The origin of hockey is a question fans of the sport have been asking for ages without ever obtaining an answer that qualifies as a universally accepted fact.  That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been attempts at solving the mystery, but these attempts have been unfulfilling for the historians of the game.  From ancient Greece to the coast of Nova Scotia, where the great frozen game came to be is still up for debate.  Since the floor is open, allow me to make the case for Canada as a whole.

Canada’s passion for the game of hockey is unmatched the world over. It’s undeniable that Canadians love the game and no other country comes close to our understanding of the game.  Ken Dryden and Roy MacGregor put it best: “Somewhere in our souls is a spiritual Canada.  Most probably, its bedrock is of snow and ice, winter and the land.  And if we were to penetrate it a little deeper, chances are we would find a game” (Home Game, 1994).  The landscape of Canada lends itself to the game and its development.  The cold and ice connotes loneliness, dismal isolation, descriptions of barren tundra and endless scenery. The need to keep warm was constant in the early days of Canada’s infancy and remains so today.  All of the work to prepare for the winter season was done throughout the warmer months.  Harvesting and foraging relentlessly, the early settlers knew they had no choice but to make arrangements for the unforgiving winter.  The desolation of the cold was compounded by the lack of activity and the anticipation of spring.  They needed something to keep them occupied, to give them hope, warm their bodies and brighten their spirits.  This sounds like the making of the game that we have become so attached to and inseparably so.  I can only imagine the joy the game brought to the pilgrims of that time in our history.

The exact location of the first game is still up for discussion.  There are four Canadian sites that claim the prestigious honour of hosting the first game of hockey, but an agreement on that place is yet to be decided.  Windsor, Halifax, Montreal and Kingston all contend that the right is theirs, but I believe they are all missing the point.  The fact is they are all Canadian.  From boys to men, girls to women, native to immigrant, everyone in this collective is Canadian and all love and play the game in all of its forms.  The game connects us all to each other and helps us forget about our differences.  Canadians have many things to be proud of, yet hockey is the one thing that helps us to truly identify with one another.  It doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe, where your political alliances lie or your family’s ancestry; if you play, watch or discuss hockey you are accepted.  This indiscriminate behaviour towards fellow Canadians is something unique and treasurable.  Conduct of this nature could only take place in a land that claims ownership of the game.

Furthermore, to the point discussed previously, Canada doesn’t just state title to the game, but this country’s commitment to the game is unwavering and constant and we view ourselves as the keepers of the game.  We use hockey to foster the dreams of our young, to give them something to hope for, something to relish in, an ideal to protect.  We place a level of importance on the game that other countries can’t compete with.  We very meticulously mold and shape the game to reflect our standards, and then conversely, we dissect the game, and not necessarily always to reflect on the state of hockey, but ultimately to learn about ourselves.  Our understanding of the game teaches us about where we are as a communal nation.  It could be suggested that when the game is in good shape, Canada is in good shape, as evidenced by the immediate, and subsequent prolonged sense of pride in our Olympic teams winning gold on the world stage and even more significant, on our home soil.  Canada’s celebration that day wasn’t that it happened in a specific Canadian city, but any Canadian city.  Our vibrant elation was experienced from coast to coast.  The occasion was the culmination of the complete and concerted efforts of all members of this land, past and present, in the production of the greatest possible outcome in a chapter of the story of hockey. There may not be a better quote to sum up my argument about the origin of the game than that of Fred Shero when he said,  “We know that hockey is where we live, where we can best meet and overcome pain and wrong and death. Life is just a place where we spend time between games” (Bleacherreport, 2012).  Shero’s quote is simple; hockey is life and this is the way Canadians live.

Hockey’s origin, in the physical sense, does hold considerable significance to historians, as placing a name and a face could provide some clarification on the issue and may be a more tangible form of evidence as to the sacred location. In my estimation, the spirit of the game, the development of the game and the people that love it offer a much more consistent and realistic affirmation of the game of hockey and no one group of people better exemplifies this ideal than Canadians.