Hockey Day In Canada
Q.
Happy Hockey Day! To celebrate, each of the seven Canadian teams in the NHL have games today. How serious are we Canadians about our hockey?
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A.
Easy answer: Canadians are extremely serious about their hockey.
In a February 2025 Rogers survey of 1,015 Canadians: 78% said that hockey is a core element in Canada’s national identity. 75% feel that hockey is key to our national pride.
Canada’s history with hockey goes deep. As early as the 17th Century, the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia played an on-ice game called Oochamkunutk with sticks carved from alder, and cherry wood pucks. In March of 1875, McGill University graduate James Creighton is said to have set up the first indoor hockey game – with lots of McGill student players – at the Victoria Skating Rink.
You think you’ve watched some long hockey games? Canada – specifically Chestermere, Alberta – holds the record for the longest marathons playing ice hockey. How long do these games go? A hint: in the 2012 inaugural year, the final score was 4,170 to 3,843.
In 2012, teams ‘Hope’ and ‘Cure’ were raising funds for pediatric cancer research. Each team had 20 non-professional players who had to be available to skate the full marathon. No sitting or flopping on the ice (unless you’re the goaltender). Power naps could not exceed 10 minutes. On average, players competed between 8 and 12 hours a day.
The 2012 group lasted 246 hours and 2 minutes. That’s over 10 days. Team Cure may have won, but the First Star was Team Hope’s Dave Shillington who had 522 goals, and 275 assists!
In 2022, the Chestermere, Alberta 2022 marathon teams played even longer: these tenacious players lasted for 261 hours and 15 seconds.
Every day is hockey day in Canada.
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Header Art: Ken Danby. Lacing Up. 1973
