National Hockey League (Nhl)
When the National Hockey League (NHL) formed in 1917, the game was dominated by Canadians and they were the greatest players in the world. NHL'ers hailed from the Canadian Prairies, Quebec and Ontario, and most of the franchises were housed in Canada and the northern United States. This trend of Canadian predominance continued until the 1950s, when the Soviets emerged as a postwar power-house. Their speed and brilliant passing revolutionized the game on a world level. And with the Soviets leading the way, the rest of Europe, especially Czechoslovakia and Sweden, had to keep pace, developing faster, more skillful players. In America, the growth of the U.S. college program in the 1970s, a gold medal in 1980, and NHL expansion into several American cities converted the U.S. into an elite hockey power. Moreover, with the fall of communism, and the accompanying blurring of amateur and professional status, the NHL had come to represent a confluence of superstars from all over the world by the 1990s. When the Olympics were held in Nagano (1998), there wasn't one super "dream team" but five dream teams laced with NHL talent.
But the NHL's beginnings were more humble. From 1917-41, the NHL went through a series of growing pains.
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