Though Canada was the birthplace of hockey, the sport has since crossed over into the United States and Europe. Stanley cup playoffs take the concentration of the international men's ice hockey world championships away from American enthusiasts, unlike their European counterparts. In countries such as the U.S., Canada, and others with a large concentration of NHL players, the countries are at a loss to round up their best players because those players have joined the NHL and will be competing for the Stanley cup.



For many years professionals were barred from playing at the international level, and now that many Europeans are playing for the NHL, the world championships no longer represent the world's top players. The Olympic games began recognizing hockey in 1924; the gold medal went to Canada six out of seven times. The United States won the gold medal in 1960, Russia won all, but 2 gold medals between 1956 and 1988, but it was professional Americans, Swedish, Finnish, and Canadians that were banned from Olympic competition. A bunch of non-pro college kids in Lake Placid, New York beat the Russians in 1980 for the gold medal.

It was then that a new surge in the popularity of the game that most Americans weren't paying too much attention to. The Summit series in 1972 and 1974 had established Canada and Russia as hockey rivals. The best players benefited from this, as it gave rise to the Canadian Cup, which only deals with the world's best players. The Canadian cup later became the World Cup of Hockey with the United States winning in 1996 and Canada winning in 2004. Since 1998 NHL professionals have played in the Olympics giving the top players more opportunity to compete and face off with other professional players from different countries. Since the year of 1998, the Olympics have been home to 9 women's competitions; the women's games started that year.

Because women play just as hard a game as men, they are definitely being seen more and more as a serious sport all their own. In many ways, however, women still have a long road ahead of them if they wish to be on equal footing. Women are competing in a sport that has traditionally only been played by men, so they will have a long road ahead in order to be taken seriously as players. Attendance records are regularly smashed by the millions of loyal fans in the U.S. and Canada alone who love this sport. It is treated as a traditional past time, much like some Americans treat baseball, football, or basketball.

The world of hockey is a world unto itself, and that is true whether it is being played by professionals or amateurs. This sport is viewed as important as the air they breath by many, and people can get very wrapped up in it. Late night game practices are common among fans of the sport, and rinks frequently hold special hours to stay open and accommodate fans who spend 2-3 hours on the ice.