Hockeytown

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Not to be confused with Hockeyville.

Hockeytown and Hockey Town are generic words used in common practice throughout the United States and Canada to identify any town, city or community that has a history and reputation of participating in the sport of ice hockey. "Hockeytown" when combined with their "winged wheel" logo are a registered trademark of the Detroit Red Wings. Other North American cities are and have been referred to by the name. Warroad, Minnesota was the first city known to use the designation "Hockeytown".[1][2] The term has been used to describe the following cities:

  • Berlin, New Hampshire – Earned the title in 2002, after almost 90 years of a rich hockey history. Claims to be the breeding ground for some of the best players. [3]
  • Binghamton, New York has been referred to as Hockey Town since the mid-1970s. After a tepid first year of support, the Broome Dusters grew greatly in popularity, and were able to draw many sellouts. The quick success led the Hockey News to declare Binghamton as Hockey Town USA.[4] Binghamton is home to a Federal Prospects Hockey League franchise.
  • Denver, Colorado – Earned the title in 2022, after the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, the University of Denver Pioneers won the NCAA National Championship, and the Denver East Angels won the USA Hockey High School National Championship.[5] There is not a legitimate national high school ice hockey tournament. State hockey associations who operate independently of USA Hockey can not send their top teams to the tournament. The Class AA and A champions of the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament, for instance, have never been able to compete in the USA Hockey High School National Championship due to the fact that the Minnesota State High School League isn't sanctioned by USA Hockey. The absence of MN's state champions reduces the level of competition and prestige at the USA Hockey High School National Championship, as the country's top teams aren't allowed to participate. In addition the Colorado Warriors (Disabled Veteran hockey) of the Warrior hockey discipline within USA Hockey won 2 championships in 3 divisions (including the top tier) of the 2022 USA Hockey Warrior Classic (National Championship) in Detroit, MI, October 30, 2022.[6] The Avalanche and the Pioneers became the first professional and college teams from the same city to win the Stanley Cup and the NCAA Division I National Championship in the same year since the Boston Bruins and the Boston University Terriers in 1972.[7]
  • Detroit, Michigan – The phrase "Hockeytown", when combined with the distinctive winged wheel logo of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, is a registered trademark owned by the franchise.[8] Until the 2018–19 season, the Hockeytown script and the Red Wings logo were used in their days at Joe Louis Arena and for the first season at Little Caesars Arena.[9]
    • Traverse City, Michigan has been referred to as "Hockeytown North", due to the Red Wings' training camp being located at Traverse City's Centre Ice Arena.[10][11]
  • Montreal, Quebec[12] has been described as the "Best Hockey City in North America".[13] The first indoor ice hockey game was played in the city, on 3 March 1875. The formalized modern sport of ice hockey originated in Montreal in 1877.[14]
  • O'Leary, Prince Edward Island has been described as "Hockeytown, PEI."[15]
  • Pembroke, Ontario is designated as "Hockeytown Canada" and is painted on the city's water tower
  • Warroad, Minnesota has been referred to as "Hockeytown" for over 50 years.[16] The town of 1,800 has produced five NHL players, seven Olympians, and more than 80 Division I ice hockey (men and women combined) players. Each of the U.S. Men's Olympic gold-medal teams had players from Warroad. The Hockeytown Holiday Classic has been played in Warroad since 1994.[17]

The phrase "hockey town" has also been applied to Boston, Massachusetts;[18] Buffalo, New York;[19] Dallas, Texas;[20] Nashville, Tennessee;[21] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;[19] Saint Paul, Minnesota;[19] Pardubice, Czech Republic;[22] Sarpsborg, Norway;[23] and Skellefteå, Sweden.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Administrator. "Would the real Hockeytown USA please stand up?". letsplayhockey.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Lubbers, Rick (April 17, 2013). "Duluth is deserving of 'Hockeytown, USA' title". Duluth News Tribune. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. ^ "Berlin Maroons". NH Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  4. ^ "2008 Inductee Jim Matthews - Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, Parry Sound, Ontario". bobbyorrhalloffame.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  5. ^ "Denver is now 'Hockeytown USA' and these high schoolers are part of the reason why". 9news. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  6. ^ "Warrior Classic". www.usahockey.com. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  7. ^ "Mile High magic: Avs add to Denver's title town run on ice". CPR.org. 28 June 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Fee, Kevin (May 10, 1999). "Detroit Snatches 'Hockeytown' name from Warroad, Minn". Knight Ridder/ Tribune Business news. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
  9. ^ Crawford, Kirkland. "Bye-bye, Hockeytown? Detroit Red Wings have scrubbed center ice logo". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  10. ^ "Hockeytown North shows its support for Wings". NHL.com. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  11. ^ "The Winged Wheel - Hockeytown North". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  12. ^ "Sports Magazine | Toronto Sports Magazine | Online Sports Magazine Canada | TORO Online Magazine". Toromagazine.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  13. ^ "NHL: 10 Best Hockey Cities in North America". Bleacher Report. November 22, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  14. ^ "First indoor game of ice hockey". History Channel.
  15. ^ "Hockeytown PEI | Island Studies Press". Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  16. ^ Kurtt, Kevin. "Would the real Hockeytown USA please stand up? please". Web article. letsplayhockey.com. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  17. ^ Tribune, Star, "Hockey Hub MN Boys High School Hockey 2011-2012 Tournaments 18th Annual "Hockeytown" Holiday Classic (Dec.28-30), Warroad.", Web article official schedule, MNhockeyhub.com, retrieved September 21, 2012
  18. ^ "Boston Bruins: Can Hockey Supplant Sox, Celtics and Patriots in Fans' Hearts?". Bleacher Report. June 2, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  19. ^ a b c "New Hockeytown, USA". yahoo.com. November 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  20. ^ "Dallas Stars unveil statue of Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Modano". News Channel 6. 17 March 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  21. ^ "Suddenly, Nashville is a hockey town". Associated Press article, published at Chicago Sun-Times News. 10 May 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  22. ^ "Legendární Larionov si v Česku užil ovace: Pardubice jsou Hockeytown". iSport.cz. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  23. ^ "Velkommen til Hockeytown". google.com. 18 September 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
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