Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport.
Ice hockey is one of the sports featured in the Winter Olympics while its premiere international amateur competition, the IIHF World Championships, are governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for both men's and women's competitions. Ice hockey is also played as a professional sport.
The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, where the first indoor game was played on March 3, 1875. 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 leagues began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was initially commissioned in 1892 as the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" and was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by the Ligue Internationale de Hockey Sur Glace, in Paris, France, the precursor of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The sport was played for the first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Olympics.
| Rank | Player | Team(S) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | EDM, LAK, STL, NYR |
| 2 | Gordie Howe | DET, HFD |
| 3 | Alex Ovechkin | WSH |
| 4 | Jaromir Jagr | PIT, WSH, NYR, PHI, DAL, BOS, NJD, FLA, CGY |
| 5 | Brett Hull | CGY, STL, DAL, DET, PHX |
| 6 | Marcel Dionne | DET, LAK, NYR |
| 7 | Phil Esposito | CHI, BOS, NYR |
| 8 | Mike Gartner | WSH, MNS, NYR, TOR, PHX |
| 9 | Mark Messier | EDM, NYR, VAN |
| 10 | Steve Yzerman | DET |
The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, where the first indoor game was played on March 3, 1875. 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.
Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian-born hockey player and NHL Hall of Famer. He started skating at age 2 and by the age of 6 was regularly playing with older boys. He played his first full NHL season in 1979-80 for the Edmonton Oilers.