A dear friend recently drove over 2 hours for a first date. While that sounds insane on so many levels, the date was to attend an NHL hockey game. Not so insane after all. I love hockey! So, it got me thinking: what do I really know about a hockey puck?
The humble hockey puck; the little disk of joy that glides effortlessly across the ice. Well, at least it looks that way when someone slaps the ever-living out of it. Now imagine the original hockey puck, a frozen disk of cow poop. Thankfully someone decided that was disgusting or unnecessary (my money is on the early goalies) and it is now made from vulcanized rubber.
In modern times, a regulation NHL puck is 3 inches in diameter and weighs approximately 6 ounces. Given that it is rather light, it does make sense how it can get airborne, and does, often. Part of why it stays on the ice is that the puck is frozen. The frucks, as I like to call them, are easier to control and have less bounce when frozen to -10°F, which makes sense since they are sliding around on ice. Because they do thaw, the frucks are constantly replaced by the officials. The average NHL game goes through 12 – 15 frucks, for an average of 6-10 minutes of play.
Are you surprised to learn that the hockey puck has both a birthday and a birthplace? The birthday stems from the “puck” word first being used in the February 7th, 1876 edition of the Montreal Gazette. The fact that the NHL observes this date as a birthday for the puck I find mildly amusing. But no more so than Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada proclaiming itself as the “official home of the hockey puck”.
Last fun fact for you – the role of the puck in protesting. Back in 2000, Prime Minister Jean Chretien received an undisclosed number of hockey pucks mailed to him at the encouragement of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation. The Canadian government spent $12m bailing out the domestic NHL franchises, much to the chagrin of some. I wonder how much was spent on postage for this little campaign?