The Canadian Origins of Ice Hockey

Serial entrepreneur Jonathan David is the CEO and founder of Tapstone Holdings, LLC, in West Hollywood. As CEO, he develops the company’s overall strategy and business development. When he is not busy leading Tapstone Holdings, Jonathan “Jon” David enjoys playing ice hockey.

The true origin of ice hockey is often debated. Some parties say it originated from lacrosse, while others claim it came from the Micmac Indian sport called hurling.– However, it is generally agreed that modern ice hockey was created in Canada in the 1850s by British soldiers.

Written logs of the first ice hockey games exist, but none of the rules were written down until 1879 when students at McGill University decided to legitimize the game a bit. These rules differed slightly from the original form of the game. The new rules stated that a puck should be used instead of a ball. Additionally, these new rules declared that each hockey team should have nine players.

Within a year, Canada began to see a number of amateur ice hockey leagues and clubs spring up. The sport was introduced to the United States in 1893 and had spread to Europe by the turn of the century.

Over the years, ice hockey’s popularity grew rapidly. Ice hockey has the oldest sports trophy in North America and was added as an Olympic sport in 1920. Yet, despite the sport’s popularity and various equipment advances made over time, ice hockey’s rules have largely stayed the same with the exception of the decrease from nine players per team to six and the addition of netting to the goal.