Fun Facts About Hockey To Get You In Hockey Season Mood

Posted on by Emily Rokke
Category: Fun Facts,Odd Sports,Strange History,Strange People,Strange Stories,Weird Activities
  • Do you know all the things the Stanley Cup has been used for?

Did you read Hockey Fun Facts Before The 2025 Season Starts? Because this is basically a part two.

  • Wayne Gretzky’s father, Walter, built him a backyard ice rink when he was two years old. 
  • Gretzky ended up scoring his first NHL goal against goaltender Glen Hanlon, who was also his childhood hero. That had to be quite the experience for him!
  • Gretzky is the only player in NHL history to score over 200 points in a single season and he did it four times!
  • Gretsky was the first hockey player with his own cereal brand, called “ProStars.”
  • In his first season with the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky scored 137 points took the team with him to their first playoff appearance. 
  • Gretzky was traded in 1988 from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and it remains one of the most controversial and talked-about moments in NHL history. 
  • Gretzky won four Stanley Cup championships with the Edmonton Oilers and as a part of the New York Rangers. 
  • The earliest known photograph of a hockey game is from 1881.
  • The Stanley Cup has been used as a baptismal font, a cereal bowl, and a dog’s food dish. How random is that?
  • In 1979, the Soviet Union’s Red Army team beat the NHL All-Stars in a surprising upset.
  • The NHL’s original six teams included the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and the Chicago Blackhawks. 
  • The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cup championships in NHL history and hold 24 titles. 
  • In 2002, the Salt Lake City Olympics had a women’s hockey game and Kazakhstan defeated Russia 3-1. 
  • The NHL’s first black player was Willie O’Ree, who started  with the Boston Bruins in 1958. 
  • In 1980, the U.S. Olympic hockey team, made up of amateur players, beat the heavily favored Soviet team in a game that became known as the “Miracle on Ice.” 
  • The Stanley Cup was originally awarded to the champion of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. 
  • The NHL’s original rules allowed a player to substitute his stick for a broken one on the ice, even if it belonged to the opposing team. 
  • The NHL’s first expansion team joined the league in 1967. (It was the Los Angeles Kings.)
  • The first NHL game of hockey played in Europe was in 1938. The Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens played in Paris. 
  • The Stanley Cup has been dropped, dented, and even thrown into a swimming pool according to NHL.com.
  • Hockey is the only major sport in which a player can legally use his or her body to hit opponents into the boards.
  • The Stanley Cup is over 100 years old and was first given out in 1893.
  • The only year the Stanley Cup wasn’t given out was 1919 because of the Spanish flu. , the trophy awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) champions each year, is over 100 years old. It was first awarded in 1893 and has been awarded every year since, except for in 1919 due to the Spanish Flu outbreak. 
  • Pucks used in NHL games are frozen before the fame to help them slidce better on the ice!
  • A “hat trick” is when a player scores three goals in one game.
  • The term hat trick came from the 1800s when fans would throw their hats onto the ice to celebrate a player’s accomplishment. 
  • Hockey players often have superstitions, such as not shaving during playoffs or wearing the same socks for every game. 
  • Wayne Gretzky used to put baby powder on his hockey stick before games for good luck.
  • Jaromir Jagr, a Czech hockey player, wears the same black and gold elbow pads that he has had since he was 18 years old.
  • Brent Burns, a defenseman for the San Jose Sharks, wears a lucky t-shirt under his jersey during every game.
  • Sidney Crosby, a center for the Pittsburgh Penguins, always puts his left skate on first before games.
  • Erik Karlsson, a defenseman for the San Jose Sharks, always puts his equipment on in the same order before games.
  • Alex Ovechkin, a left winger for the Washington Capitals, always kisses his stick before games.
  • Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk used to wear the same underwear for every game.
  • Former NHL player Mike Bossy would always eat vanilla ice cream before games for good luck.
  • The women’s ice hockey team from the United States won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, while the men’s team did not medal.

What fun facts about hockey do you think are the best from this list? Tell us all about your favorites in the comments!