger cut to get the needed tissue. In the event of an allograft, in material is donated. The surgeon will make holes in the bones to run the tissue through. Recovery time ranges between one and two years or longer, a week or so after the occurrence of the injury, the athlete is usually deceived by the fact that he/she is walking normally and not feeling much pain. This is dangerous as some athletes start resuming some of their activities such as jogging which, with a move or twist. It is important for the athlete to understand the significance of each step of an ACL injury to avoid complications. Tearing the anterior cruciate ligament can sometimes be part of an injury known as “the terrible triad”. This consists of the tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament
19.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey Leagues Pittsburgh Penguins. They play in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza and they were the 2011 winners of the East Division and the Eastern Conference, winning their first Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. The Penguins serve as a hockey team to the people of Scranton, Pennsylvania and Wilkes-Barre. The Penguins are located in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, the Pittsburgh Penguins top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. However, in the mid-1990s, the IHL began moving away from being a developmental league, for this reason, the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL. The team is referred to as The Baby Penguins by fans. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number #99 in reference to the teams first season in 1999, the WBS Pens have gone to the Calder Cup Final three times but have never won the championship. The team first made the finals in their season playing, losing to the Saint John Flames in six games. The Baby Pens returned to the finals in their fifth season and they most recently made it to the finals in 2008 by way of beating the Portland Pirates in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference finals. They went on to play the Chicago Wolves in the final, the WBS Penguins won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for best finish in the regular season in 2011 with 117 points. Goaltender Brad Thiessen was also named the recipient of the Aldege Baz Bastien Memorial Award and he posted a record of 35-8-1 in 46 appearances, along with a 1.94 goals-against-average and a.922 save percentage. Head coach John Hynes won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award, despite their best regular season finish in team history, the WBS Penguins would be eliminated in the second round of the 2011 playoffs by the Charlotte Checkers in six games. As of the 2016–17 season, the WBS Penguins currently hold the longest streak for qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs at 15 straight seasons, the game was a complete sellout and tickets never reached the general public. The Penguins organization held its second Black and Gold Game prior to the 2010–11 season on September 19,2010, in 2009, they also spawned an affiliated youth level organization, the Wilkes-Barre Junior Pens. The team is based out of the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park, the Penguins biggest rivals had been the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of Pennsylvanias other NHL team, the Philadelphia Flyers. After that team moved to Glens Falls, New York, the Hershey Bears, also located in Pennsylvania, in 2013, the Adirondack Phantoms relocated back to eastern Pennsylvania as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website
20.
American Hockey League
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The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League. Twenty-seven AHL teams are located in the United States and the three are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is David Andrews, the annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup, named for Frank Calder, the first President of the NHL. The reigning champions are the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL traces its origins directly to two predecessor professional leagues, the Canadian-American Hockey League, founded in 1926, and the first International Hockey League, established in 1929. With both leagues down to the minimum in membership, the governors of each recognized the need for action to assure their member clubs long-term survival. Their solution was to play an interlocking schedule, while the Can-Am was based in the Northeast and the IHL in the Great Lakes and Midwest, their footprints were close enough for this to be a viable option. The two older leagues eight surviving clubs began joint play in November 1936 as a new circuit of mutual convenience known as the International-American Hockey League. The four Can-Am teams became the I-AHL East Division, with the IHL quartet playing as the West Division. The IHL also contributed its former championship trophy, the F. G. Teddy Oke Trophy, the Oke Trophy is now awarded to the regular-season winners of the AHLs Northeast Division. A little more than a month into that first season, the balance, the makeshift new I-AHL played out the rest of its first season with just seven teams. At the end of the 1936–37 season, a modified playoff format was devised and a new championship trophy. The Syracuse Stars defeated the Philadelphia Ramblers in the final, three-games-to-one, the Calder Cup continues on today as the AHLs playoff championship trophy. After two seasons of interlocking play, the governors of the two leagues seven active teams met in New York City on June 28,1938, maurice Podoloff of New Haven, the former head of the Can-Am League, was elected the I-AHLs first president. The former IHL president, John Chick of Windsor, Ontario, the Bears remain the only one of these eight original I-AHL/AHL franchises to have been represented in the league without interruption since the 1938–39 season. The newly merged circuit also increased its schedule for each team by six games from 48 to 54. After the 1939–40 season the I-AHL renamed itself the American Hockey League and it generally enjoyed both consistent success on the ice and relative financial stability over its first three decades of operation. The number of teams competing for players rose from six to thirty in just seven years. Player salaries at all levels shot up dramatically with the increased demand and this did not seem to affect the AHL at first, as it expanded to 12 teams by 1970
21.
