0_Wizard
Hi My favorite sport is professional hockey, specifically the NHL. How about you?
The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
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National Hockey League
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Sports in the United States
Sports in the United States are an important part of the country's culture. Based on revenue, the four major professional sports leagues in the United States are Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). The market for professional sports in the United States is roughly $69 billion, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined. Major League Soccer is sometimes included in a "top five" of leagues of the country. All four enjoy wide-ranging domestic media coverage and are considered the preeminent leagues in their respective sports in the world, although only basketball, baseball, and ice hockey have substantial followings in other nations.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team. Ice hockey is most popular in Canada, central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the United States. Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, and enjoys immense popularity; alongside Canada, ice hockey is the most popular winter sport in Belarus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The National Hockey League was organized on November 26, 1917, in Montreal after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 in Renfrew, Ontario.
Professional ice hockey
Professional ice hockey has existed since the early 1900s (decade). The professional game originated in the United States in 1904 and became prominent in Canada during the early 20th century before expanding back into the United States and eventually to many other countries. In addition to the United States and Canada, high-level professional hockey is present in Germany, Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland and Switzerland; professional hockey is also played in many other countries, as diverse as Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Austria, Australia and Japan. Professional leagues emerged from amateur leagues.
Sport in Saskatchewan
Sport in Saskatchewan includes ice skating, speed skating, curling bonspiels, snowboarding, snow golf, broomball, ice hockey, badminton, and curling. Summer sports abound: among these are school track and field days, community rodeos, golf tournaments, and sporting events such as baseball, softball, and snowmobile rallies. School teams usually feature baseball, basketball, field hockey, Association football or "soccer", lacrosse, football, rugby, and wrestling. Popular individual sports include auto racing, boxing, cycling, golf, hiking, horse racing, ice skating, skateboarding, skiing, swimming, tennis, triathlon, track and field, and water sports.
Potential National Hockey League expansion
The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its 100-year history to reach its current thirty-one teams: twenty-four in the United States, and seven in Canada. The last time the NHL added expansion teams was in , when the league approved the Vegas Golden Knights for play in the 2017–18 season. The league's most recent relocation was in 2011, when the former Atlanta Thrashers relocated to become the modern Winnipeg Jets. To gauge interest and help determine whether the NHL should entertain further expansion, the NHL Board of Governors accepted applications for new franchises during the 2015 offseason.
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". Originally commissioned in 1892 as the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup", the trophy is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, then–Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club, which the entire Stanley family supported, with the sons and daughters playing and promoting the game.
1_Apprentice
Hello I enjoy football. Can you tell me more about professional hockey? I've seen it a few times.