Hockeytown and Hockey Town are generic words used in common practice throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

to identify any town, city or community that has a history and reputation of participating in the sport of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

. Many North American cities are and have been referred to by the label.

Warroad, Minnesota Warroad is a city in Roseau County, Minnesota, United States, at the southwest corner of Lake of the Woods, south of Canada. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census. Warroad had its own newspaper before it was incorporated in 1901. Minne ...

was the first city known to use the designation "Hockeytown". The term has been used to describe the following cities: *

Berlin, New Hampshire Berlin ( ) is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coös County in northern New Hampshire, United States. It is the northernmost city in New Hampshire. The population was 9,425 at the 2020 census, down from 10,051 at the 2010 census. It ...

– Earned the title in 2002, after almost 90 years of a rich hockey history. Claims to be the breeding ground for some of the best players. *

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflu ...

has been referred to as Hockey Town since the mid-1970s. After a tepid first year of support, the Broome Dusters grew greatly in popularity, and were able to draw many sellouts. The quick success led the ''Hockey News'' to declare Binghamton as Hockey Town USA. Binghamton is home to a

Federal Prospects Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. D ...

franchise. *

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

– Earned the title in 2022, after the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, the University of Denver Pioneers won the NCAA National Championship, and the Denver East Angels won the

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

High School National Championship. In addition the Colorado Warriors (Disabled Veteran hockey) of the Warrior hockey discipline within

won 2 championships in 3 divisions (including the top tier) of the 2022 USA Hockey Warrior Classic (National Championship) in Detroit, MI, October 30, 2022. The Avalanche and the Pioneers became the first professional and college teams from the same city to win the Stanley Cup and the NCAA Division I National Championship in the same year since the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

and the

Boston University Terriers The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the ...

in 1972. *

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

– The phrase "Hockeytown", when combined with the distinctive winged wheel logo of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, is a registered trademark owned by the franchise. **

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

has been referred to as "Hockeytown North", due to the Red Wings' training camp being located at Traverse City's Centre Ice Arena. *

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

has been described as the "Best Hockey City in North America". The first indoor ice hockey game was played in the city, on 3 March 1875. The formalized modern sport of ice hockey originated in Montreal in 1877. *

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

was referred to as a kind of Hockeytown in May, 2017. *

O'Leary, Prince Edward Island O'Leary is a town located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. Its population in the 2016 Census was 815 people. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: St ...

has been described as "Hockeytown PEI". *

has been referred to as "Hockeytown" for over 50 years. The Hockeytown Holiday Classic has been played in Warroad since 1994. The phrase "hockey town" has also been applied to Boston, Massachusetts;

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

;

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

;

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

;

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

;

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

; and

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 73,246 inhabitants in 2021. The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that i ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

References

{{Reflist Ice hockey terminology