Milwaukee Admirals
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The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena and they have been affiliated with the NHLs Nashville Predators since that teams founding in 1998. The Admirals first took to the ice in the winter of 1970 as a club known as the Milwaukee Wings. They lost their first game on January 25 when the Madison All-Stars beat them 17–7 and they got their first win five days later when they defeated the Milwaukee Winter Club 10–8. The next year the team was sold by the original owner Reed Fansher to a group of investors, one of the investors, Erwin J. Merar, owned an appliance store. The team was renamed the Admirals after a brand of household appliances sold in Merars store, beginning with the 1973–74 season the Admirals joined the newly formed United States Hockey League. Their first season in a league was not particularly successful as they ended the season in last place in their division and they won only 11 games, lost 35, and tied two games that season. The Admirals won the USHL league championship in 1976, winning seven games in the leagues playoffs. In the off-season, the team was purchased by former Chicago Blackhawks announcer Lloyd Pettit and his wife, for the 1977–78 season the Admirals joined the International Hockey League as the USHL was becoming a strictly amateur league. The Admirals appeared in the IHLs Turner Cup finals only once and they stayed a part of the IHL until it joined the American Hockey League for the 2001–02 season when the IHL ceased operations. Five other IHL franchises also joined the AHL that season, in the 2015-16 season, Norfolk moved to the AHLs Pacific Division as the newest incarnation of the San Diego Gulls. They won their first Calder Cup in 2004 when they defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, prior to the finals, Milwaukee needed seven games to defeat the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the first round. Then the Admirals defeated the Chicago Wolves in six games to advance to the conference finals, the Admirals then eliminated the Rochester Americans four games to one. Milwaukee went on to sweep the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to win the Calder Cup, the Admirals completed a rare postseason run in which they needed one fewer games to eliminate their opponents in each subsequent series. The Admirals were purchased in June 2005 by a group of investors, led by Harris J. Turer, including Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, assistant general manager Gord Ash, and pitcher Ben Sheets. The Brewers subsequently became the uniform sponsor of the Admirals. The Admirals won their division title as a member of the American Hockey League in 2006. To their disappointment, the Admirals would lose 4–2 to the Hershey Bears, on 1 August 2006, the Admirals unveiled their newest logo to the public at the Henry Maier Festival Park
22.
San Jose Sharks
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The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League and they play their home games at the SAP Center, known locally as the Shark Tank. The Sharks were founded in 1991 and were the first NHL franchise based in the San Francisco Bay Area since the California Golden Seals relocated to Cleveland in 1976 and they have won six division titles and one conference championship. The Oakland Coliseum Arena was home to the California Golden Seals of the NHL from 1967 to 1976. They had long wanted to bring back to the Bay Area, and asked the NHL for permission to move the North Stars there in the late 1980s. Meanwhile, a group led by former Hartford Whalers owner Howard Baldwin was pushing the NHL to bring a team to San Jose, in return, the North Stars would be allowed to participate as an equal partner in an expansion draft with the new Bay Area team. On May 5,1990, the Gunds officially sold their share of the North Stars to Baldwin and were awarded a new team for the Bay Area, over 5,000 potential names were submitted by mail for the new team. While the first-place finisher was Blades, the Gunds were concerned about the potentially negative association with weapons. The name was said to have inspired by the large number of sharks living in the Pacific Ocean. Seven varieties live there, and one area of water near the Bay Area is known as the red triangle because of its shark population. The teams first marketing head, Matt Levine, said of the new name, Sharks are relentless, determined, swift, agile, bright and we plan to build an organization that has all those qualities. For their first two seasons, the Sharks played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, just outside San Francisco, a facility that the NHL, pat Falloon was their first draft choice, and led the team in points during their first season. George Kingston was their first coach during their first two seasons, Wilson was named the teams first captain and All-Star representative in the inaugural season. However, the Sharks first two seasons saw the struggles for an expansion team. The 71 losses in 1992–93 is an NHL record, and they suffered a 17-game losing streak, while winning just 11 games. Kingston was fired following the end of the 1992–93 season, several team firsts happened in the 1992–93 season. On November 17,1992, San Jose goaltender Arturs Irbe recorded the first shutout in team history, the early era also saw the birth of the San Jose Sharks long-time mascot, S. J. Sharkie. On January 28,1992, at a game vs. the New York Rangers, a Name the Mascot contest began that night, with the winning name of S. J. Sharkie being announced on April 15,1992
23.
