The Hockey Fanatic winds down our twelfth season. We’ve touched on a number of topics in 2023 from origins of the name of hockey to the popularity of Wayne Gretzky to the women’s game of hockey to officiating.
2023 was a great year for hockey. Here’s a recap of some of our favourite posts from The Hockey Fanatic in 2023.
Hockey Fanatic: 2023 Year in Review
Here is a look at our top posts from the past year.
#10. PHWL Inaugural Season Kicks Off – From December 2023. Includes a full schedule of the 2024 PWHL season.
#9. Origin of the Name Hockey – from January 2023 where we looked at where the term “hockey” came from and originated. Is it possible that the name goes back to the sixteenth century? Read on to find out.
#8. 20 Fun Facts about the NHL All-Star Game – in February (right around when the NHL All-Star game takes place, we looked at twenty fun facts around the NHL all-star game. Did you know that there have been two (legit) fights in NHL All-Star Game history. Any guesses on which NHL player was involved in the first fight in an NHL all-star game?
#7. NHL OFFICIALS: PLAYOFF FRIEND OR FOE? – the NHL does not make their officials available for press or post game commentary. They do a pretty good job of protecting the officials, but hockey fans know that the officiating can be a hot topic of discussion. We look at how the officiating changes (or does not change) come NHL playoff time. Original post from April 2023.
#6. Celebrating 12 Years of the Hockey Fanatic – in January we looked at the first twelve years of the Hockey Fanatic with a recap of some of our favourite posts.
#5. Ranking the Top 50 NHL Players for 2023/24 – In July we evaluated and selected The Hockey Fanatic’s top 50 NHLer’s in the game today. You can reply with your thoughts on X and let us know who we may have mitted or ranked too high or too low.
#4. Hockey Fanatic’s List of Definitive Hockey Books to Read – from November 2023, we revisited out post on the best hockey books out there that every hockey fan should read. There are a number of amazing hockey books out there. Check out our list of favourites.
#3. NHL’s All-Time Longest Sussies – ever wonder who holds the dubious distinction of having the longest suspension in NHL history? Who owns a lifetime ban from the National Hockey League? Read on to find out.
#2. Best Hockey Movies of All-Time 2023/24 Edition – another of our year-end lists. We rank our favourite hockey movies of all-time. Is Slap Shot on this list? Yup. What about Mighty Ducks? You’ll have to check it out to see which movies make our list. You might just find a couple of surprises here as well.
#1. Getting to the NHL: History of the NHL Draft – in May we wrote a post about just how difficult it is to make the NHL. Most hockey parents have this notion that there child is going to make the NHL, but did you know that there has been less than eight thousand players to have EVER made the NHL? This is a fact. So your odds of making it are slim. Not impossible, but even getting drafted is a tall order… less of an challenge if you are of NHL-bloodline, or have money (and some skill) to get your kid noticed at an early age. Interesting post on the history of getting drafted in the National Hockey League.
2023, was a great year for hockey, we’ve had some fun with our posts and we’ve enjoyed watching all levels of the great game. The Hockey Fanatic wishes all the best to all hockey fans in 2024.
