Know Your Sport: Ice hockey

Ice hockey may not be the most popular sport in South Africa but that does not mean that Canada’s favourite pastime is not played on SA shores.
Sure, location-wise, ice hockey may not seem like the perfect sport in sunny South Africa but its competitiveness and aggression are two things that a lot of SA sportsmen enjoy Z it is almost the same as matching the finesse of soccer with the aggression of rugby – but at the next level.
Ice hockey in South Africa
Ice hockey is predominantly played in Gauteng, Western Province and KwaZulu-Natal with various national teams also being chosen to represent South Africa in international competitions.
South Africa’s Men’s national ice hockey team recently qualified to compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Division 3 World Championships in April this year where they will play against Luxembourg, UAE and Georgia. One of the country’s best and most exciting prospects is their goalie, Charl Pretorius, who has been one of the best junior players in Europe and USA for the past couple of years.
It is no surprise as, for decades, South Africa has had a representative in the National Hockey League (NHL). Olaf Kolzig was born in Johannesburg but later represented his adopted homeland of Germany with distinction. He was also one of the top 10 goalies in the NHL in his prime with the Washington Capitals and was known in NHL circles as “Ollie the Goalie.”
Ice hockey’s biggest league
The NHL is the best-renowned and most watched league in the world, in which the world’s best players play. There are 24 American and 6 Canadian teams in the NHL. Canadian players make up the majority with players from Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Finland and Sweden giving the league a real international flair.

Ice hockey is one of the four major North American sports and one of the most popular. Teams are well known throughout the country and fans are extremely proud of their hockey teams and their jerseys.
The most successful team in the history of the NHL has been the Montreal Canadiens with 24 Stanley Cup titles. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second with 13 wins while the Detroit Red Wings are in third with 11 titles. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the current champions.

The most famous player and arguably the greatest hockey player of all time has been Wayne Gretzky. In his career, he scored 2857 points Z which is a combination of goals and assists. Second is Jaromir Jagr with 1893 points.
Incredibly, Jagr is still playing ice hockey professionally at the age of 44.
The current superstars of the NHL include Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)
Ice hockey in a nutshell
Ice hockey is played on an ice rink where two teams aim to score as many goals as possible in three 20-minute periods. The team with the most goals is then declared the winner. Ice hockey players shoot a puck into a net that is 1.8 metres wide and 1.2 metres high. A team consist of 22 players with teams playing in different lines, thus alternating constantly to give each line enough rest. Six players (including the goalie) can be present on the ice at a time. These players include a centre, left winger, right winger and two defencemen.
The face-off
Each match starts with a face-off in the centre circle and restarts at various other face-off circles located on the ice. This is a big battle between opposition centres as they battle to gain possession after the referee drops the puck.
Heavily armoured
Players are padded with a lot of protective gear like gloves, a hockey helmet, skates, shoulder pads and, of course, a hockey stick. Players need lighting reflexes to keep up with this fast-paced game. Pucks can fly at 190 kilometres per hour and this is enough of a warning to get the best protection. Skating skill is obviously a major requirement.