Canada men's national ice hockey team
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The Canadian national mens ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation, from 1920 until 1963, Canadas international representation was by senior amateur club teams. Canadas national mens team was founded in 1963 by Father David Bauer as a part of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the nickname Team Canada was first used for the 1972 Summit Series and has been frequently used to refer to the Canadian national team ever since. They are 26-time IIHF World Champions and winner of the 2004 and 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Canada is a member of the so-called Big Six, the group of the six strongest mens ice hockey nations, along with the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden. Canada was first represented internationally at the 1910 European Championships by the Oxford Canadians and they represented Canada again at the 1912 World Championships. From 1920 until 1963, the amateur club teams representing Canada, were usually the most recent Allan Cup champions. The last amateur team from Canada to win a gold medal at the World Championship was the Trail Smoke Eaters in 1961. Following the 1963 World Championships, Father David Bauer founded the team as a permanent institution. The new permanent national team first competed at the 1964 Winter Olympics, before the Soviet Union began international competition in 1954, Canada dominated international hockey, winning six out of seven golds at the Olympics and 10 World Championship gold medals. Canada then went 50 years without winning the Winter Olympic Gold medal and from 1962 to 1993 and this was in part because Canadas best professional players were unable to attend these events as they had commitments with their National Hockey League teams. Canada withdrew from official IIHF events in 1970 and the National Team programme was suspended after they were refused permission to use semi-professional players at the World Championship. Canada returned to the IIHF in 1977 after a series of negotiations between IIHF President Dr. Sabetzki and top officials of professional ice hockey in Canada and the United States. In 1983, Hockey Canada began the Program of Excellence, whose purpose was to prepare a team for the Winter Olympics every four years. This new National Team played a season together all over the world against both national and club teams, and often attracted top NHL prospects. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to allow athletes to compete in Olympic Games. Veteran pros with NHL experience and, in a few cases and this program was discontinued in 1998, when the NHL began shutting down to allow its players to compete. After not winning a medal for 33 years, Canada won the 1994 World Championship in Italy
24.
Kontinental Hockey League
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The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises 29 member clubs based in Belarus, China, Croatia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Russia and it is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in Europe and Asia, and second in the world behind the NHL. The Gagarin Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. The title of Champion of Russia is given to the highest ranked Russian team, the league formed from the Russian Superleague and the champion of the 2007–08 season of the second division, with 24 teams,21 from Russia and one each from Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. The teams were divided into four divisions, based on the performance in previous seasons, the Opening Cup game in Ufa, which was already under way when news of the disaster arrived, was suspended. In memory of the disaster,7 September remains a day of mourning on which no KHL regular season games are held, in the 2009–10 season, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg joined the KHL and Khimik Voskresensk was transferred to a lower league. Next season, HC Yugra joined the league, after several attempts by teams from Central Europe and Scandinavia to join the KHL, expansion beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union was finally realized in 2011. Lev Poprad, a newly founded team based in Poprad, Slovakia was admitted to the league, Lev and Slovan qualified for the playoffs in their first KHL season. In 2013, Medveščak from Croatia and Russian Admiral Vladivostok joined the league, the league comprised 28 teams during the 2013–14 season, of which 21 are based in Russia and 7 more are located in the other countries. In 2014, Finnish team Jokerit from Helsinki, Lada Togliatti, however, HC Donbass is not playing in the league this season, due to the political instability in Ukraine, but intends to rejoin later. Two other teams, Lev Praha and Spartak Moscow, also withdrew from the 2014–2015 season due to financial problems, prior to the 2015–16 season, Atlant Moscow Oblast withdrew from the KHL, while Spartak Moscow returned. The Chinese club HC Kunlun Red Star were admitted for the 2016–17 season, since 2009, the league has been divided into East and West conferences. In the current season, the Western Conference includes 14 teams divided into two divisions,7 teams per division, the Eastern Conference has 15 teams, divided into divisions of 7 and 8 respectively. Thus, each played a total of 60 games in the regular season. The eight top-ranked teams in each conference receive playoff berths, within each conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are played before the conference winners play against each other for the Gagarin Cup. The division winners are seeded first and second in their conference, all playoff rounds are played as best-of-seven series. In each round, the top seeded remaining team is paired with the lowest seeded team etc, in the 2012–13 season, the Nadezhda Cup was introduced, a consolation tournament for the teams who did not qualify for the playoffs. The winning team in the tournament wins the first overall pick in the KHL Junior Draft, the tournament is intended to extend the season and help maintain interest in hockey in the cities of these teams, and help players of national teams prepare for upcoming World Championship
25.
