Around 1820 the sport started to catch on among the visitors to the frozen lakes. People had played field hockey and another game in Europe for years, but this new version of the old sport required that it’s players put on skates. Using metal blades that could be strapped to their boots, the players would cut branches from trees to use as sticks; for pucks they would use round pieces of cork or wooden balls. …showed first 75 words of 828 total…

…showed last 75 words of 828 total…After the season's end, Gretzky signed a contract with the New York Rangers. Through his nineteen seasons he owns or shares sixty-one NHL records. He won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player nine times, the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer ten times, the Lady Byng Trophy as the most gentlemanly and outstanding player four times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs twice.