Rulers of Hockey

12" Wooden Ruler made in U.S.A. of American-grown basswood.

Games played with curved sticks and a ball go back at least 4000 years to Ancient Egypt, and the Irish variant, called “hurling” is similarly old. Such games played on ice originated in England and Russia, but the modern version, while played in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States, is a Canadian invention. Several locations claim the first game; all we know is that the first organized indoor game was played at Victoria Skating Rink in Montréal, Québec, on March 3, 1875.

It is fitting, therefore, that many of the entries on this ruler were players for the Montreal Canadiens, In the modern era, professional teams play to win the Stanley Cup, and the Montréal team is in this regard by far the most successful. Fully eight individuals listed on our ruler played for the Canadiens, including Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur. Some of the more recent entries are players originally from Russia (Pavel Datsyuk and Alexander Ovechkin).

It’s fun to read the colorful nicknames given to some of the players, such as Charlie “The Big Bomber” Conacher, Jean “Le Gros Bill” Beliveau, and Ken “Octopus” Dryden. Oh, the next team with the most Stanley Cups after Montréal? The Toronto Maple Leafs.

The order of names is not by birth date but rather by the years in which these players flourished in the leagues. The “head” is of Gordie Howe, nicknamed “Mr. Hockey”, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, and a 23-time National Hockey League All Star who led the league in scoring 6 times and won 4 Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings.

If you like this ruler, you might also be interested in Rulers of the Olympics, Rulers of Baseball or Rulers of Football.