Canadiens1958
Registered User
This is a thread or informal discussion about the history of how the game of hockey developed throughout Canada, North America and the world after WWII at the grass roots level as opposed to the junior, semi pro, NHL, international levels.
My experiences date back to the early 1950's starting as a player, passing thru various stages to organization administrator. These experiences tend to reflect east / central Montreal with contacts across Quebec, Canada, parts of the USA and internationally. Spanning eras dominated by outdoor rinks to arenas, neighbourhood teams or organizations to mega regional organizations, etc.
Would like to focus on the following three subtopics.
The impact and growth of indoor arenas on youth hockey especially the municipal or community center arenas. The simplistic link to population growth and hockey development does not hold.Until the youngsters had a local arena where they could practice and play uninterrupted by the elements, preferably year round, hockey development stagnated in the specific district.
The growth and impact of youth hockey organizations from small neighbourhood, community or parish organizations to the mega organizations that exist today in certain instances with budgets that surpass those of NHL teams into the 1980's. Years ago - until the last twenty or so, most of the small local organizations had distinct approaches, styles, etc. Today, hockey development tends to a distinct template or cookie cutter approach.
The implication of pros, retired pros and others who played the game at a highly competitive level. There are the nice memories generated by having the dad of a team mate come down, skate with the team, sign a few autographs and motivate a bit. On the other hand day to day involvement brings various dynamics that are not available from other sources. Today, in the province of Quebec, after being shunted aside by quaint rules (former NHLer,cup winner,assistant coach with a couple of teams was not allowed to coach his son's Atom team because he did not have the appropriate Hockey Quebec qualifications) the former pros are making a strong contribution at various levels. Also there is another phenomena on the upswing. The rise of Women's hockey has produced a new breed of "Hockey Mom" that has significant knowledge and experience when it comes to playing the game.
Would like to see that various experiences that others have had across Canada and elsewhere.
My experiences date back to the early 1950's starting as a player, passing thru various stages to organization administrator. These experiences tend to reflect east / central Montreal with contacts across Quebec, Canada, parts of the USA and internationally. Spanning eras dominated by outdoor rinks to arenas, neighbourhood teams or organizations to mega regional organizations, etc.
Would like to focus on the following three subtopics.
The impact and growth of indoor arenas on youth hockey especially the municipal or community center arenas. The simplistic link to population growth and hockey development does not hold.Until the youngsters had a local arena where they could practice and play uninterrupted by the elements, preferably year round, hockey development stagnated in the specific district.
The growth and impact of youth hockey organizations from small neighbourhood, community or parish organizations to the mega organizations that exist today in certain instances with budgets that surpass those of NHL teams into the 1980's. Years ago - until the last twenty or so, most of the small local organizations had distinct approaches, styles, etc. Today, hockey development tends to a distinct template or cookie cutter approach.
The implication of pros, retired pros and others who played the game at a highly competitive level. There are the nice memories generated by having the dad of a team mate come down, skate with the team, sign a few autographs and motivate a bit. On the other hand day to day involvement brings various dynamics that are not available from other sources. Today, in the province of Quebec, after being shunted aside by quaint rules (former NHLer,cup winner,assistant coach with a couple of teams was not allowed to coach his son's Atom team because he did not have the appropriate Hockey Quebec qualifications) the former pros are making a strong contribution at various levels. Also there is another phenomena on the upswing. The rise of Women's hockey has produced a new breed of "Hockey Mom" that has significant knowledge and experience when it comes to playing the game.
Would like to see that various experiences that others have had across Canada and elsewhere.
