Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game
Read Arthur Farrell's rare 1899 hockey handbook online!

Roch Carrier at age 10 Copyright/Source

Hockey is Canada's game. But as everyone knows, a game is much more than just a game.

Hockey is surely the most Canadian of metaphors. When explaining something complicated, Canadians will often make a comparison to hockey in order to make the concept easier to understand. It is also fairly common to compare politics and hockey. Businesses motivate their managers or sales people by drawing parallels between their challenges and those of a hockey game. Even in church, a priest has been heard to explain in his sermon that the faithful will go to heaven like a puck into the net; but that to do so they have to outsmart Satan at the blue line!

Hockey is also the history of Canadians. The game reflects the reality of Canada in its evolution, ambitions, character, tensions and partnerships. If you want to see a child's eyes sparkle, ask: "Who's your favourite hockey player?" If you want to light up the eyes of a Canadian of a certain age, be they a judge, doctor or blue-collar worker, ask: "Do you remember when Maurice Richard…?"

I encourage you to explore the Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective site. Discover the hidden treasures of Library and Archives Canada. You will be fascinated. Astounded. Moved. Not only will you find yourself back at the rink, but you will also find yourself back in time, exploring all of Canada. Go ahead and take a skate around this site!

Roch Carrier