9781422284254

CHAPTER ICE HOCKEY’S GREATEST MOMENTS There is a good reason that great hockey players are not found traditionally in places where the weather is warm. Hockey was born outside on frozen ponds, lakes, and canals. Even though the game has moved inside, hockey still mostly thrives in places where you can make a rink in your own backyard. Although National Hockey League (NHL) playoff heroes are forged in June, the sport is part of the culture only in places where rinks can be formed overnight in February. All across Canada, where the game originated, and into states like Minnesota, Michigan, and Massachusetts, a midwinter cold snap means endless days of nonstop pickup games for kids who do not care if they can no longer feel their toes. The game has changed a lot over the years and is now a serious business from peewee hockey all the way up through junior. Competition in hockey hotbeds is at a peak, with parents spending thousands on the latest gear and travel expenses and getting up to make 5:30 a.m. practice times. Those kids who show true promise get noticed early as amateur scouts start tracking potential as early as age 14. For exceptional talents, it can be as young as 12. Those kids who show the fortitude to stick with it do so because they love the sport. For every Connor McDavid, John Tavares, or Steven Stamkos, however, there is a player like Bryan Helmer, who retired in 2013 after 20 years in the professional minor leagues. Despite never playing more than 40 games in an NHL season and being signed, released, or traded at least 10 times, he loved the game enough to stick it out through more than 1,000 minor league games to become the top-scoring defenseman in the history of the American Hockey League. Hockey is a game that teaches perseverance, toughness, and humility. It is a true team sport that requires everyone to be working hard to succeed. The hard work, dedication, and passion of the best players in the game have produced great moments on the ice that fans will tell stories about forever. ICE HOCKEY

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