Austrian Hockey League
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The Austrian Hockey League, called the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Austria. The roots of the EBEL league go back to 1923 and various Championships, there was no Austrian competition between 1939 and 1945. During World War II, a number of Austrian teams competed in the German Ice Hockey Championship, the league exists in todays form since the 1965–66 season. Until 2005–06 the league consisted solely of Austrian teams, since then the league has added teams from Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Italy. The non-Austrian teams are competing for the EBEL Champion title, only Austrian teams in this league are additionally eligible for the Austrian Champion title. The league has had different sponsors, and the current naming rights have been held by Sparkasse Bank, in 2013–14, Italys Bolzano Foxes became the first non-Austrian team to win the EBEL title when they beat the Salzburg Red Bulls 3 games to 2 in their best-of-five final. With their victory in the 2013/2014 season, HC Bolzano is the first non-Austrian team to claim the league title
26.
SM-liiga
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The Liiga, known as SM-liiga from 1975 to 2013, and colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe and it was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, Finnish championship. On 9 August 2013, the dropped the SM. In the 2011–12 season there were 14 teams, the league was opened in 2005 and allowed KalPa to get a promotion. In 2009 a new system was introduced and it includes the last placed SM-liiga team facing the Mestis champion in a best of seven playout series, the SM-liiga was constituted in 1975 to concentrate the development of top level Finnish ice hockey, and pave the way towards professionalism. Its predecessor, the SM-sarja, being a competition, had its disadvantages. One of the problems was that the governing of the SM-sarja was based on the annual meeting of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Since all clubs registered under the Finnish Ice Hockey Association had the right to vote, therefore, the concentrated development of top-level Finnish ice hockey by the motivated and financially capable clubs proved arduous. The new SM-liiga was to be run by a board consisting of its participating clubs only, the SM-sarja was also outdated on its own, as it was run according to amateur principles. Clubs were not supposed to pay their players beyond compensation for lost wages, however, by the 1970s many clubs were already run like businesses and recruited players through a contract of employment, paying their wages secretly and often evading taxes. However, in 1974, accounting reform in Finland extended book-keeping standards to sports clubs. The SM-liiga was to allow wages for players, and clubs were put under a tighter supervision. They were to establish their own association for SM-liiga ice hockey only, separating their commitments from junior activities, copies of all player contracts were to be sent to the SM-liiga to provide players with adequate security, such as insurance and pensions. The SM-sarja had other limits for players, according to amateur ideals, no player could represent more than one club within one season. To discourage trading, a system of quarantine was in force, the SM-liiga stripped the limitations for players, replaced quarantine with a then-modest transfer payment, and introduced the transfer list. Players wanting a transfer were to sign up, and the SM-liiga would distribute the right of negotiations to clubs, in practice the list was not successful, as both parties often worked their way around the formalities. These changes led to a transition towards professional ice hockey as the league became semi-professional
27.
Goal (ice hockey)
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In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the attacking the goal scored upon. The term goal may also refer to the structure in which goals are scored, the ice hockey goal is rectangular in shape, the front frame of the goal is made of steel tube painted red and consists of two vertical goalposts and a horizontal crossbar. A net is attached to the back of the frame to catch pucks that enter the goal, the entire goal is considered an inbounds area of the playing surface, and it is legal to play the puck behind the goal. Under NHL rules, the opening of the goal is 72 inches wide by 48 inches tall, the object of the game of hockey is to score more goals than the opposing team. Goaltenders and defencemen are concerned primarily with keeping the team from scoring a goal. For a goal to be scored, the puck must entirely cross the line between the posts and under the crossbar of the goal frame. The NHL abolished this rule starting in the 1999-2000 season after the disputed triple-overtime goal in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, brett Hull of the Dallas Stars scored the series-clinching goal against the Buffalo Sabres. On video replay, it was clear that Hulls skate was in the prior to the puck. Typically, the last player on the team to touch the puck before it goes into the net is credited with scoring that goal. Zero, one, or two players on the goal-scoring team may also credited with an assist for helping their teammate to score the goal. If another player on the goal-scoring team touched the puck to help score the goal before the player touched it without an opposing player intervening. If yet another player on the team also touched the puck before that without an opposing player intervening. However, a rule says that one point can be credited to any one player on a goal scored. Usually on a team, forwards score the most goals and get the most points, although defensemen can score goals. In professional play, goaltenders only occasionally get an assist, the number of goals scored is a closely watched statistic. Each year the Rocket Richard Trophy is presented to the NHL player to have scored the most goals, the trophy is named after Maurice Richard, the first player to score 50 goals in a season, at a time when the NHL regular season was only 50 games. The player to have scored the most goals in an NHL season is Wayne Gretzky
28.
