Many of us were either born or raised in the hockey culture. It is not uncommon to see little kids playing in the street with hockey pucks or to see adults involved in recreational hockey. Even if you are not a huge hockey fan, you probably know what a puck is and how it is used in the sport.
Now that the 2019-20 NHL season has ended, it is time to collect some of the interesting stats that can be found on the internet and put them in this article. We will examine the average weight of a hockey puck in order to determine how much storage space is needed on your refrigerator’s ice maker!
Table of Contents
The Average Hockey Puck Weighs In At Around 8 Ounces
According to the teams’ web sites and official NHL data, the average weight of a hockey puck this year was around 8 ounces. This makes it a little lighter than the previous year’s version which weighed in at around 7.6 ounces. The increase of around 0.4 ounces per year suggests that the hockey industry is tending to shift towards lighter pucks as the demand for more storage space on your refrigerator’s ice maker declines.
It’s The Beginner’s Luck If You Are A True Amateur, Because You Will Probably Lose A Few Pucks Along The Way
As we mentioned above, hockey has been around for a very long time and has been played by people of all ages. One might think that after so many years of playing, everyone would be pretty good at keeping track of the little white pieces of plastic. However, according to the NHL’s Official Rules, it is actually very easy for beginners to lose a puck along the way. The rule book specifically states:
Each Goaler must keep his Goal Ring in the Center. In the Event of a Losing Ball, the Goaler must return it to the Center promptly. In the Event of a Foul or Dangerous Play, the Referee may award the Goal to the Opposing Team.
Thus, even if you are just using a puck to bounce a ball across the surface of the ice, you could still lose it if you do not have it in sight. The good news is that the rulebook is very open about giving away free pucks to new players. All you need to do is show up to an NHL game with a valid ID and you will get a whole bag of pucks to start your collection with. You do not even need to ask for them because they will be given to you automatically. It is usually a good idea to bring a friend along with you so you can both play with the bag of pucks they will give you after the game.
One important point to make about the average weight of a hockey puck is that it does vary from year to year. For instance, in 2018-19 the average weight was around 7.8 ounces while the 2016-17 version weighed in at around 7.4 ounces. This makes a difference of around 0.4 ounces per year which is similar to what we saw in the previous example. The reason for this is that different types of ice are manufactured each year which results in varying densities and thus varying weights. You should expect that your refrigerator’s ice maker will struggle to keep up with the demand if the average weight of a hockey puck increases by more than 0.5 ounces per year.
The Possibility Of Growing Fondness For The Game
As we mentioned above, hockey has been around for a very long time and has been played by people of all ages. One might think that with so much of it being played by fans of all ages, the game would have evolved and changed a lot. However, according to the teams’ websites and NHL data, it appears that the game has stayed pretty much the same.
One way to look at this is to ask, “Does growing fondness for a game mean it is doomed to stay the same?” The answer to this question is typically “no” because sometimes games do change for the better. For instance, when it comes to skills and strategies, some games evolve and grow whereas others decline in popularity because they do not suit the “new” generation of players. So, in this case, the possibility of growing fondness for the game is probably good news because it means it is likely to stay relevant for quite some time.
Did You Know That The Size Of A Hockey Puck Varies By League?
Another interesting fact about the weight of a hockey puck is that it varies by league. As we have seen, the average weight of a hockey puck has increased slightly over the years but the difference between each league’s average weight is significant. For instance, the average weight of a National Hockey League (NHL) puck is 8.3 ounces which is around 0.9 ounces heavier than the average weight of an American Hockey League (AHL) puck. This suggests that the former is a better storage option than the latter when it comes to filling up your refrigerator’s ice maker.
The Shifting Demeanor Of The NHL
As we mentioned above, the average weight of a hockey puck increased by 0.4 ounces this year compared to the previous year. However, this increase is only part of the story because the NHL has changed a lot in the last year too. For instance:
- TV viewership has declined for the second straight year, reportedly due to fewer people watching hockey games live and more people watching games on their phones
- Social media is a bigger part of the game than ever before. Players, analysts, and media members now have more platforms than ever before to share their thoughts, and the hockey culture has largely shifted online. It is now possible to follow every single team, player, and official outside the social media platforms. Hockey’s popularity declined in the 1960s and 1970s due to increased levels of violence in the sport. However, the game’s popularity has steadily increased throughout the years and 2019-20 was yet another example of this. The 2019-20 NHL season saw a record-breaking number of digital media members covering the games, and there were even more experts outside of the industry tweeting about them too. This indicates that hockey’s popularity is now truly global, and this trend is likely to continue.
- Goalie masks have become a thing, and a whole subculture has evolved around them.
- More people are playing fantasy sports, and this has completely changed the way teams act, regardless of whether they are real or virtual.
- Pucks are getting better. This year’s models are more advanced and high-tech than ever before, and they are also becoming more uniform in size too. This is probably due to the fact that better manufacturing processes have led to more standardization in the industry. It used to be that pucks would vary in size from 6 to 8 ounces, but now they are typically around 6.8 ounces.
These are just some of the ways in which the 2019-20 NHL season was different from any other previous version. Furthermore, the next few years will also be drastically different from the ones that came before it. For instance, the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs will be played entirely on frozen surfaces which means more pucks will be needed to keep your refrigerator’s ice maker stocked!
So, in 2021, you will have to pay more attention to your refrigerator’s ice maker than ever before. Just make sure that you do not run out of space because this could seriously damage your digestion system. Also, if you are playing fantasy sports, the 2019-20 NHL season was an excellent opportunity to build a winning team because all you needed to do was find five other people to complete a perfect replica of the actual NHL roster. It was extremely difficult to put a price on a season like this. After all, you will never get this opportunity again!
It is also worth noting that the 2019-20 NHL season was an excellent one for the National Hockey League because they set new records for online media members, viewers, and hours of content being consumed on social media. Overall, the 2019-20 NHL season was a fantastic success which proves that hockey is here to stay and it is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports globally. This is mainly due to its affordability and the fact that it can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders. It is also good to see that the older generations, who remember playing with real hockey pucks, are now bringing their kids and grandkids into the game too which shows that hockey’s popularity is truly generational.