Hey Wait, What the Puck?
The puck has been an iconic symbol of hockey for years. But what exactly is that not so round ball? Well, the puck is actually made from vulcanized rubber. This means the rubber has been heated and treated with various chemicals, like sulfur. The rubber is then shaped into the flat round disc that everyone sees on TV and in the rinks. Originally, the puck was in the shape of a ball. However, the “original” players of hockey felt that there was too much movement with the ball. So instead, they cut off the top and the bottom of the ball to create more resistance against the ice. This led to the formation of the flat thing everyone now knows as the puck. The puck is 3 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick, weighing an average of 6 ounces. The puck was originally made of bouncy rubber. However, players objected to this material because it complicated the game play. So the rubber was reconstructed to provide a more solid puck. When hit, the puck moves faster than 80 mph. If it “accidentally” hits someone, that person could be severely injured. That’s one of the reasons for all the protective gear that ice hockey players wear. The second reason is to protect them from other players, obviously. Until recently, about the 1990s, there was no standardized puck. Various companies developed pucks for ice hockey matches. However, in 1991, the National Hockey League said enough was enough and they standardized the hockey puck to ease the game play, forming what we know today as the puck.
