Amateur Hockey Association of Canada

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Development of the NHL

The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was an amateur ice hockey league and was founded in 1887 . It existed between 1888 and 1898 . It is considered the forerunner of the National Hockey League . The Stanley Cup also has its origin here.

The teams

"*" Stanley Cup winner

  • 1892–93: * Montréal AAA , Montreal Crystals , Montréal Victorias , Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
  • 1893–94: * Montreal AAA, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
  • 1894-95: Montreal AAA, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
  • 1895–96: Montreal AAA, Montreal Shamrocks , * Montreal Victorias (December 1895), Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
  • 1896–97: Montreal AAA, Montreal Shamrocks, * Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
  • 1897–98: Montreal AAA, Montreal Shamrocks, * Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC

history

The Amateur Hockey Association was founded on December 8, 1886 when various ice hockey teams met at the Victoria Ice Stadium in Montreal . At that time, ice hockey was different compared to today. According to the rules of the time, there were 6 field players per team on the ice and the playing time was 2 times 30 minutes. In the event of a tie after regular time, the game continued until one team scored a goal (see also Sudden Death ).

The AHA played in two different game modes during its existence. First, the reigning champion was challenged by a team on a weekly basis. This system lasted until 1893, except in 1888, when the Stanley Cup was introduced. With the introduction of the Stanley Cup, the game system changed to a normal season as it is still common in the NHL today.

The first champions of the AHA were the Montreal Crystals , who were unofficially designated champions before the AHA started playing. On January 14, 1887, the title changed to the Montréal Victorias , who defeated the reigning champions 4-0. The Montreal Victorias held the title until the last game of the year when they were defeated 3-2 by the Montreal Crystals. Because the Montreal Victorias were champions for so long, the system was changed in favor of a regular season in 1888.

The mode was a success despite the tie between the Montreal Victorias and the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (Montreal AAA) at the end of the season .

Due to the high travel costs for teams outside of Montreal, the system switched back to challenge mode

In 1893 the system switched back to a normal season. The Montreal AAA lost their opening game against Ottawa Hockey Club , but won the next seven games in a row and became champions. That year Lord Stanley donated a trophy for the best ice hockey team in Canada. The Stanley Cup , as the trophy was later called, was presented to the Montreal AAA on May 15, 1893. Within the organization of the Montreal AAA there were different opinions as to whether this trophy should be accepted. The ice hockey department insisted on not accepting the trophy, while the other departments were willing to accept it. In the end, the trophy was accepted, but no official representative of the ice hockey department was present.