When people ask us what type of sports we feel has ancient origins, our answer somehow always drifts to Hockey. The sport is known to be a primitive type of entertainment, with the first form of Hockey played in ancient Egypt some 4,000 years ago, whilst the country of Ethiopia discovered the joys of Hockey around 1,000 BC. On the other hand, countries like Iran have documented playing the game some cool 2,000 BC. The kings of publicized sports, the Greeks, along with the Romans, also have proof that they enjoyed Hockey, with the United Kingdom recognizing the sport and launching its first Hockey Association group in 1878.
Fast forward to today, Hockey is an international sport that is cherished widely by bettors worldwide, whilst bookmaker ratings place Hockey as one of the most celebrated, followed, and bet sports in the world. We have just kicked off the year, and with sporting events resuming, so do hocket season and events. Today we look at some of the best hockey events to attend this year, to follow on your tv screens, and of course, to bet on. Good to know that Hockey can be played in 2 variants. Ice hockey is, of course, played in an ice rink, whilst normal Hockey is played on a pitch with turf.
The Ice Hockey World Championship
Helsinki, Finland
13th – 29th May 2022
This year’s Ice Hockey Championship is happening in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland, between the 13th and the 29th of May, 2022. Most of the events will be hosted at the new, stylish, and state-of-the-art Nokia Area due to a last-minute move of venue. Since this is an international event, many countries will be joining the hockey championship, with the countries competing being: Finland (the hosting country), Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Both Belarus and the Russian Federation were expelled due to the Russian invasion (war) of Ukraine and were replaced by Austria and France, respectively.
In June 2021, the groups were announced, with 2 groups (Group A and Group B) being split as follows:
Group A consisted of: Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark, Kazakhstan, France, and Italy.
Group B consisted of Finals, United States, Czech Republic, Sweden, Latvia, Norway, Great Britain, and Austria.
The ice hockey championship is quite interesting to see, with bets also starting a playoff stage, with quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals odds already available to bet on.
Anything NHL ( National Hockey League)
Now that we have mentioned 2 international hockey events that you ought not to miss, it is time to talk about Hockey in the United States. From the early stages of school, students in the US can choose to play Hockey. One of the best things about school hockey is that every weekend starting Friday night, Americans enjoy the good old hockey game. Such events lead kids to pursue Hockey scholarships and eventually turn hopes of being drafted into the NHL (National Hockey League) a reality.
The NHL is one of the most bet on tournaments in Hockey and is made up of 32 teams competing for the bragging rights of winning the season. Twenty-five teams derive from the United States of America, and the 7 remaining teams originate from Canada. In terms of bets, the NHL is regarded as one of the top leagues that bettors enjoy placing their bets on. Most bets are made at the start of the season, with bettors trying to guess the overall playoff champion; however, many bets are also placed early and during the mid league.
The NHL is not to be missed, and every event happening during the season brings some sort of magic to the table. The National Hockey League is divided into seasons as follows:
Pre-season – Happening from September to October
Normal Season – Happening from October to mid-April.
Postseason – The playoffs for the Stanley Cup. (April to June)
If we had to add some value to the best team, we’d say the best award you can land is the Stanley cup. However, the NHL team that ends up in the tournament with the most scored points at the end will raise the President’s Hockey Trophy.
Although the NHL is a long event and takes a lot of time and dedication to follow, starting off at pre-season, you can get a good idea of who is excelling, who needs more offence strategies, and who’s players are off on injuries, etc. All of this information is key for you to formulate a good game plan when it comes to your NHL betting strategies.
If we look back at some of the most notable clubs to win the NHL, these include the Montreal Canadiens with 24 wins, the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 wins, the Detroit Red Wings with 11 wins, and the Boston Bruins with 6 wins. Betting odds of who will win both cups are already out, and some news from the grapevine state that the Canadians look quite promising this season.
Ice Hockey has always been an important part of everyday life, especially on the East side of the world, whilst Europe concentrates more on football. The above events we listed and talkies about are just the pinnacles of hockey events happening throughout the world this year. If you are a vivid ice hockey fan, you know that there are some great events out there not to be missed and also to place a bet or two on. Now that we can enjoy attending sporting events again, and now that the world has found some sort of normality, life is too short to miss your favourite sport. And life is also too short not to start enjoying a new sport. Hockey has many perils, one being pure entertainment and sportsmanship.
