Hockey Fun Facts Before The 2025 Season Starts

Posted on by Emily Rokke
Category: Fun Facts,Strange History,Strange People,Strange Stories,Weird Activities
  • Do you know the hockey fun facts from this list?

Do you know these hockey fun facts, like the coldest temperature at an outdoor hockey team was -22? Do you think you know the rest of these fun facts on this list?

  • Hockey has been played for over 4,000 years, with the first recorded game played in Ancient Egypt.
  • The first indoor hockey game happened in Montreal, Canada at the Victoria Skating Rink on March 3rd, 1875.
  • The NHL was first formed in 1917 with four Canadian teams and four American teams.
  • The Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in professional sports, first awarded in 1893.
  • Zdeno Chara hit the fastest recorded shot in NHL history in 2012, hitting the puck at 108.8 mph.
  • The puck used in NHL games is frozen first to help prevent bouncing and to improve gameplay.
  • The first Stanley Cup was only seven inches tall, while the current one is over three feet tall.
  • The highest scoring NHL game of all time was in 1920 and ended with a score of 16-3.
  • The first of all the hockey pucks was made from frozen cow dung. (Most of the first hockey games were played outside on frozen ponds or lakes and there were manure piles readily available for pucks.)
  • The longest NHL game in history lasted 176 minutes and 30 seconds, or as long as three games in one. What do you think of this as one of the best hockey fun facts?
  • Hockey players can reach speeds of up to 30mph on the ice, making them some of the fastest athletes of all the sports.
  • The Stanley Cup was stolen twice, both in 1970 and as recently as 2018!
  • The coldest NHL game occurred in Edmonton, Canada when the temperature was a crisp -22.
  • The first outdoor NHL game was in 2003 between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadians.
  • Hockey players used flat paddles before curved sticks were invented.
  • Roy “Shrimp” Worters was just 5’3’’ tall and the shortest player in NHL history.
  • Hockey goalies didn’t wear masks over their facts until the mid-1950s. Can you imagine?
  • Like other sports, players have weird pre-game rituals like kissing their hockey stick before getting on the ice for a game!
  • Famous player Wayne Gretzky put baby powder on his hockey stick for good luck before he had a game. Do you think this is one of the more interesting of hockey fun facts?
  • Some hockey players refuse to shave during the playoffs, believing it brings good fortune. 
  • Patrick Roy used to talk to his goal posts for good luck during games. (He was a famous goaltender.)
  • Theo Fleury thought it was good luck to keep his lucky Canadian coin, aka a loonie! 
  • Bobby Orr was the first million-dollar contract holder for the Boston Bruins in 1971. (The contract was five years at $200,000.00.) 
  • Harry “Punch” Broadbent was the first to score a hat trick in an NHL game on December 22nd, 1917. 
  • Wayne Gretzky is one of the best hockey players of all time, with 61 NHL records like most career goals with 894 and almost 3,000 points scored with a total of 2,857!
  • Wayne Gretzky is known as “The Great One.” Did you know this as one of the hockey fun facts about the sport and its players?
  • Gretzky scored his first major league goal on his first shot, during his very first game!
  • Wayne Gretzky’s father, Walter, built him a backyard ice rink when he waws 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.

What was something you learned from these hockey fun facts? Tell us all about it in the comments!