The Origins of Ice Hockey

Ice hockey evolved from field hockey that has been around Europe for centuries. J.G.A Creighton, A McGill University student, developed the present-day version from its roots in Canada. The rules he coined were employed in the very first ice hockey game that was played in 1875, earning world wide recognition as the 'Grandfather 'of ice hockey.

He is known as the 'grandfather' of ice hockey. His rules were first used in Montreal in 1875. And somewhere around the 1800s, the first rink for ice hockey was used in Scotland, in a game called 'curling'. Original teams had about 30 people, and the goalposts were frozen stones on both ends of the field. They were called goal lines.

The rules were drafted in 1879 at McGill University in Montreal. By 1893 the sport of hockey made it, in the United States and by the 1900s, ice hockey had slowly spread through parts of Europe.

As for skates, it was in 1867 when factory foreman John Forbes developed the first steel bladed skate at the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. James A. Whelpley had come out with the first ice skate designed for long distance skating called the "Long Reach Skate". The skate got its name after a region alongside the St. John River in New Brunswick where James Whelpley and his family owned a factory. Then there was the Forbes' design where the blade was made shorter for rink skating.

More modifications followed for the modern skate today. Companies like the Canadian Cycle and Motor Company that was established in 1889 out of Weston, Ontario, Canada, is one of the foremost suppliers of hockey gear for numerous colleges and pro hockey teams. Other Canadian-U.S. based companies like Bauer Sports make skates that are bought all over the world. Anyone with a love for ice hockey, are very fastidious when it comes to their skates because they know that the best quality line skates are actually worth it.

The first ice rink that was mechanically-refrigerated was built in 1876 and was called the Glaciarium. In fact, it was built about 30 years before hockey had really established itself.

Initially, the ice was rough and difficult to skate on. A Zamboni machine, that helps smooth out the ice, was only invented in 1939 by Frank Zamboni and released for commercial use in 1942. Now there are more than 8,000 Zamboni used maintain ice facilities. And this has come a long way, as earlier people had to painstakingly and meticulously hand scrape the rink. The Zamboni machine saved a lot of time virtually smoothing out the whole rink in about 15-20 minutes. The 8,000th Zamboni machine was given to the University of Minnesota in 2005.

In 18767, John Forbes, a factory foreman, designed and developed the first steel-bladed skate at the Nova-Scotia based factory, Starr Manufacturing Company. The trial product was a clip-on design. The 'Long Reach Skate' for long-distance skating was designed by James A. Whelply.