Within the Sporting Universe these days, Hockey is getting the short end of the stick. Especially in the United States, where it isn?t really one of the big four anymore and you have sports such as NASCAR, golf, and sometimes poker proving more popular then the fastest game on ice. Hockey is viewed as a regional and Canadian game and a lot of people just brush it off while saying ?It?s a Canadian thing.? And after the lockout, who can blame them? They had just witnessed the only sport to lose an entire year due to a work stoppage. It was a black eye for the NHL, and the game of hockey itself. Since the play resumed, the league and the players association have gone to great lengths to make it up to the fans. They have cut down on all the clutching and grabbing which have slowed the great players down, they have added the shoot out which is the first time you get to see a one on one battle between the player and goalie on a regular basis, you have them amending the rules so that the red line was taken out of the game and goaltenders can?t play the puck outside of the trapezoid in back of the net. They also have made it so you have more rivalries each game by playing the teams in their division three more times a year. While if something doesn?t work, they meet at the end of the year and they do their best to keep improving on the game. Now to go along with the NHL?s new slogan, I?m going to describe ?My NHL? and for those who read this, I want you to see the passion that Canadians have for this game. The Excitement There?s nothing like a goal scored in a hockey game. When you heard that puck hit the mesh and the crowd go wild, it is the most exciting thing in the world. In the other three major sports in North America, basketball, baseball, and football, you are always getting multiple points at a time. Sometimes it feels like the points at the beginning of the game don?t mean anything and that you can come in at the second half and get the real excitement. In hockey, you know when you score it could mean the game. It is much harder to score a goal in hockey than it is to score a point in any other game. So when that puck goes in the net, it?s party for everyone. This excitement or stress (if it?s against your team) is so strong that it almost can?t be for the weak hearted, especially after seeing a Toronto fan getting treatment for a heart attack after the Pittsburgh Penguins tied the game with 4 seconds left. The only sport in the world that compares to this is Soccer. However, the combination of physical play and pace makes hockey 60 minutes of pure excitement. That?s not to say hockey can?t be slow or soccer can?t be fast pace. But you know in hockey eventually someone is going to win the game. Where as in soccer, there is always the chance of a tie. The Physical Play Hockey is the only sport in the world that does not have an out of bounds. This means there are less stoppages of play because of this. This game is constant end-to-end action until the puck is covered by the goalie, the puck is shot over the glass and out of play, or a penalty is called. Also because of this, it means there will be a lot of on ice collisions. These guys, though it may not look like it on TV, are moving 40-60 miles per hour on ice. If two of those collide then it is big and there is nothing like a big hit. When a big hit happens, the momentum of the game changes. The players get excited, the fans get pumped which makes the players get pumped. When the players are pumped, then the energy of the game picks up and then it is constant action from then on in. Fighting in the NHL is a sore subject right now. People think it is barbaric and dangerous and say it should be banned from the game. However, fighting is not only necessary to the game, but one of the most exciting aspects to it. Fighting allows the players to police themselves in a game that is very hard to police to begin with. It causes teams to think twice about going after the other team?s top players, which allows those top players to play the game at a high level without hindrance or fear that they are wearing a big target on their backs. On top of that, it is something that can change the momentum of the game. When the game is lacklustre, or when teams on both sides just don?t seem into it, often you will see the two enforcers on each team just go at it and try to pump up their team and their fans. During this time, while some people call it barbaric, you just have to watch them and admire their passion and their dedication to their team. These guys will do whatever it takes to help their team win the game, and if that means taking a couple of punches they are willing to do it, and some in fact enjoy it. The Young Guns Since the lockout ended the game has never been more exciting. This is thanks to the new generation of stars, starting with Sydney Crosby. I?ve been hard on the guy in the past but this kid, at the ripe age of 19, is probably the best player in the game right now. The Pittsburgh