Montreal's Victoria Skating Rink, 1893, https://hockey-stars.ca/the-four-stars-of-early-ice-hockey/

The "unearthed" document will redefine modern zeitgeist and address misconceptions about the earliest evolution of "Canada's games."

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, June 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Just over a century ago now, two brothers began changing the game of Ice Hockey out west in British Columbia.  Now, as we turn to the 2024 Stanley Cup finals, a Vancouver-based researcher steps forward with a thesis that takes on the earliest history of Canada's game, with some serious west-coast originality that may recall Frank and Lester Patrick.

"I offer a visual explanation of Ice Hockey's birth and earliest evolution," says Mark Grant. "I have hung four flags at an old hockey arena called the Victoria Skating Rink.  They represent the main community contributors to early Ice Hockey.

There are two things to know about them, which I call the four Stars of early Ice Hockey. "The first thing to know is that the DNA of these communities is all over what one sees on TV. When you know what you're looking for, their lingering presence is as obvious as face-off circles.

"Secondly, and here's where the 81-year-old article comes in: we also know that four flags form a narrative that explains the birth and rise of the singular version of "hockey" that went on to become Canada's official version of "Ice Hockey" before the end of the 19th-century. The article proves that the third Star's introduction to Ice Hockey was based on a version of "hockey" that was made by the first two Stars.

The article Grant refers to concerns what the B.C. writer calls "the least discussed major episode in all of Ice Hockey history," and he's talking about the literal birth of Ice Hockey in Montreal.  "It flips so many of today's scripts, some of which have been repeated since at least the 19th century."

Although novel, Grant emphasizes that his four-Star presentation is not a new historical interpretation.  "It's nothing more than the reintroduction of real Ice Hockey history, actually, something that we've increasingly lost sight of over many decades.   Because it is real history, all of today's common theories and claims must answer what these four flags represent. All of the ones that we've identified fall short for the same reason: because they ignore or diminish the contributions of Ice Hockey's first two Stars. The result, invariably, are skewed histories that at best require amendment."

Two culturally dominant beliefs explain many common misconceptions about hockey history, says the west-coast researcher.  Grant sees a longstanding trend toward focusing on histories that begin only 'after' the birth of Montreal hockey as one main culprit; and a persistent diminishing and stereotyping of all that took place 'before' Montreal as the other.  "It's gotten to the point where the two feed off of each other, in seriously unhinged fashion." He says that a host of unnecessary mysteries have become entrenched in the zeitgeist through these treatments.  "It has become necessary to spend considerable time explaining what early Ice Hockey was 'not."

To this end, Grant combines a rare combination of candor, seriousness, and irreverence. In one place, for example, he says that the "flat thin blade" tamed the pucklike object. It was what enabled hockey on ice to evolve."  Elsewhere, he says that one well-settled theory is "like saying that the Cardinal directions are North, South and West."  "Calling James Creighton the father of Ice hockey is a diss to those partners who built the game that he inherited. Back in Halifax, he was just another dude who played hockey. If his friends back at the Halifax Hockey Club heard that people were calling him the "father" of their game, they would have all fallen over laughing."

Grant uses a reductionist style to effectively take on myth after myth, clearing the way for the real four-Star narrative.   He mixes an assortment of key primary data to draw his conclusions, and saves the data for the readers' future reference. Although he relies heavily on key facts, his most interesting idea may be a theory. At the end of this, his latest book, The Four Stars of Early Ice Hockey, Mark Grant suggests reinventing the Halifax Hockey Club and creating a trophy based on 19th century Ice Hockey's dominant tools: Dartmouth's Acme skates and the Kjipuktuk Mi'kmaw's sticks. "It could be a fun thing to do and may be something that could take off," says the B.C. writer, "and also a way to compare Halifax gear to other 19th-century skates and sticks.  Our 'theory' is that Halifax's skates and sticks didn't just beat the competition, they crushed it. This is a very testable idea, and one that can be taken up at any time." 

For those who want to get their feet wet, Mark Grant has made two summaries available, including a Timeline that lays out the Four-Star model in chart form along with some of its main conclusions. along with other "must-know" documents, in the Archives section of his website, www.hockey-stars.ca.  Deep divers will find his latest book there as well, 'The Four Stars of Early Ice Hockey.' 

Mark Grant
Hockey-Stars.ca
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