Penalty (ice hockey)
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A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, Penalties are called and enforced by the referee, or in some cases the linesmen. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice, the opposing team is said to be on a power play, having one player more on the ice than the short-handed team. The short handed team is said to be penalty killing until the penalty expires, while standards vary somewhat between leagues, most leagues recognize several common degrees of penalty, as well as common infractions. The statistic used to track penalties was traditionally called Penalty Infraction Minutes and it represents the total assessed length of penalties each player or team has accrued. The first codified rules of hockey, known as the Halifax Rules, were brought to Montreal by James Creighton, who organized the first indoor hockey game in 1875. Two years later, the Montreal Gazette documented the first set of Montreal Rules, the only penalty outlined by these rules was that play would be stopped, and a bully would take place. Revised rules in 1886 mandated that any player in violation of rules would be given two warnings, but on a third offence would be removed from the game. It was not until 1904 that players were ruled off the ice for infractions, at that time, a referee could assess a two-, three- or five-minute penalty, depending on the severity of the foul. By 1914, all penalties were five minutes in length, reduced to three minutes two years later, and the player was given an additional fine. When the National Hockey League was founded in 1917, it mandated that a team could not substitute for any player who was assessed a penalty, the penalty was shortened to two minutes for the 1921–22 season, while five- and ten-minute penalties were added two years later. A minor penalty is the least severe type of penalty, a minor penalty is two minutes in length. The offending player is sent to the penalty box and in most cases, if the offending player is the goaltender or a team is given a bench minor penalty, then any skater who was on the ice at the time of the infraction may serve the penalty. A team with an advantage in players will go on a power play. If they score a goal during this time, the penalty will end, in hockeys formative years, teams were shorthanded for the entire length of a minor penalty. The NHL changed this rule following the 1955–56 season where the Montreal Canadiens frequently scored multiple goals on one power play. Most famous was a game on November 5,1955, when Jean Béliveau scored three goals in 44 seconds, all on the power play, in a 4–2 victory over the Boston Bruins. Coincidental minor penalties occur when a number of players from each team are given a minor penalty at the same time
29.
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
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The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is often referred to as The Q. The league comprises teams across the provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Since the departure of the Lewiston Maineiacs from Lewiston, Maine, the current Commissioner of the QMJHL is Gilles Courteau. The Presidents Cup is the trophy of the league. The QMJHL champion then goes on to compete in the Memorial Cup against the OHL and WHL champions, the QMJHL had traditionally adopted a rapid and offensive style of hockey. Former QMJHL players hold many of the Canadian Hockey Leagues career, Hockey Hall of Fame alumni of the QMJHL include Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Ray Bourque, Pat LaFontaine, Mike Bossy, Denis Savard, Michel Goulet, Luc Robitaille, and goaltender Patrick Roy. The Rosemont National and Laval Saints transferred from the MMJHL, most of the teams were within a few hours drive of Montreal. From the first season in 1969–70, only Shawinigan remains in the city with an uninterrupted history. In 1972 the QMJHL had been in operation for three years, and wanted a team in the provinces largest city and it threatened a lawsuit to force the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association into the Quebec-based league. The OHA then reactivated the suspended franchise for the 1973–74 season in Kingston, Ontario, under new ownership and with new players, starting in 1994, the QMJHL began to expand further east, outside of Quebec. Teams in Atlantic Canada comprise the entire Eastern Division of the QMJHL, in recent seasons, the QMJHL has been scouting players from the Atlantic Canada region along with a surge in players coming out of the New England area. This is a list of Canadian Hockey League career and single season records accomplished by QMJHL players, East, Quebec City Remparts, Shawinigan Bruins, Drummondville Rangers, Sorel Éperviers, Trois-Rivières Ducs, and Sherbrooke Castors. West, Saint-Jérôme Alouettes, Cornwall Royals, Rosemont National, Verdun Maple Leafs, 1971- Rosemont National move to Laval. 1972- The Saint-Jérôme Alouettes and the Verdun Maple Leafs fold, the Montreal Junior Canadiens franchise of the OHA transfers to QMJHL, becoming the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge. 1973- League split into two divisions, East, Sorel, Quebec, Shawinigan, Trois-Rivières, Chicoutimi, West, Cornwall, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Laval, Drummondville, Hull. Chicoutimi Saguenéens, and the Hull Festivals granted franchises, 1974- Drummondville Rangers fold, Trois-Rivières Ducs become Trois-Rivières Draveurs. 1975- Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge became Montreal Juniors, 1976- Hull Festivals became Hull Olympiques