Penguins in general have the best young team in general with guys like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney, and Marc-Andre Fleury. A team like that will be good for years to come. Then you move away from Pittsburgh and you head to Washington where you find Alexander Ovechkin, the Calder Trophy Winner (Rookie of the Year) last year. This is a kid who is a pure goal scorer and has a rough and tumble style. He?ll score a highlight reel goal against you one minute and run over you the next. On Washington?s other wing is Alexander Semin who also is a pure goal scorer and a very skilled player. Washington also has a young centre coming up from Sweden by the name of Nicklas Backstrom, who was picked 4th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and is compared to a young Peter Forsberg. As you move along the league you have guys to look out for like Dion Phaneuf in Calgary, Wojtek Wolski, Peter Stastny, and Marek Svatos in Colorado, Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal coming up on the New York Rangers, Ryan Miller, Brian Campbell, Drew Stafford, and a whole bunch more on the Buffalo Sabres, and the list goes on and on. These guys are worth the price of admission and you will be on the edge of your seat the entire time you watch them, and after words you might just end up saying to yourself ?I got to see him play?.?. The History The NHL has a very rich history since the late 1800s. Ever since Lord Stanley of Preston was taken by the game and went to England and bought the Stanley Cup in 1893 for $50, it has become the most storied trophy in all of sports. By just looking at that trophy, you see all the names that won it, all the names who have sweat and toiled through the entire regular season and managed to survive the playoffs just for the chance to hoist that trophy. You hear the stories of what they had to go through in order to be in the situation to win the cup. Guys like Maurice Richard, someone who no one thought could play in the NHL and then makes it while still being persecuted by the rest of the league because he is French Canadian. Then there?s guys like Bill Barilko who was in his 4th year as a Maple Leaf and got the Stanley Cup winning goal in Game 5 in Overtime, then after the series he went on a fishing trip and disappeared in a plane crash. He wasn?t found until the next time the Leafs won the cup, which happened to be 11 years later. To someone like Bob Baun who broke his leg earlier in the game and just put it on ice. He came back in Overtime to score the game-winning goal. You?ll hear all the names and hear all the stories and you have to understand that this wasn?t only a game to them; it was a way of life. I can?t help but to keep explaining that these guys will do whatever it takes to win, including putting their bodies in lifetime threatening situations. These guys were viewed as heroes and were bigger than life and they still are. This is also not to mention that hockey players, past and present, are probably the nicest athletes in the world. If you treat them with respect, they will talk to you about hockey for as long as you want. This goes for anyone in the hockey world. They will talk about what it was like for them to play, what they think of the game now, how much fun it is to talk about hockey when they have a chance. These are guys who?s life revolves around hockey more than the fans and you just have to respect what they have done, and just respect them as a person. So now this is my challenge for the non-hockey fan. Don?t dismiss the sport right away. Try to take the time to understand the rules and understand how the game works. Look at the passion I have while writing this and try to understand why I love this game so much. For those of you who live in the United States, take time to go to a game, you might be pleasantly surprised by the entertainment for a small price for the States. If you are ever in Canada, try to go to a game in any of the six Canadian teams, you?ll have a hard time getting tickets but it?s worth it. If you can?t get tickets, go to a local bar and feel the atmosphere around the game in there. There?s nothing like it. This message is for you too Canadian non-hockey fans. Try to look past the fact that hockey gets a lot of the attention and watch a game in it?s entirety. Go to a bar and watch one of the six Canadian teams in there and just take in the atmosphere. But then again, there?s nothing like going to the actual thing. The smell of the rink, the buzz of the crowd, there is nothing like it. And if you don?t understand something about the game, feel free to post on the new NHL boards on RealGM. There are plenty of posters with a tremendous amount passion and knowledge for the game to help you understand and keep you interested. So that?s my challenge to you RealGM readers, take it for what you will. But this is a great game and it is a shame that not many people know about it. So I hope to see you guys at the games, and on the new NHL forums.