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Theceremonial first puck is a longstandingritual ofice hockey in which a guest of honor drops apuck to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Like baseball'sceremonial first pitch, this first puck does not actually begin play but is retrieved and presented to the guest of honour as a keepsake. In theNational Hockey League (NHL), the anthem is routinely played before the ceremonial first puck.
The ceremonial puck dropper may be a notable person (dignitary, celebrity, former player, etc.) who is in attendance, an executive from a company that sponsors the team (especially when that company has sponsored that night's promotional giveaway), or a person who has been awarded the privilege as a result of some recent contest or current event. Especially in theminor leagues, multiple first puck drops are not uncommon; the honoree may merely pose atcentre ice displaying his commemorative puck without actually dropping it into anyfaceoff.
The ceremonial first puck is also referred to as the "ceremonial puck drop". Both terms emphasize that the attention is typically on the honoree who actually drops thepuck rather than on the vying for it. Significantly, the ceremony involves the two opposing captains (even agoaltender) who "face off" nonconfrontationally since tradition dictates that the home player always "wins" and presents the puck to the guest of honor.
The official website of the National Hockey League uses the term "ceremonial first puck" about twice as frequently as the somewhat synonymous term "ceremonial faceoff". As of November 2008, the sports news organization ESPN has never used the term "ceremonial faceoff" in any headline or teaser, while "ceremonial first puck" and "ceremonial puck drop" are used regularly.[1]
On October 6, 2002, in front of a crowd of 18,000 atGeneral Motors Place,Elizabeth II, theQueen of Canada dropped the ceremonial first puck for theNational Hockey League exhibition game between theVancouver Canucks andSan Jose Sharks; this was the first time any reigning monarch, Canadian or otherwise, had performed the task.[2][3]
The 2007NHL All-Star game first puck was dropped byTexas GovernorRick Perry andDallas Stars centerMike Modano on January 24, 2007.[4]
California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger dropped the ceremonial first puck on May 27, 2007, when theAnaheim Ducks hosted theOttawa Senators.[5]
Brian Leetch dropped the first puck on October 4, 2007, at a New York Rangers game.
Capitalizing on her well-publicized advocacy ofice hockey and her self-identification as a "hockey mom", 2008Republican Party Vice Presidential nomineeSarah Palin was invited to perform the ceremonial first puck drop at NHL games during the campaign, including thePhiladelphia Flyers hosting of theNew York Rangers on October 11 and theSt. Louis Blues hosting of theLos Angeles Kings on October 24. At her Philadelphia appearance, Palin was booed by a number of fans in attendance.[6]
As a native New Yorker and formerChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,Colin Powell dropped the ceremonial first puck at aNew York Islanders game atNassau Coliseum on November 11, 2008, in recognition ofMilitary Appreciation Day andVeterans Day. Powell, the first blackU.S. Secretary of State and first black U.S.National Security Adviser, had earlier dropped an Islander puck on January 21, 2008, in honor ofMartin Luther King Day.[7]
Newark, New Jersey-native NBA legendShaquille O'Neal dropped the first puck on January 11, 2014 at aNew Jersey Devils game.[8]
Although hockey has been played on ice since at least 1825, the game then more closely resembledfield hockey rather than modern ice hockey. By the 1870s, the advantages of a stubbycylinder on a surface of flat ice led to the use of what theMontreal Gazette of March 4, 1875 called "a flat, circular piece of wood" which "slid about between the players with great velocity". The same publication finally referred to the hockey object as a "puck" on February 7, 1876.[9]
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