Where was hockey first played?

[Iain Fyffe]

First pucks essentially being just a blank cut from a log, app 3-4"'s in diameter by about 2"'s thick no? Readily available & cheap. As in free.... and yes, the oft referred to reference in that novel anecdotal, thin on actual documentation (as you say imaginings) from the period earlier than when that novel was published. Simply doesnt hold up to scrutiny absent supporting evidence.... I go with the SIHR's time-lines & attributions, Creighton, Montreal Rules.

The size of the first pucks in Montreal is unknown, but one was described as a "little circle of wood" in a newspaper report. The first rubber puck was apparently a lacrosse ball with the ends cut off to make a disc.

 

[Iain Fyffe]

Absolutely agree. The most senseful way to deal with it is to distinguish between ice hockey with the ball and ice hockey with the puck. From a tradition Canadian point of view it might seem strange or redundant, but that's exactly what they did in Europe when the game with the puck was introduced and started to widely (but not fully) replace the game with the ball.

When you get into it, you need to be careful about what you use the term hockey to mean, because it can mean a variety of different things as you point out here.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

This has always confused me, since I first read that it originates from the UK but when I spoke with a Canadian in Beijing he told me it originates from Canada and that in the UK they played football on the ice and not ice hockey.

And I spoke to a Russian and he said ice ice hockey comes from Russian hockey which was first played with not a puck but with a small ball. And later became two sports.

So where did it originate, which country gave birth to this sport? Does anyone really know?

UK, Canada, Russia or other place?

Garden of Eden.

That's why all the big venues were called Gardens.

 

[Killion]

The size of the first pucks in Montreal is unknown, but one was described as a "little circle of wood" in a newspaper report. The first rubber puck was apparently a lacrosse ball with the ends cut off to make a disc.

Indeed. Ive always imagined it as being inconsistent, be it circumference or depth. Just an approximation. Hand sawed & cut. The early game essentially shinny, just fun. What is interesting to me I guess would be the kinetics, the feel of a wooden stick & puck. Seems natural. Could be Im insane though. Considering such.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

The most common one I see as well. But from Windsor to Montreal I've heard a lot of different versions. Let's just say, somewhere on the St. Lawrence River.

Or the Bay of Fundy, if we're including Windsor.